MILAN — With the Americans having pulled their goalie and in desperation mode — just two minutes from losing the gold medal to arch-rival Canada — Hilary Knight came to the rescue.
Knight redirected a Laila Edwards rocket from the point past Canadian goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, sending red-white-and-blue-clad fans in Santa Giulia Arena into a full-throated roar and giving the U.S. women’s hockey team new life.
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The clutch goal from the U.S.’ veteran leader took on additional meaning minutes later when the Americans followed it with an overtime game-winner. Megan Keller scored just over four minutes into overtime to give the U.S. an imperfect but resilient 2-1 victory in Thursday’s gold-medal match at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Taylor Heise set up Keller’s game-winner when she caught the Canadians in an ill-timed line change and sent a length-of-the-ice pass to Keller. The American juked Canadian defender Claire Thompson, created space for herself in front of the net and lashed the puck through the legs of Desbiens.
“Everything happens so fast,” Desbiens said. “On the shots you never quite know where it goes and it squeaked in. I’ll see that one for a long time.”
Megan Keller celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal to give the United States the gold medal over Canada.
(REUTERS / REUTERS)
For nearly two weeks, Knight had been stuck on 14 career Olympic goals, leaving her tied for the American record held by Natalie Darwitz and Katie King. Now the 36-year-old has the record to herself and a gold medal in what is expected to be the final Olympic game of her illustrious career.
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“There was no way we were losing this game,” Knight said after the game. “That’s all. Simple as that. We had some awesome heavy hitters on the ice.
“I knew we were going to get possession, so I just had to find a place in front of the net.”
A come-from-behind victory over their bitter rivals bolsters this talented American roster’s case as the best women’s hockey team their country has ever produced. The U.S. had flattened everything in its path before the gold-medal match, outscoring its first six opponents 31-1 and not giving up a goal for 16 consecutive periods.
The only goal the U.S. surrendered before Thursday was a flukey one in its opening game of group play. Czechia’s Barbora Juříčková emerged from the penalty box at the exact same moment the U.S. coughed up possession of the puck, leading to a breakaway goal.
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“I’ve been on a lot of teams throughout my career, but there’s something special about this one,” American forward Kendall Coyne Schofield said. “I think it’s ultimately how enjoyable it is to be in that locker room and how everyone is willing to do whatever it takes for this team, no matter what the role is.”
For decades, the hierarchy at the top of women’s hockey has been Canada, the U.S. and then everyone else. One of the North American powers has captured gold at every Olympics to feature women’s hockey and every world championships. With few exceptions, the rest of the world has essentially battled it out for third place.
Canada entered Thursday having won five of seven Olympic golds, but the U.S. has enjoyed the upper hand in the rivalry recently. First, the Americans edged the Canadians in overtime in the gold-medal match at last year’s world championships. Then they convincingly swept four Rivalry Series matchups earlier this winter. Then, in the final game of group play in Milan, they inflicted the worst beatdown on the Canadians in their brilliant Olympic history.
The lingering question coming out of that 5-0 U.S. blowout was how much the score was a product of the absence of Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin. Was the gap between the best two teams in the world really that wide? Or might the Canadians have been more competitive if they had the superstar who scored the game-winning goal in three previous Olympic gold-medal matches?
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Maybe it was the return of Poulin. Maybe it was Canadian pride and urgency. Whatever the reason, the opening period of Thursday’s gold-medal match looked nothing like the one-sided previous matchup.
Hungrier and more aggressive from the start, Canada outshot the U.S. 8-6 and put the favored Americans on their heels. Though the period ended scoreless, the message to the U.S. was clear: This was not going to be another walkover.
The Canadians broke through short-handed less than a minute into the second period thanks in part to a favorable bounce. Renata Fast’s attempt to clear the puck up the boards took a peculiar bounce off the glass and caromed right to Laura Stacey, fueling a 2-on-1 breakaway with only Keller back.
Stacey waited for Keller to commit, then delivered a pinpoint pass. That set up a beautiful finish from Kristin O’Neill for a 1-0 Canada lead.
It would hold up for all but two minutes, until Knight struck.
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Overtime in Olympic hockey is played 3-on-3, providing more wide-open ice. The Americans caught Canada on a line shift, allowing Keller to slip in from her defensive position, slip the puck past Thompson, then Desbiens and into Olympic history.
The gold is the Americans.
Here’s how the match unfolded in real time:
Chris Cwik
Here’s the goal that won Team USA the gold medal.
Chris Cwik
With 15:53 minutes to go in overtime, Megan Keller made a play. Keller got the puck deep in Canada’s territory, juked a defender and managed to sneak the puck past Ann-Renee Desbiens for the game-winning score.
With that goal, Team USA picked up the 2-1 overtime win, taking the gold medal. It was a truly dominant performance from the U.S. throughout the Games, but Canada played them well Thursday, making it a tense one the whole way through.
Chris Cwik
Team USA and Canada are now in overtime. It will be a 20-minute period of 3-on-3 hockey. And the next goal will win the game.
It’s been a fantastic gold-medal game so far, as both teams have played excellent hockey thus far. The Americans have been aggressive on offense, but Canada has done everything in its power to get in front of shots. That could be less of an issue in overtime, but the U.S. still need to convert with their shots.
Chris Cwik
Hilary Knight is Captain America. And Captain America always comes through.
Knight’s goal with 2:04 tied things up, and now Team USA will try and win the gold-medal game in overtime.
Here’s how Knight’s record-setting goal — which made her the all-time leader in Olympics scoring — looked in the moment.
Chris Cwik
Canada and Team USA have engaged in a tense, back-and-forth contest in the gold-medal game. So it’s only fitting that the game be decided in overtime.
After Hilary Knight’s late scored tied the contest 1-1, neither team managed to score at the end of regulation.
That will send the game into overtime, where the next goal will result in a team winning a gold medal.
Chris Cwik
With her late score against Canada, Hilary Knight made history. After scoring with 2:04 to play, Knight became the all-time leader in USA women’s Olympic scoring with 15 career goals.
Chris Cwik
The Americans made a bold move with over two minutes to play. Despite plenty of time left, the Americans pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker.
And it worked! Team USA scored with 2:04 left on the clock Hilary Knight deflected a shot into the net to tie the game at 1-1.
Chris Cwik
The U.S. did not allow a score on Canada’s power play and are now at full strength the rest of the way.
Team USA still trails by a goal and needs a score to tie things up. They now have just under four minutes remaining to get that goal.
Chris Cwik
With 6:23 left to go, the U.S. picked up an unfortunate penalty. Britta Curl will sit for two minutes due to a boarding penalty, leaving Team USA shorthanded when they need a score.
The penalty will take the clock down to 4:27. If the U.S. can’t score during Canada’s power play, they’ll have fewer than five minutes at full strength to get the job done.
Chris Cwik
Time is running out for Team USA in the gold-medal game. The Americans haven’t broken through on offense yet, and trail 1-0 to Canada with roughly 10 minutes to play.
It’s been a tight game, one in which the U.S. has had a few strong chances to score. But Canada’s defense has held throughout. If that can continue for 10 more minutes, Canada will walk away with the gold medal.
Chris Cwik
With 20 minutes to go, Team USA needs some magic. After a close-knit game, the Americans trail against Team Canada 1-0 in the third period.
Team USA has had chances throughout, but haven’t been able to convert. They’ll need to find a way against Canada goalkeeper Ann-Renee Desbiens, who has been fantastic thus far.
Chris Cwik
Heading into the third period, Canada holds a narrow 1-0 lead over the U.S. in the gold-medal game.
It’s been a tight one so far, as both teams have almost the same amount of shots after two periods. Canada sits just ahead, though, leading the way 21-20.
The U.S. had its moments in the second, but can’t break through Canada’s defense. They’ll need to find a way to get on the board in the third period if they want to take home the gold.
Chris Cwik
The Americans are relentlessly attacking the net, but can’t get a puck past Ann-Renee Desbiens.
The U.S. has spent a majority of the second period in Canada’s territory, but haven’t been able to convert with a goal. With roughly six minutes to go, the United States leads 16-12 in shots. That’s a significant improvement over the first period, where Canada outshot the U.S. 8-6.
Chris Cwik
Team USA has had a few chances to score early in the second period, but Canada’s goalkeeper Ann-Renee Desbiens has come up with some big stops.
Team USA had at least two excellent offensive looks, but Desbiens pulled off saves both times. Team USA is threatening more in the second period, but have yet to break through. And trail 1-0 with a little over 11 minutes left in the period.
Chris Cwik
Canada came into the second period looking to survive. With Ella Shelton in the penalty box, Canada would have to play a woman down to start the period.
But that didn’t matter. Kristin O’Neill managed to break through, scoring a shorthanded goal to give Canada the 1-0 lead early in the second period.
Canada managed to kill the penalty too, making it an even playing field now.
Chris Cwik
The U.S. may have their best chance to get ahead early in the second period. The team will have a power play for 1:46 to begin the period following Ella Shelton’s hooking penalty at the end of the first period.
The score is 0-0 heading into the second period. It marks the first time all tournament the U.S. has not scored in the first period.
Sean Leahy
The first period comes to an end in the gold medal game with neither team finding the back of the net. Canada leads the U.S. 8-6 in shots on goal.
The U.S. will have a power play for the first 1:46 of the second period.
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Ice Hockey – Women’s Gold Medal Game – United States vs Canada – Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, Milan, Italy – February 19, 2026. Julia Gosling and Brianne Jenner of Canada in action with Aerin Frankel, Hayley Scamurra and Lee Stecklein of United States REUTERS/Mike Segar
(REUTERS / REUTERS)
Sean Leahy
Ella Shelton heads to the penalty box after hooking Britta Curl with 14 seconds to play in the opening period.
Sean Leahy
Another Canada power play ends without a goal. The U.S. had the best scoring chance during that man advantage with Hayley Scamurra getting a partial breakaway, but Renata Fast, who turned the puck over in the offensive zone, was able to knock the puck away.
Sean Leahy
Joy Dunne will sit for two minutes after tripping Canada’s Erin Ambrose.
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