Team USA’s women’s Olympic hockey team is officially golden once again.
The Americans prevailed in overtime through an unbelievable goal from defenseman Megan Keller, downing the very game Canadians 2-1 in an instant classic matchup between the two rivals. Keller’s goal came after a nail-biting three regulation periods saw Team USA need a pulled-goalie, extra-attacker goal from captain Hilary Knight to force the extra frame.
Team USA secured its third gold medal in women’s hockey since the tournament was introduced for the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. They are now 3-4 against Team Canada in Olympic gold-medal games, last beating their northern neighbors at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea.
In Thursday’s win, the Americans went down 1-0 early in the second period after Kristin O’Neill struck shorthanded for the Canadians. The goal, which came just 54 seconds into the frame, was the first that Team USA and goaltender Aerin Frankel allowed since the second period of the team’s first game in the tournament.
The Americans struggled to create much offense and couldn’t find a hole in Canadian goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens until they pulled Frankel for an extra attacker late in the third. Alex Carpenter won an offensive-zone faceoff, and possession eventually filtered to defenseman Laila Edwards at the point.
Edwards, the first black woman to ever play for the Olympic team, froze the Canadian defenders before firing a low, hard shot toward the net that Knight was able to get her stick blade on, directing the puck past a helpless Desbiens. The goal was Knight’s 15th career tally in the Olympics, giving her sole possession of first place on Team USA’s all-time list.
“We definitely had to will something,” Knight said on NBC. “We came out a little slow in the first, started to pick up momentum in the second, the third. When you have a one-goal deficit against Canada, you have to find the back of the net, especially against a great goaltender. We knew it was a matter of time, just leaning on them slowly, but you can also run out of time against a great team. Fortunately, we have an amazing squad that was able to get the job done.”
The rest of regulation featured few chances as the two teams shepherded the game to the deciding 3-on-3 overtime period. Once there, the back-and-forth action was nonstop, and both Frankel and Desbiens were called upon to make big saves.
Keller’s golden goal eventually came after 4:07 of exhausting play, as the 29-year-old rearguard received a pass up the left boards from forward Taylor Heise. Keller then dragged the puck around Canadian defenseman Claire Thompson and squeezed a backhand shot over the right pad of Desbiens.
The goal was Keller’s third in seven games at this year’s Olympics. She finished with nine total points in the tournament.
“I’m lost for words,” Keller told NBC. “This is an incredible feeling. I love these girls so much. This group deserves it. Just the effort and the faith that we kept through this four-year journey is something very special.”
The 2026 Americans are only the third team to overcome a deficit in the final game to win women’s gold, joining the 2018 USA and 2014 Canada squads.
Both of those prior games were also between the two rival nations, with the 2018 game ending in a shootout and the 2014 game ending with a Marie-Philip Poulin overtime marker.
The Americans’ Caroline “KK” Harvey was named the MVP and best defenseman in the tournament while Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin was named best forward and Switzerland’s Andrea Braendli was named best goaltender.
The Olympic tournament’s All-Star Team included Hannah Bilka (USA), Marie-Philip Poulin (Canada), and Alina Muller (Switzerland) at forward; Caroline Harvey (USA) and Laila Edwards (USA) on defense; and Andrea Braendli (Switzerland) in goal.
