Team USA has captured their third-ever Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey, and they did so on the 46th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid.
Jack Hughes delivered the Golden Goal for the Americans just 1:41 into the 3-on-3 overtime period. The gold medal is the first for the Americans since NHL players were permitted to compete in the Olympics, with their prior wins coming in 1960 and 1980. The Americans had never previously beaten Canada in a men’s hockey Olympic final.
Matt Boldy opened the game’s scoring just six minutes into the first period, juggling the puck to split the Canadian defense pair of Devon Toews and Cale Makar and beating Jordan Binnington with a slick breakaway move. Auston Matthews and Quinn Hughes picked up the assists.
The goal was Boldy’s second of the tournament in six games. The Minnesota Wild star winger has been playing on a line with Matthews and Jake Guentzel throughout the Olympics.
After Canada failed to convert on an extended 5-on-3 power-play opportunity, they got an even-strength goal from defenseman Cale Makar to tie the game. Makar walked in on Connor Hellebuyck down the right side of the ice and wired a shot just over his right pad and into the far side of the net.
Makar’s goal came 18:16 into the second period and was the final goal in regulation.
The third period featured plenty of late drama, with Sam Bennett taking a double minor penalty for high-sticking and then Jack Hughes ending that power play early with a high stick of his own on Bo Horvat. Neither team could find a winning goal on those man advantages, which set the stage for Hughes in overtime.
Hughes, who lost multiple teeth earlier in the contest via Bennett’s stick, made a one-on-one defensive strip of Connor McDavid in the USA zone before poking the puck around Makar and heading up ice with Zach Werenski and Dylan Larkin. Werenski then sealed off Nathan Mackinnon and fed a wide-open Hughes, who beat Binnington to the far side of his net.
The Team USA bench exploded into celebration with players sending their gloves, sticks, and helmets flying into the air at the closing event at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
“This is all about our country right now,” Hughes told NBC’s Kathryn Tappen. “I love the USA. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong, and we had so much support from ex-players. I’m so proud to be American today.”
The goal was Hughes’s fourth in six games at the tournament and his seventh point. His brother, Quinn, also played overtime hero for the team in the quarterfinals, taking down Sweden.
“I can’t even believe this,” Hughes continued. “It’s such an unbelievable game, USA-Canada, that’s such a good game. They have so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted it to go. We wanted to go through Canada and beat them. It could have went either way tonight, but that’s an unbelievable win for the Americans.”
While Hughes gets the glory, Team USA’s MVP was unarguably their starting netminder, Hellebuyck. The Winnipeg Jets star made 41 saves in the win, including breakaway stops on both McDavid and Macklin Celebrini.
Hellebuyck ends the tournament with an incredible 5-0 record, a 1.18 goals-against average, and a .956 save percentage. His 40 saves in regulation were the most in a gold-medal game involving NHL players.
With the win, Team USA has claimed both the men’s and women’s hockey gold medals at the same Olympics for the first time. The Canadian men have now not won gold at an Olympics since beating Sweden at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
