Women's Olympic Ice Hockey
2026 Olympic
Hockey
Advertisement
live
Updated
Team USA has beaten Canada 2-1 in overtime in the gold medal game of the women's hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Megan Keller scored the winning goal 4:07 into the 3-on-3 overtime period.
Kristin O'Neill scored the opening goal for Canada on a short-handed breakaway in the first minute of the second period. The Canadians led until just over two minutes remained, when Hilary Knight dramatically forced overtime with a redirection in front of the net after the U.S. had pulled goalie Aerin Frankel.
This is the third time the U.S. women's hockey team has won the gold medal, all coming against Canada.
Share your reaction with us at live@theathletic.com.
P1 7:45 – USA 0, Canada
Team USA is struggling to break out at the moment. It's wave after wave of Canada attack.
P1 10:00 – USA 0, Canada
A cagey start to this game, understandably. Just four shots apiece for each team as we reach the halfway point of the first period.
P1 12:12 – USA 0, Canada
During a commercial break, the stadium MC is asking the crowd to cheer for each team, and it's clear this building has more Canada fans than USA ones, by not by much.
I especially enjoy the Canadian fans dressed as Mounties in sequin jackets.
P1 12:25 – USA 0, Canada
Frankel is unable to fully save an Ambrose shot from the point. The puck is sitting behind her near the goal line, tantalisingly so for Canada, but Team USA manages to scramble it away to safety before Canada can capitalize.
P1 14:27 – USA 0, Canada
Canada gets the first power play of the game after Team USA is called for too many players on the ice on the scoring chance, to be served by Abbey Murphy.
That was a good save by Frankel against Poulin. Even though she isn’t at 100 percent, she is still a true game-breaker. Poulin at 50 percent is still probably better than the average forward. And her importance was abundantly clear in Canada’s semifinal win over Switzerland; she was Canada’s most noticeable player in the game.
P1 14:30 – USA 0, Canada
The U.S. finds Murphy breaking down the right side. She fires a low shot on net but Desbiens makes the save.
Laura Stacey had Canada’s first shot on goal. I expect this to be a lower-event game compared to that 5-0 preliminary matchup. The tension is way too high for that.
P1 15:30 – USA 0, Canada
Poulin circles the faceoff circle and powers a shot on goal that Frankel turns aside, the U.S. clearing the rebound away to safety.
P1 15:46 – USA 0, Canada
When these teams met in the preliminary round, it took the U.S. just 3:45 to break through with the first goal, courtesy of Caroline Harvey. Canada has exceeded that length of time here.
P1 17:00 – USA 0, Canada
An open shot for Thompson in the slot but a U.S. defender quickly closes her down and blocks her effort.
We are underway and the vibes are impeccable. Two minutes in, and the United States has the lone shot on goal — one from Harvey, stopped by Desbiens.
P1 18:30 – USA 0, Canada
And now loud "USA" chants. The U.S. had the first shot on goal here, which Desbiens calmly turned away.
P1 19:30 – USA 0, Canada
Loud "Let's go Canada!" chants here as we begin. "USA" chants in response, but not as loud.
P1 20:00 – USA 0, Canada
We're underway in the gold medal game here in Milan! Sixty minutes of game time away from one of these teams becoming immortal. Let's go!
Team Canada will lean on their rock, Ann-Renee Desbiens who, unlike Frankel, was the starter when these teams last went head-to-head for gold at the 2022 Olympic Games. She stopped 38 of 40 shots in a 3-2 win.
Her outing against USA in the prelims, obviously, wasn’t as sparkling, but the team in front of her was the driving force behind Canada’s struggles. Still, it’s a good chance for her to rebound, since those five goals against brought her save percentage down to a 0.901.
Team USA hasn’t let a goal up in over 16 periods of action. Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips have been fantastic. Frankel, today's starter, has stopped 67 of 68 shots faced so far this tournament and leads the field with a 0.985 save percentage.
Below are the Team Canada lines in the gold medal game against USA:
Hockey News