Women's Olympic Ice Hockey
2026 Olympic
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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.
Surprisingly, a few tickets to today's gold medal game are still on sale. They're the two most expensive ticket categories, coming in at €370 and €480 apiece.
Hospitality tickets are also still available. Those start at a whopping $1,771.41 each, and include lounge access with a dinner buffet. It's perhaps telling that the general tickets are listed in euros, and the hospitality tickets are in dollars.
Since women’s hockey was introduced at the Olympic Games in 1998, Canada and the U.S. have played in the preliminary round five times, including last week's meeting.
The loser of the round-robin game has gone on to win the gold medal just once. That was in Pyeongchang 2018, when the U.S. lost to Canada 2-1 in the round robin but won the final 3-2 in a shootout.
That history doesn't bode well for Canada today.
Less than 90 minutes before puck drop for the gold medal game, fans are eagerly awaiting to enter Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. I spot a Connor McDavid Canada jersey and a Montreal Canadiens Lane Hutson jersey.
I also spoke with a mom and her two daughters who are from Chicago. They weren't going to miss the chance to see the Americans clinch the gold medal in women’s hockey against their arch rival.
Canadians are getting excited for today’s gold medal game between Canada and USA.
In fact, students in Ontario, one of Canada’s provinces, can watch the game during school hours. Here is a statement from Ontario premier Doug Ford:
💬: “To help everyone get in the spirit of the games, I’ve directed the Minister of Education to make sure all Ontario students are able to watch the remaining Team Canada hockey games that take place during school hours, starting with tomorrow’s game.”
Such a Canadian initiative.
Walking out of the metro to the shuttle en route to Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, I see a Canadian fan wearing a Marie-Philip Poulin jersey.
Definitely one of the best jersey purchases you can make given “Captain Clutch’s” prolific play at the Olympics.
Today is a massive day at the Olympics, particularly for women’s sports.
At 1 p.m. ET, the women’s free skate program begins, the finale of the figure skating competition. This is one of the banner events of the Winter Olympics, with skaters becoming sporting legends should they capture the Olympic title.
Then at 1:10 p.m. ET, Canada and USA, reuniting their rivalry for women’s hockey gold.
Doesn’t get much better than that, sports fans.
Absolutely wild that it’s been 12 years since Switzerland medaled here… and the last medal-clinching goal was scored by a 15-year-old Alina Müller. This is her 29th Olympic point, which ranks seventh all-time. She’s officially 10 points back of Marie-Philip Poulin’s 39 (second all time) at 27 years old. That’s also her 16th career Olympic goal, which is fourth all-time behind Poulin, Hayley Wickenheiser, and Meghan Agosta.
Wow. Alina Müller has done it again — another bronze medal for Switzerland won on her stick.
Switzerland has done it!
Despite being outshot pretty heavily, the Swiss team has won bronze, beating Sweden 2-1 in overtime. How fitting is it that Alina Muller scores the game-winner?! She's been consistent all tournament long and just secured bronze for her nation with a sharp finish off a perfect pass from Ivana Wey.
The Swedish players were devastated on their bench afterwards.
There is a reason Marie-Philip Poulin is called “Captain Clutch!” She raises her game in the big moments, particularly in gold medal games.
This will be Poulin’s fifth gold medal game. In the previous four, she has scored at least one goal.
Extraordinary stuff.
Canada has an experience-heavy group competing for gold in women’s hockey. But there are some making their Olympic debut who will play for their first gold medal today.
Below is the list of Olympic first-timers on this roster:
Team USA is making its fifth consecutive appearance in the gold-medal game.
The U.S. women’s hockey team has two Olympic gold medals. Win today, and America will get a third and its first since Pyeongchang in 2018.
Team USA has outscored opponents 31-1 in this tournament. Complete domination.
The lone goal was scored by Barbora Jurickova of Czech Republic, on a breakaway as soon as she emerged from the penalty box, all the way back on Feb. 5.
Team USA's shutout streak now stands at 331:23, more than 16 full periods of hockey, entering tonight.
The only goal it has conceded in this tournament came all the way back on Feb. 5, before the Opening Ceremony!
No. 1 goalkeeper Aerin Frankel is currently riding a three-game shutout streak, the longest in women's Olympic hockey history.
Aside from the humiliation against Team USA, Canada rolled through the group stage, outscoring its other three opponents 14-1. The Canadians deftly navigated an opening-game postponement due to a norovirus outbreak on Team Finland and survived an injury scare to superstar captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who missed only one full game (against the U.S.) after suffering a lower-body injury against Czech Republic.
Canada then throttled Germany 5-1 in the quarterfinals before a much tighter win over Switzerland, holding off a late Swiss comeback as two goals from Poulin were enough for a 2-1 victory to clinch a spot in the gold-medal game.
Team USA earned the top seed in the quarterfinals after winning all four of its preliminary games in dominant fashion, outscoring its opponents 20-1. Then the U.S. added two more shutout wins, routing Italy in the quarterfinals and Sweden in the semifinals.
The win over Canada was that nation's biggest defeat ever at the Olympics in women's hockey — and now Canada can avenge it.
Is the U.S.-Canada women's hockey rivalry the best in sports?
Our women's hockey writer, Hailey Salvian, makes the case for it as she reports from Milan.
Hockey is a sport where fighting is second nature and bitterness is considered a virtue. This history of hockey is littered with storied rivalries and bad blood that lasts for decades, even beyond playing days.
Don't think for a second that all this does not apply to the women's game just as much as the men, Hailey Salvian writes — with the 28-year history of U.S.-Canada Olympic women's hockey providing one of the most bitter rivalries the entire sport, or any sport, has ever seen.
GO FURTHER
The nastiest rivalry in hockey? Canada vs. USA women’s hockey has drama, line brawls, hatred
The Canada captain, widely considered the greatest player in women's hockey history, missed the first USA-Canada matchup with a lower-body injury. Marie-Philip Poulin returned in the quarterfinals, however, and then turned in another legendary performance in the semifinals. Poulin's two goals were all Canada could muster in a 2-1 nailbiter against Switzerland on Monday to advance to today's gold-medal game.
The first of those gave Poulin 19 Olympic goals in her career, breaking the record for most all-time. She now has 20 and is looking to extend that record tonight against her country's fiercest rival.
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