Team USA women’s and men’s hockey teams both clinched Olympic gold in their final games against Canada with 2-1 scores going into overtime. The two teams went undefeated, and the women’s team went on a five-game consecutive shutout streak.
The first period of the women’s game ended with zero points scored, four penalty minutes for Team USA and two penalty minutes for Team Canada.
During the second period, Team Canada’s Laura Stacey scored with an assist from Renata Fast during the 20th minute. Team USA’s Hilary Knight scored during the third period with assists from Megan Keller and Laila Edwards in the 57th minute of the game.
The final goal of the game was scored by Keller with an assist from Taylor Heise in overtime and the 64th minute of the game, clinching the gold for Team USA.
Team USA and Team Canada had nearly equal shots on the goal, with 33 and 31 shots, respectively. The USA had six penalty minutes and Canada had two, and neither team scored on the power play, according to the Olympics website.
In the men’s gold medal game against Canada, the USA scored the first goal in the first period in the sixth minute.
Matt Boldy scored with assists from Auston Matthews and Quinn Hughes, and the USA maintained their lead until part way through the second period, when Cale Makar scored for Team Canada, with an assist from Devon Toews at the 38th minute of the game.
There were no goals in the third period, but there was a high-sticking penalty by Sam Bennett that led to Jack Hughes’ front tooth breaking in half on the ice.
Overtime ended with a goal by USA’s Hughes,’ assisted by Connor Hellebuyck and Zach Werenski, ending the game and securing gold.
Throughout the game, Canada had 42 shots on the goal compared to Team USA’s 28. Both teams had a total of six penalty minutes but Team USA had five minutes and 11 seconds of time on the power play compared to Canada’s three minutes and 39 seconds, though neither team scored on a power play, according to the Olympics website.
Caroline Harvey won MVP and Best Defender for the women’s Olympic tournament and Canadian Connor McDavid won MVP and Best Forward for the men’s.
Team USA men’s Hellebuyck won Best Goalkeeper and Quinn won Best Defender, according to USA Today. Defender Edwards and forward Hannah Bilka appeared on the “Media All-Star Team,” according to NBC. The women’s team had the longest shutout streak in women’s Olympic history, with a shutout lasting 352 minutes with their consecutive 5-0 wins over Finland, Switzerland, Canada and Sweden, and a 6-0 win over Italy, according to The Olympics website.
This is also the first time a Black woman has won a gold medal with Team USA hockey.
It is the first time Team USA men’s hockey has brought home the gold since 1980, during the “Miracle on Ice,” and the first time NHL players have been allowed to take part in the Olympics since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
During the men’s gold medal team photo, the team welcomed a memorial jersey and the children of John Michael Gaudreau, an NHL player who was killed in a car accident in August 2024.
Gaudreau was seen as a shoo-in for the 2026 Olympic team before the fatal accident and played with Matthew Tkachuk on the Calgary Flames for six seasons before they both moved to other teams, according to The Athletic.
There is still more USA hockey to come with the Paralympics starting March 4 and Paralympic Hockey beginning March 7, according to the Olympics website.
