US women’s hockey rally to win Olympic gold in OT thriller over Canada

MILAN — The U.S. women’s national hockey team is golden once again. 

Team USA has appeared in all but one gold medal match since women’s hockey made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Nagano Games — each time facing off against the Canadians — but the Americans have only walked away with two gold medals. Make that three.

Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 19 to capture gold, marking the Americans’ first Olympic gold medal since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, which they won in a shootout.

This squad, which Hilary Knight dubbed ‘the best U.S. hockey team I’ve ever been a part of,’ went undefeated on its run to the 20026 gold medal, matching the 1998 U.S. Olympic champions.

The Americans trailed much of the contest, before Hilary Knight scored an equalizer with less than three minutes remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime. Megan Keller’s sudden-death goal in overtime clinched the win.

‘When Meg (Keller) pulled her move, I knew we had it immediately,’ said Knight.

The Americans shut out the Canadians 5-0 in the preliminary round on Feb. 10, but Thursday’s gold-medal match was a nail biter that seemed destined to end in a Canadian celebration until Knight’s heroics.

‘The greatest rivalry in all sport for that reason, every game is tight,’ said Canadian defender Renata Fast, who assisted on Canada’s lone goal. ‘We knew that coming in every single battle, every single play is so important because the game is that close against this matchup. So this is the exact game we expected today, and obviously we just didn’t come out the way we wanted to.’

Canada’s Laura Stacey added, ‘We were two minutes and 20 something seconds away from being gold medalists, but sports and hockey is not easy, and I think it’s heartbreaking.’

The gold-medal victory caps off Knight’s prolific Olympic career with her second gold and fifth overall medal. Knight now holds the U.S. Olympic hockey record for the most overall medals and gold medals won. She also set the all-time points and goals record. 

Kendall Coyne Schofield called Knight’s game-tying goal ‘poetic.’

USA TODAY Sports is in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics and provided live coverage of the gold medal match. Scroll below for all the highlights:

Hilary Knight more nervous about proposal than game

The U.S. women’s national hockey team captured gold over Canada in a dramatic overtime victory, but that wasn’t the most nerve-wracking part of Hilary Knight’s week.

‘I was more nervous for the proposal than I was for the gold medal game,’ Knight said after the gold-medal win.

The five-time Olympian proposed to U.S. speed skater Brittany Bowe one day before the U.S. faced Canada in the women’s hockey final. Knight said her plan to propose was making her so anxious that she ultimately decided to pull the trigger because her “legs felt like Jello” throughout the tournament.

‘Call me crazy, but doing it before a gold medal game, it just seemed fitting for us,” said Knight, who scored a U.S. record-setting goal that forced overtime in the USA’s win.

USA’s Megan Keller ‘lost for words’ after overtime goal

Megan Keller threw her arms in the air and threw her equipment on the ice as teammates mobbed her.

She had just scored a golden goal. Keller took a pass from Taylor Heise in overtime, dangled around defender Claire Thompson and fired a shot that slipped through the pads of Ann-Renee Desbiens to give USA a 2-1 victory over Canada.

‘I’m lost for words,’ Keller said. ‘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. We worked so hard for the past four years. We love each other in that locker room. Just a really special group and just couldn’t be happier for us.’

Team USA receives their Olympic women’s hockey gold medals

At a medal ceremony that also featured silver medalists Canada and bronze medalists Switzerland, Team USA received their gold medas on the ice at the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan.

Watch: Megan Keller’s game-winning overtime goal

Megan Keller broke several ankles of Canada’s defense for a chip shot into the back of the net just over four minutes into overtime inside the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Thursday, Feb. 19 to give the United States the 2-1 gold medal win at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Olympic overtime rules

If the teams are tied after 60 minutes in the gold-medal game, teams play 20-minute 3-on-3 overtime periods, separated by 15-minute intermissions, until someone scores. Teams don’t change sides for the first overtime but do for subsequent overtimes.

USA vs Canada headed to overtime

USA goal: Hilary Knight sets record

Five-time Olympian Hilary Knight kept America’s gold-medal dreams alive with a goal at the 57:56 mark to tie it up, 1-1. With the goal, Knight becomes the U.S. all-time Olympic goals (15) and points leader (33). Laila Edwards and Megan Keller were credited with assists.

Canada power play

Team USA’s Britta Curl-Salemme was called for boarding after Canada’s Erin Ambrose went down hard. Ambrose immediately went back to the locker room after being assisted off the ice. The call was downgraded to a minor penalty after review.

End of 2nd period: Canada 1, USA 0

Team USA is in uncharted territory. The Canadians have a 1-0 lead after Kristin O’Neill scored a shorthanded goal. It marks the first time USA has trailed during the 2026 Winter Olympics. The last time an opponent scored against the Americans was 8:37 into the second period of their Olympic opener vs. Czechia on Feb. 5. Canada has a slight edge with 21 shots on goal, compared to 20 for the U.S.

Brittany Bowe in the building

Sixteen thousand fans packed into the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena Thursday, Feb. 19 to witness the women’s hockey gold-medal game between longtime rivals USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The crowd included U.S. hockey star Hilary Knight’s new fiancée — U.S. speed-skater Brittany Bowe.

Bowe was spotted in a Team USA jersey on the TV broadcast Thursday, one day after Knight got down on one knee and proposed to her following a morning coffee run. The couple announced their engagement on Instagram on Feb. 18. It marked a full circle moment for Knight and Bowe, who first met at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Bowe is set to compete in the women’s speed skating 1500-meter race Friday, Feb. 20.

Canada goal: Kristin O’Neill scores

Kristin O’Neill scored her third goal of the 2026 Olympics to give the Canadians a 1-0 lead over Team USA. The shorthanded goal was assisted by Laura Stacey and Renata Fast at the 20:54 mark. It marks the first time USA has trailed in the entire tournament.

End of 1st period: USA 0, Canada 0

We’re all tied after one period.Team USA entered Thursday’s gold-medal match with 13 total penalties through six games, the second fewest among the field of 10 teams. The Americans are already up to two penalties in the first period, including a call for too many players on the ice that possibly signals some nerves and early game jitters among the 12 first-time Olympians. The U.S. women have been on defense a majority of the first period as a result and were outshot 8-6 by Canada, but Team USA will enter the second period on a power play.

Aerin Frankel has been solid in front of the net. She made Olympic history as the first goalkeeper to record three shutouts following a 5-0 semifinal win over Sweden.

USA power play

Now the Americans have the advantage. Canada’s Ella Shelton was called for hooking, setting up USA’s first power play of the night.

Canada power play

The U.S. women racked up another penalty, this time a tripping call on Joy Dunne. Despite being at a disadvantage, USA’s Hayley Scamurra broke off toward the Canadian goal and nearly got a shot on goal. The Americans killed off the power play once again.

Canada power play

Team USA picked up the first penalty of the night for too many players on the ice, giving the Canadians a power play. Abbey Murphy served the penalty. After the U.S. women killed off the power play, chants of ‘U-S-A!’ rang out. Game remains scoreless in the first period.

Game underway

USA’s Aerin Frankel vs. Canada’s Ann-Renee Desbiens in net.

Two veterans meet in gold-medal match

Five-time Olympian Hilary Knight said she’s looking forward to facing off against fellow veteran Marie-Philip Poulin at the Games one more time after previously announcing her retirement from Olympic competition.

‘You have two great players duelling it out on the world stage. One is from Canada and one is from America,’ said Knight, who recently proposed to girlfriend, U.S. speed skater Brittany Bowe. Poulin added, ‘I have played against (Knight) my whole career. It is always a battle. Both of us are hungry. We want it again.’

Team USA on win streak

Entering Thursday, the U.S. women have won seven consecutive games against Canada, dating back to the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, where the Americans won 4-3 in overtime. Team USA swept Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series for the first time in tournament history and shut out Canada 5-0 during the preliminary round, marking the first time the Canadian women haven’t got on the score sheet in Olympic history.

What time is USA women’s hockey vs. Canada today?

• Date: Thursday, Feb. 19
• Time: 1:10 p.m. ET (7:10 p.m. local)
• Location: Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)

Puck drop between the U.S. women’s hockey team and Canada is set for 1:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 19 from Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan.

Stream the 2026 Winter Olympics on Peacock

Where to watch USA women’s hockey vs Canada gold-medal game

• TV channel: USA Network
• Streaming options: NBCOlympics.com | NBC Olympic App | Peacock

USA Network will broadcast Thursday’s gold-medal game between U.S. women’s and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Is there a live stream of the Olympic women’s gold medal game?

Streaming options for the game include NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Olympic App (with a cable TV or satellite login). You can also stream the game on Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service.

Hilary Knight stats

The U.S. hockey captain and five-time Olympian is sitting on the doorstep of breaking two records. Most points by an American at the Olympics and most goals by an American at the Olympics. She is tied with Jenny Potter for most points (32), and in a three-way tie with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King for most goals (14).

Who won the Olympic women’s hockey bronze medal?

U.S. women’s hockey roster for 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

Here is the full U.S. women’s hockey roster for the Milano Cortina Olympics:

• Goaltenders: Ava McNaughton; Aerin Frankel; Gwyneth Philips.
• Defenders: Lee Stecklein; Cayla Barnes; Caroline Harvey; Megan Keller; Rory Guilday; Haley Winn; Laila Edwards.
• Forwards: Kirsten Simms; Kelly Pannek; Grace Zumwinkle; Hayley Scamurra; Britta Curl-Salemme; Hilary Knight; Tessa Janecke; Hannah Bilka; Joy Dunne; Alex Carpenter; Kendall Coyne Schofield; Taylor Heise; Abbey Murphy.

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.

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