Matt Boldy of Team United States celebrates during the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Elsa / Getty Images)
By Jack Davis February 22, 2026 at 12:28pm
Forty-six years to the day from America’s “Miracle on Ice,” USA hockey brought home a Winter Olympics gold medal.
The 2-1 overtime victory of Canada on Sunday came after the American women’s hockey team also won a gold medal, according to USA Today. The men’s hockey gold was the first for America since the Feb. 22, 1980,win over the Soviet Union at the Lake Placid Winter Games.
The win came in overtime as Jack Hughes scored, sending the arena into an uproar.
JACK HUGHES DELIVERS AMERICA’S GOLDEN MOMENT IN OVERTIME. pic.twitter.com/4foFDOri53
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2026
U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 41 of 42 shots on goal.
“Unbelievable game, unreal game by our team,” Hughes said, according to NBC.
“Ballsy, gutsy win. That’s American Hockey right there. That’s a great Canadian team, but we’re USA. We’re so proud to be Americans,” he said.
PATRIOT JACK HUGHES GAVE HIS TEETH FOR THIS GOLD MEDAL pic.twitter.com/5itDkUDfW6
— Reasonable Man 🇺🇸 (@GoodAmericanMan) February 22, 2026
Although Hughes was gap-toothed from a late game hit, he was all smiles.
“Hellebuyck, he was our best player tonight, by mile,” Hughes said. “USA Hockey brotherhood means so much. Look at these guys. We’re such a team.”
“USA, Canada. That’s such a good game,” Hughes said. “They have so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted to go. We wanted to go through Canada and beat them. It couldn’t win either way tonight, but that’s number one for the Americans.”
CONNOR… HELLEBUYCK.
(via @NBCOlympics) pic.twitter.com/Im169PKAgt
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 22, 2026
Team USA remembered its fallen. The jersey worn by the late Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey was brought onto the ice. Gaudreau, was killed, along with his brother, Matthew, in a DWI case in 2024.
The game came with political reverberations, as noted by CNN.
“You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game,” former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau wrote last year after Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off over the U.S. in overtime.
https://t.co/kOiCXdVMao pic.twitter.com/ZIiychKPoo
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 22, 2026
On Sunday, a White House post to X showed a bald eagle pinning a Canada goose to the ice.
“Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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