{"id":492819,"date":"2026-02-22T22:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T22:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/492819\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T22:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T22:12:17","slug":"overtime-hockey-heartbreak-closes-milan-cortina-olympics-for-canada-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/492819\/","title":{"rendered":"Overtime hockey heartbreak closes Milan Cortina Olympics for Canada \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

MILAN \u2013 After a medal-filled second week, Canada\u2019s Olympic run in Milan Cortina ended with a devastating 2-1 overtime loss to the United States in the men\u2019s hockey gold-medal final on Sunday.<\/p>\n

New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes scored 1:41 into extra time, left alone in the slot during 3-on-3 play as Canada scrambled after surrendering an odd-man break seconds earlier.<\/p>\n

Matthew Boldy of the Minnesota Wild also tallied for the U.S. in the first period, while Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar scored an equalizer for Canada late in the second.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"United
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnited States’ Brady Tkachuk checks Canada’s Devon Toews (5) during the first period of the 4 Nations Face-Off championship hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo\/Charles Krupa)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really disappointing, especially with the group we had. The whole time, we believed in ourselves. We had lots of chances, I had lots of chances, I missed. You get put in those situations, you have to capitalize on your opportunities, and I didn\u2019t,\u201d said Canada forward Macklin Celebrini, of North Vancouver, B.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went through a lot. We\u2019re all going to remember this time, but unfortunately, it\u2019s going to be more motivational than celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gold is the United States\u2019 first in Olympic men\u2019s hockey since the 1980 Lake Placid Games.<\/p>\n

Canada played the final without captain Sidney Crosby, sidelined by a lower-body injury sustained when his right leg bent awkwardly in the quarterfinal win over Czechia.<\/p>\n

He also missed the 3-2 semifinal victory over Finland on Friday.<\/p>\n

Canada had previously beaten the United States for Olympic gold in 2002 and 2010, and defeated the Americans in overtime in last year\u2019s 4 Nations Face-Off final.<\/p>\n

Hockey silver served as Canada\u2019s final medal of the Milan Cortina Games.<\/p>\n

After sitting on eight medals and no gold at the halfway mark, Canada\u2019s Olympic team collected 13 in the second half \u2014 including five gold \u2014 to finish the Cortina Games with 21 medals and eighth overall on the medal table, behind Norway (41), the United States (33) and host Italy (30).<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnited States players celebrate their overtime win over Canada in the men’s gold medal hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, on Sunday, February 22, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Nathan Denette<\/p>\n

Canada finished outside the top five countries on the Olympic medal table for the first time since 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. The 21-medal total, short of the 26-medal target set after Beijing, comes as national sport organizations say core federal funding \u2014 about $266 million annually \u2014 has not increased since 2005, despite a request for a $144-million boost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were incredible medal moments,\u201d chief executive officer David Shoemaker said at the COC\u2019s closing news conference in Milan on Sunday. \u201cBut we\u2019re competitive. We look up at the medal table. We see the countries ahead of us. We aspire to do better, and we worry about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Games came to a close Sunday night at the Verona Olympic Arena, the ancient Roman amphitheatre serving as the backdrop for a ceremony that brought together athletes from more than 90 countries.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Olympic Committee said approximately 90 of Canada\u2019s 207 athletes in Milan Cortina marched in the closing ceremony, with speedskater Val\u00e9rie Maltais and short-track speedskater Steven Dubois carrying the Canadian flag into the stadium.<\/p>\n

Dubois, who won gold in the men\u2019s 500 metre and silver in the mixed relay, called the honour the highlight of his Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like, honestly, this might be the best day of my life. It\u2019s crazy. It might be the sum of everything that\u2019s happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo close it off, a very special Games, as flag-bearer, my goal coming here was to enjoy the moment, and there\u2019s probably no way I can do that more than by being a flag-bearer. It\u2019s going to be a dream for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Sign<\/p>\n

Also on the last day of the Games, Canada narrowly missed another podium in women\u2019s halfpipe, where Calgary\u2019s Amy Fraser placed fourth and China\u2019s Eileen Gu defended her Olympic title.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnited States players celebrate their overtime win over Canada in the men’s gold medal hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, on Sunday, February 22, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Nathan Denette<\/p>\n

Cassie Sharpe of Squamish, B.C., the 2014 Olympic champion in the event, qualified third but sustained a concussion in a crash and did not participate in the final.<\/p>\n

There was also Canadian content in the men\u2019s four-man bobsled finals, where Taylor Austin of Lethbridge, Alta., piloted the top Canadian team to a 14th-place finish.<\/p>\n

Jasmine Drolet of Rossland, B.C., was the top Canadian in the women\u2019s 50-kilometre classic style cross-country ski race, finishing 17th.<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN \u2013 After a medal-filled second week, Canada\u2019s Olympic run in Milan Cortina ended with a devastating 2-1…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-492819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}