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United States\u2019 Jack Hughes (86) scores during a men\u2019s ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Hassan Ammar \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been the greatest two weeks of my life,\u201d U.S. defenceman Charlie McAvoy said following his team\u2019s dramatic 2-1 overtime victory to reach the top of the podium. \u201cI can\u2019t believe the storybook ending here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fans from other nations might beg to differ on that \u201cstorybook ending,\u201d but a tournament that arrived with sky-high expectations managed not just to meet them, but exceed them \u2014 reminding the world what it\u2019s missed the past three Olympics.<\/p>\n
Memo to everyone involved: Do NOT make us wait that long again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a once in a lifetime experience, getting to compete here and compete for your country,\u201d said forward Sam Bennett, who has won two straight Stanley Cups with the Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo forever grateful for that, and just super disappointed that we couldn\u2019t get it done for our country,\u201d<\/p>\n
Teammate Brad Marchand called it the \u201cbest hockey team to ever be put together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnbelievable guys. Obviously, on the ice, but in the room, just such a great group to be around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Drew Doughty, whose name also adorns the Stanley Cup, added: \u201cWe bonded so well together, we had a lot of fun together. I\u2019m going to still be friends with these guys the rest of my life, that\u2019s never going to go anywhere. It would have been nice, you know, seeing them in 20 years with a gold medal to share.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the American side, there was plenty of talk about legacies and the lasting impact this victory could have on the next generation. This was the first men\u2019s Olympic gold for the U.S. since 1980 and only the third in the nation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t United States\u2019 Jack Hughes (86) celebrates after scoring during a men\u2019s ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Hassan Ammar \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure this is going to be a moment that younger kids are talking about, to see Jack (Hughes) score that OT winner, and they\u2019ll try to re-create, to try to envision themselves in that spot,\u201d said forward Brock Nelson, whose uncle Dave Christian, was a member of that \u201cMiracle On Ice\u201d team 46 years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully this keeps the sport the way it\u2019s been going the last 10, 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Christian was actually in the building on Sunday to cheer on his nephew.<\/p>\n \u201cI know what that 1980 (win) did and what that meant for generations that came after in USA Hockey,\u201d said forward Jack Eichel. \u201cWe wrote our own story here.\u201d<\/p>\n Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck recalled being a kid watching his hockey heroes on TV. He hopes Milan provides similar inspiration for future players.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t put it into words yet. This gold is a nation\u2019s gold. It\u2019s not just a team USA gold, it\u2019s a whole nation\u2019s gold,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Was the tournament perfect? Absolutely not.<\/p>\n Injury risk was a major concern, and we saw some stars sidelined. Swiss forward Kevin Fiala broke his leg, a major blow for the Los Angeles Kings\u2019 playoff hopes. Sidney Crosby, Mikko Rantanen, and Josh Morrissey also carry ailments back to their club teams.<\/p>\n Hockey is fast, physical, and sometimes violent and accidents happen. But every player who spoke said the risk is worth taking for the game.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Referees try to break up a fight between Canada\u2019s Sam Bennett (9), United States\u2019 Charlie McAvoy (25) and Canada\u2019s Tom Wilson (43) during the second period of the men\u2019s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n Still, some issues were glaring. The three-on-three format to settle the gold medal? Gimmicky, even if better than a shootout. And yes, we would have still said that had Canada won.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the teams know the rules going into these beforehand., You can\u2019t come up here and say we\u2019re the losing team, we lost in a three-on-three and that\u2019s not fair,\u201d said Cooper.<\/p>\n \u201cWe won a game three-on-three (Wednesday\u2019s quarterfinal against Czechia). Do the traditionalists want it a certain way? I\u2019m sure they do but there\u2019s a lot more than this that goes into it. We get the rules. Whether you like it or not you gotta abide by them. We got the short end of the stick.\u201d<\/p>\n Closed practices were another problem \u2014 Canada held three, exploiting IIHF rules despite NHL prohibitions. If the idea is to grow the game, hiding from spotlight is a funny way to go about it.<\/p>\n And the mixed-zone media setup, which is a product of the International Olympic Committee, can be fired straight into the sun.<\/p>\n Sunday provided a jarring example: American players draped in flags and gold medals, smiling as they did interviews while sad Canadians pass by to do the same, all crammed into a small space with roughly 200 reporters shouting questions. The NHL\u2019s open dressing-room and podium formats feel far superior.<\/p>\n The NHL also had reason to be frustrated: limited video access from the Olympics prevented them from fully showcasing the event during the three-week pause in their own season. The New Jersey Devils and the league itself can\u2019t even show Hughes\u2019 winning goal on any of their platforms.<\/p>\n Commissioner Gary Bettman has promised to address this next time \u2014 and rightly so.<\/p>\n But these are fixable issues. We can expect adjustments when the NHL returns to the Olympics in 2030 in the French Alps. Even better, fans can look forward to best-on-best competition happening every two years, with the World Cup of Hockey returning in 2028 on a four-year rotation.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The United States and Canada shake hands after Canada lost in overtime during the men\u2019s gold medal hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Darryl Dyck \/ The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t We now return you to your regularly scheduled NHL programming, which will take a little adjusting before the pace ramps up again down the stretch and into the playoffs.<\/p>\n One thing is certain: for hockey fans, the Milan Olympics were a thrilling reminder of what\u2019s possible when the world\u2019s best lace up their skates \u2014 and why we wouldn\u2019t want to miss it for anything.<\/p>\n \u201cI look at this game and I\u2019m so proud of what went on. I\u2019m proud of our country, proud of our players, proud of our team,\u201d said Cooper.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end you\u2019re gonna read in a book that in 2026 USA won the gold in Olympic hockey and Canada won the silver. I think in the big grand scheme the big winner of this tournament was ice hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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