MILAN — Talk about a closing ceremony.
The final medals of the Milan-Cortina Games were handed out Sunday and these Olympics truly saved the best for last, with the U.S. men’s hockey game grabbing the last gold with an epic 2-1 overtime win over Canada.
Of course it went to overtime. How else should a U.S.-Canada final end?
Jack Hughes, left alone on the left wing, provided the winning goal 1:41 into overtime, beating Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington cleanly and setting off a wild celebration that left the ice littered with U.S. gloves, sticks and helmets. The Canadian players watched from the bench, many with their heads in their gloved hands.
U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who threw his hands in the air when the gold medal was hung around his shoulder, was spectacular throughout the tournament, even collecting the second assist on the winning goal. The other goals came from Matt Boldy, who gave the U.S. a lead early in the first period, and Cale Makar, who evened things for Canada late in the second.
The medal was the 33rd of these Games for the U.S. and the 12th gold, the most by an American team in the Winter Olympics. Two of those gold medals came in hockey, with the U.S. women also beating Canada in overtime of their final, marking the first time the Americans have swept in Olympic hockey.
“We’re just so proud to be American and win. We’re so proud to win for our country,” Hughes said. “They probably outplayed us a little bit tonight. Our goalie stood on his head though.
“To win gold here at the Olympics, just an unbelievable moment.”
U.S. players celebrate immediately after beating Canada in overtime for the gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games on Sunday.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
As the national anthem played, the American players — some with their arms draped over each others, others wearing the American flag like a cape — sang along, some practically shouting the words.
“It’s probably going to go down as one of the greatest games ever played,” U.S. defenseman Jake Sanderson said. “To be a part of it, to have my family here, and come out on top for our country is unbelievable.”
In the dressing room, the team got a congratulatory phone call from President Trump.
“This is the Olympics. It’s the biggest stage in the world and you’re playing Canada,” U.S. captain Auston Matthews said. “We knew it was going to be a battle as a lot of momentum shifts. Every single guy competed and did their job.”
Brothers Jack, left, and Quinn Hughes celebrate after winning gold medals at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Sunday.
(Elsa / Getty Images)
The title was the Americans’ first in men’s hockey since 1980 and it came on the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” win over the Soviet Union, in what was essentially a semifinal in the Lake Placid Games.
The Canadian team the U.S. beat Sunday was no less mighty. It scored 27 times on its unbeaten run to the final, with Connor McDavid getting 13 points, a record for an Olympic tournament featuring NHL players. And with the NHL players returning to the Winter Games for the first time in 12 years, Canada may have had more elite-level marquee players than any team in Olympic history.
But it was the U.S. that drew first blood, scoring in the sixth minute on a brilliant individual effort from Boldy. The play started with Matthews digging the puck out along the boards in the U.S. end. He then fed Boldy, a Minnesota Wild forward, who flipped the puck ahead of him as he entered the Canadian zone.
Boldy had Makar and Devon Toews to beat, which he did by skating between them before backhanding the puck by Binnington for his second goal of the tournament.
Back in the Catman Cafe in Mansfield, Mass., where Boldy’s mom, Jen, works as a bartender, the crowd came to its feet and cheered. It was the third time in as many elimination games that Canada trailed entering the second period.
The turning point in regulation came in a three-minute span in the middle of the second period. First, U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped McDavid on a breakaway. Then less than a minute later, the U.S. took two penalties 28 seconds apart, giving Canada a five-on-three power play.
With the crowd chanting, “USA! USA!,” Hellebuyck, who stopped 41 shots in a phenomenal effort, came up big again and the Americans killed both penalties. The U.S. was 18 for 18 on the penalty kill in the tournament.
U.S. goaltender Connor Hellebuyck blocks a shot by Canada’s Macklin Celebrini during the third period Sunday.
(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)
“He was a hero tonight for our team. Without a doubt,” U.S. coach Mike Sulivan said of Hellbuyck.
Makar, however, wouldn’t be denied later in the period, sending a blistering wrister from the center of the right circle just over Hellebuyck’s arm 84 seconds before the intermission. The score stayed that way until Hughes, a New Jersey Devils’ forward, rifled a shot under Binnington’s pads for his third score of the tournament, ending both the game and the Games.
The game was arguably the most-anticipated event of the Milan-Cortina Games — in North America, if not in Italy. Hundreds of bars and restaurants in the U.S. and Canada were packed for early morning viewing parties. In Toronto, Scotiabank Arena, home to the Maple Leafs, opened its doors at 7 a.m. and sold $15 tickets to people to watch the game on TV. In Lake Placid, N.Y., the Olympic Center cafe opened to fans at 8 a.m. while in Milan, the 14,000 people packed into the Santa Giulia Arena were a sea of red Canadian jerseys and white American ones.
Six times the U.S. has finished second to Canada in an Olympic hockey tournament, the last in 2010 when Sidney Crosby’s goal in overtime gave Canada a record ninth gold medal. Crosby, Canada’s captain, did not dress for Sunday’s game after sustaining a lower-body injury earlier in the tournament.
United States players celebrate after defeating Canada for the gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Games on Sunday.
(Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
That wasn’t the only sign this game would be different for the Americans. As the team was wrapping up its final practice in Milan on Saturday, a spider dropped from the ceiling. Don’t kill it, a local volunteer warned the players. In Italy, the appearance of a spider is considered a sign of good fortune.
A little over 24 hours later, the spider was still alive and the U.S. hockey team left the Olympics with gold medals around their necks.
“A good way to end it,” U.S. defenseman Jaccob Slavin said.