United States wins 3rd Olympic gold
in women's hockey, beating Canada 2-1 on Megan Keller's OT goal
[February 20, 2026]
By JOHN WAWROW
MILAN (AP) — A last Olympic goal for Hilary Knight, a gold
medal-winning overtime one for Megan Keller, and the Americans
cemented their reputation as one of the most dominant women’s hockey
teams to take the ice.
After romping through their first six outings at the Milan Cortina
Games, the U.S. overcame the final test by rallying to beat Canada
and earn its third gold medal with a 2-1 win Thursday night.
“This team’s got so much resolve. Never quit. Always ready to fight
and go to battle,” Knight said. “It’s just a testament to the
preparation of our group and the love that we have in that room, and
the way we found a way to get the job done at the end of the night.”
Knight, appearing in her fifth and final Olympics, forced overtime
by tipping in Laila Edwards’ shot with 2:04 left in regulation — and
with goalie Aerin Frankel pulled for an extra attacker. The goal was
her 15th and 33rd point of her Olympic career, setting U.S. records
for both categories.
The sides were playing 3-on-3 to finish a game where fans alternated
chants of “USA! and “Ca-na-da!” Keller secured the win on a
backhander 4:07 into overtime, breaking up the left wing and pushing
past Claire Thompson, driving to the net and beating Ann-Renee
Desbiens over her right pad to spark an emotional and teary-eyed
celebration.
“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.”
Frankel stopped 30 shots.
Kristin O’Neill scored a short-handed goal for Canada and Desbiens
finished with 31 saves.
Canada pushed the U.S. to the brink just nine days after it was
beaten 5-0 by the Americans in the preliminary round.
O’Neill’s goal 54 seconds into the second period ended the
Americans’ shutout streak of 5 hours, 52 minutes and 17 seconds,
dating to the second period of a 5-1 opening win over Czechia. The
U.S. had not trailed in the tournament.
“We went through ups and downs,” Canadian captain Marie-Philip
Poulin said. “Just letting them know this does not define them. I’m
proud of them. They showed up. Sadly lost in overtime but keep their
head high because it’s truly an honor to be on their side.”
A fierce rivalry that began with the U.S. beating Canada to win gold
at the 1998 Nagano Games — the first to feature women’s hockey —
continued living up to its billing.
The U.S. also won gold in 2018 in Pyeongchang, while Canada has won
the other five gold medals, and settled for its third silver.
This year’s final marked the seventh of 12 Olympic meetings between
the two nations to be decided by one goal and the third to go past
regulation. And counting world championship play, the U.S. evened
its record to 25-25 against Canada.
“We got this,” Edwards said, referring to the message delivered
during intermission before overtime.
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United States' Megan Keller (5) scores past Canada's Ann-Renee
Desbiens (35) during a women's ice hockey gold medal game between
the United States and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan,
Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
And they did.
A team featuring a mix of experience and talented and speedy youth
delivered on the vision coach John Wroblewski instilled upon taking
over four years ago, months after the U.S. lost the gold-medal game
to Canada in Beijing.
“In my opinion, I think this is the best hockey team women’s hockey
has ever seen,” Kelly Pannek said, noting how the Americans overcame
adversity against their fiercest rival.
“I think that’s a part of being a champion, right?” Pannek said. “We
knew they were going to respond in the way that they do. And they
gave us everything.”
Although the final couldn’t have been closer, the Americans were
dominant in Milan, going 7-0 and outscoring their opponents by a
combined 33-2.
For then defending Olympic champion Canadians, this was considered a
last hurrah for their aging core led by Poulin, aka “Captain Clutch”
The 34-year-old Poulin, who missed two games with a right knee
injury, declined to discuss her Olympic future.
Meantime, many of her teammates were devastated by the result.
“It’s hard to process right now,” 37-year-old defender Jocelyne
Larocque said. “We always had the belief that we could win. I love
this group. I love this team. I’m proud of everyone.”
Canada overcame questions about its age and recent sluggish
performances by outshooting the U.S. 8-6 in the first period and
then taking the lead with O’Neill converting Laura Stacey’s pass on
a 2-on-1 break. The Canadians kept pressing their attack and had
several chances in overtime.
A minute before Keller’s goal, Sarah Fillier moved up the right wing
only to have her shot stopped by Frankel, with the puck landing in
the crease.
“It’s overtime. First goal wins. You’ve got to bury it when you have
the chance,” Filler said. “It’s tough. You want to win a gold medal
with that group. It’s a special group, a lot of veterans.”
The Americans extended their winning streak against Canada to eight.
It began with two wins at the world championships in April,
including the gold medal game. The U.S. then swept a four-game
exhibition series by a combined margin of 26-7.
Earlier, Alina Muller scored 9:09 into overtime for her second
bronze-medal clinching goal in Switzerland's 2-1 win over Sweden
2-1. Muller also scored Switzerland's decisive goal in a 4-3 win
over Sweden in 2014.
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