USA wins women’s hockey gold medal over Canada in OT, NH native named MVP

Diamond and gold for Hilary Knight.

The legendary women’s hockey player and former Wisconsin Badger, competing in her fifth and final winter Olympics, enjoyed a storybook 48 hours in Italy when her goal in the final moments tied the gold-medal match Thursday, Feb. 19, and allowed the Americans to defeat Canada in overtime, 2-1. It’s the country’s third Olympic gold medal in the sport.

In the process, Knight became the all-time American Olympic leader in goals (15) and points (33).

When Megan Keller took a perfect pass from Taylor Heise, maneuvered around a defender and scored the winner less than 5 minutes into the 3-on-3 overtime format, the Americans had completed a remarkable comeback.

It all happened less than a day after Knight and U.S. speedskater Brittany Bowe announced their engagement on Instagram; the two met in 2018 at the Olympics in Pyeongchang.

With the United States frantically trying to tie the game and an extra skater on the ice at Milan Santagiulia IHO Arena, Knight deflected in a shot from current Badgers star Laila Edwards that tied the game at 1-1 with 2 minutes left in regulation.

In overtime, Badgers star Daryl Watts, one of five Canadian players who played at UW, had what looked like a clear shot to win the game for her country, but she lost control of the puck. Knight herself had a crisp shot on net that was cleanly gloved by Canada goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens, herself a UW alumna who happened to break the NCAA record for career shutouts during her tenure with the Badgers.

Then came Keller’s goal and a wild gold-medal celebration.

“I’m just happy to have a gold medal,” Knight said to NBC after the game. “Oh my gosh, this feels amazing …

“We came out a little slow in the first. Started to pick up momentum in the second and the third. When you have a one-goal deficit against Canada, a great team, you have to find the back of the net, especially against a great goaltender. So we knew it was a matter of time just leaning on them slowly, slowly. But you can also run out of time against a great team. So, fortunate that we have an amazing squad to get the job done.”

The battle of two titans gets an appropriate finish

If you didn’t consider overtime an option, you haven’t been paying attention.

USA and Canada went to overtime in the gold-medal games in 2014, 2018 and now 2026. The World Championship finals between the two powerhouse countries went to OT in 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2024. Each of the last four Olympic cycles have been decided between the two countries by one goal, and three in overtime.

Since women’s hockey was introduced to the Olympic program in 1998, the two countries have met for the gold in seven of the eight Olympics, with Canada winning four of those contests and taking five golds overall. The Americans now have golds in 1998, 2018 and 2026. No other nation has won the Olympic title in the sport.

Though the Americans headed into the battle with a 31-1 scoring advantage in six games of Olympic play, including a 5-0 win over Canada in the preliminaries, it was hard to expect a walk-over.

Wisconsin Badgers all over the ice

Both teams were littered with University of Wisconsin talent, including four current Badgers players on Team USA.

USA’s roster featured current Badgers Edwards, Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Simms and backup goalie Ava McNaughton, as well as alumni Knight and Britta Curl-Salemme. USA head coach John Wroblewski hails from Neenah, Wisconsin. The current players will be back in time for the No. 1-ranked UW hockey team’s postseason run as they pursue a repeat NCAA championship.

Knight, 36, has competed in more Olympics than any hockey player in U.S. history. The native of Idaho won two national titles at Wisconsin and remains the UW career scoring leader with 143 goals (second in points at 262). She’s been a Team USA captain since 2023.

Canada’s roster featured ex-UW players Desbiens, Watts, Emily Clark, Blayre Turnbull and Sarah Nurse; all but Watts participated with the 2022 team that won gold in Beijing.

The teams’ Feb. 10 clash was a blowout, with USA scoring two goals in the first and two more in the second en route to a 5-0 blowout. But both teams had their spots in the knockout round already locked up, making the clash little more than a tuneup.

Canada scores first with short-handed strike

Onlookers already knew the gold-medal game would be different than anything the Americans had seen in these Olympics following a scoreless first period, but they really knew less than a minute into the second, when Kristin O’Neill cashed in a short-handed goal to give the Canadians a 1-0 lead.

Laura Stacey led a breakout for Canada, which went into the first intermission knowing it would start the second down a player, thanks to a hooking penalty on Ella Shelton with 15 seconds to go before the break.

But no matter. Stacey’s feed was perfect to O’Neill, who deked USA goalie Aerin Frankel and shoveled the puck into the net before her momentum carried her into the boards beyond the net.

Laila Edwards, Hilary Knight team on tying goal for USA

Throughout the game, Desbiens was outstanding, shutting down numerous USA scoring threats.

But as time ticked down in the third period and a sense of desperation growing, USA pulled Frankel with about 2½ minutes left, and it paid off.

With a player advantage, Edwards shot from just inside the blue line at the center of the ice and Knight tipped in Edwards’ shot past a screened Desbiens with 2:04 left, setting up the overtime.

Caroline Harvey of Badgers named Olympics MVP

Harvey, who is a native of Salem, New Hampshire, finished with two goals and seven assists in USA’s seven games, was named the tournament’s MVP and best defender and was named to the all-star team, all voted by the media.

Edwards was the other defender on the all-star team. USA forward Hannah Bilka also was named to the team, along with Canada forward Marie-Philip Poulin, Switzerland forward Alina Muller and Switzerland goaltender Andrea Brändli. Poulin was named the best forward and Brändli the best goaltender.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Reporting by JR Radcliffe.