Milan (Italy) (AFP) – The United States won the men’s Olympic ice hockey gold for the first time in 46 years by beating Canada 2-1 on Sunday. Jack Hughes struck 1min 41sec into overtime to hand the US their first Olympic title since the 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice’ win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid. The goal, scored a few minutes after Hughes’ front teeth were knocked out, deprived Canada of a record 10th Olympic title and its first since the 2014 Sochi Games.
With US President Donald Trump ratcheting up the tensions with his North American neighbour over the past year, the game had an added edge — and Trump was quick to praise the new gold medallists. “Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!” he posted on Truth Social. To hammer home the point, the White House X account posted a picture of a bald eagle pouncing on a Canada goose.
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The tone for the final sports event of the Milan-Cortina Games was set early on when the Americans were booed as they warmed up at the Santagiulia Arena by a crowd that appeared to be two-thirds Canadian. But chants of “USA, USA” soon rang out and they got louder when Matt Boldy gave the Americans a 1-0 lead in the first period, evading the challenge of two Canadian defenders and scoring past goaltender Jordan Binnington. “I was just trying to find a way to get up the middle. Sometimes you get a good bounce and the puck follows you. It was a fortunate bounce for sure,” Boldy said.
Having stopped the first 24 shots he faced, USA goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was finally beaten in the second period by Cale Makar’s wrist shot that squeezed over his pad and into the net. The Americans came close to re-taking the lead at the end of the second period when Brock Faber’s slap shot deflected off both posts but somehow didn’t go in. Hughes took a high stick to the mouth from Canada’s Sam Bennett in the third period, leaving him bloodied and missing some teeth. But once the game went into the three-on-three overtime, Hughes applied the golden touch to send his teammates and the US supporters into raptures.
USA coach Mike Sullivan said Hellebuyck, who blocked a total of 41 Canadian shots, had been the difference between two teams packed with talent from the National Hockey League (NHL). “Connor was a hero tonight for our team, without a doubt,” said Sullivan. “Just a high stakes player in a high stakes environment. I think that’s when players build their legacy and Connor certainly did that tonight.”
“It’s crazy, I came into this game, I won the biggest in my career and really wasn’t that nervous,” Hellebuyck said. “The second I woke up this morning, I felt like I was doing everything right, I was stepping in the right spot and every step I took, it felt right and it kind of translated.”
– ‘Lots of personalities’ –
Sullivan said the US team “was built with personality in mind.” “You know, we were loaded with personality up and down our lineup. There are whisky drinkers and milk drinkers, and we got a lot of whisky drinkers on this team.” Canada coach Jon Cooper rued a missed opportunity. “Some days it’s not meant to be. And unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be today.”
The victorious American players skated around the rink holding up a jersey with the name Gaudreau and the number 13 on the back in memory of former NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed in August 2024 along with his brother Matthew by a drunk driver while cycling in New Jersey. Finland, the champions in Beijing four years ago, won the bronze medal on Saturday by thrashing Slovakia 6-1.
© 2024 AFP
