The wait is over! For the first time in 46 years, the United States Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team has won gold. The 2026 Olympics took place in Milan-Cortina and wrapped up with the final event of the weekend: the men’s hockey gold medal game.
Team USA brought a Long Beach, NY native with them to Milan. Charlie McAvoy, a defenseman for the Boston Bruins, was chosen to bolster the blueline for the red, white, and blue. Fun fact: He is the son-in-law of U.S. head coach Mike Sullivan. The McAvoy family celebrated the defenseman in style, with his mom, Jennifer, having a USA pep rally at Kramer Lane Elementary in Bethpage, where she teaches second grade.
Aside from McAvoy, Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller, and Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers and Bo Horvat, Ondrej Palat of the New York Islanders, all with ties to NY NHL teams, were selected to the United States, Sweden, Canada, and Czechia rosters, respectively. Mike Sullivan, David Quinn, and Chris Drury, all with NYR ties, were members of the U.S. staff.
The U.S. roster, like a few other nations, is loaded with NHL stars. On paper? Insane. On the ice? Different story. The United States has always had NHL superstars when they were allowed to compete for their country. But they always had trouble seeing the product translate into a medal. The U.S. has not medaled in the men’s tournament since 2010, when they earned silver due to Sidney Crosby’s “Golden Goal”. They haven’t won gold since the Miracle on Ice team did it in 1980. Before that? 1960.
Let’s check out the stats for Team USA. Through six games, the U.S. outscored its opponents 26-9. The team relied on Connor Hellebuyck as their starter, and he stood up to the task. The boys needed overtime twice in the tournament, both games ending in 2-1 wins for the United States.
The long-awaited gold medal matchup had arrived bright and early Sunday morning. All of North America was up early to see the boys play for gold versus Canada. The time? 8AM. Brutal, but that’s how the scheduling worked out with the closing ceremonies concluding later that day. After people did their typical winter storm shopping, they were ready to hit the couch or the bars to watch the game. I was at work again. Luckily, Peacock is mobile.
I felt the United States played well against the Canadians; they maintained speed, possession, fought for pucks, and made sure they backchecked every single time. You give any one of those Canadians a chance, they’ll make you pay. Matt Boldy scored for the U.S., Cale Makar scored for Canada. 1-1 at the end of regulation. Overtime is not my friend, never has been, and never will be. The 3-on-3-style of OT hockey was brought into international play, and these two teams had to duke it out for gold in sudden death.
Having watched their female counterparts claim gold three days prior, Jack Hughes channeled his inner Megan Keller. Dylan Larkin, Zach Werenski and Jack Hughes raced the puck up the ice, and from the right faceoff dot, Werenski sent a picture-perfect pass to Jack Hughes, who slotted the puck five-hole past Jordan Binnington to secure the gold medal. Hughes, sporting a toothy grin, immediately shed the gloves, helmet, and stick as his teammates pounced on him in celebration. Hughes scored the golden goal with his family in attendance. His mother, Ellen, is a player development consultant for the women’s team and was in Milan working as well as supporting both her sons, Jack and Quinn.
USA Hockey is do or die. 46 years to the day, and the United States are gold medalists once again. Congratulations to the Team USA Men’s Ice Hockey Team for making America proud! Team USA as a whole finished the 2026 Olympics in 2nd place with a grand total of 33 medals [12G-12S-9B]. USA Hockey contributed two gold medals to the tally.
