After a medal-filled second week, Canada’s Olympic run in Milan Cortina ended with a devastating 2-1 overtime loss to the United States in the men’s hockey gold-medal final on Sunday.
New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes scored 1:41 into extra time, left alone in the slot during 3-on-3 play as Canada scrambled after surrendering an odd-man break seconds earlier.
Matthew Boldy of the Minnesota Wild also tallied for the U.S. in the first period, while Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar scored an equalizer for Canada late in the second.
The gold is the United States’ first in Olympic men’s hockey since the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
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Canada played the final without captain Sidney Crosby, sidelined by a lower-body injury sustained when his right leg bent awkwardly in the quarterfinal win over Czechia.
He also missed the 3-2 semifinal victory over Finland on Friday.
Canada had previously beaten the United States for Olympic gold in 2002 and 2010, and defeated the Americans in overtime in last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off final.
Hockey silver served as Canada’s final medal of the Milan Cortina Games.
After sitting on eight medals and no gold at the halfway mark, Canada's Olympic team collected 13 in the second half — including five gold — to finish the Cortina Games with 21 medals and eighth overall on the medal table, behind Norway (41), the United States (33) and host Italy (30).
In other action on Day 16 of the Games, Canada just missed the podium in women's halfpipe with Amy Fraser finishing fourth.
Calgary's Fraser finished with 88 points, four-and-a-half points behind bronze medallist Zoe Atkin of Britain.
Eileen Gu defended her Olympic title with a score of 94.75 points, with another Chinese skier, Li Fanghui, scoring 93.
Cassie Sharpe of Squamish, B.C., the 2014 Olympic champion in the event, qualified third but sustained a concussion in a crash and did not participate in the final.
There was also Canadian content in the men's four-man bobsled finals, where Taylor Austin of Lethbridge, Alta., piloted the top Canadian team to a 14th-place finish.
Jasmine Drolet of Rossland, B.C., was the top Canadian in the women's 50-kilometre classic style cross-country ski race, finishing 17th.
Finally, the Games will take its curtain call by holding its closing ceremony, set to be held at the Verona Olympic Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheatre and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The ceremony gathers athletes from more than 90 countries to celebrate and bid farewell to the Games.
Speedskater Valérie Maltais and short-track speedskater Steven Dubois have been named Canada's flag-bearers for the closing ceremonies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2026.
