For the first time since the legendary “Miracle on Ice” in 1980, the United States men’s ice hockey team captured Olympic gold. The Americans secured a heart-stopping 2-1 overtime victory against Canada at the Milano Cortina Games, ending a grueling 46-year wait.
The Olympic classic even broke a comprehensive viewership record, with the NBC and Peacock broadcast averaging 18.6 million viewers and peaking at an astonishing 26 million during the overtime period, per a post on X by hockey insider Frank Seravalli. According to NBC, this made it the most-watched pre-9 a.m. ET sporting event in U.S. history and contributed to a massive 96% overall viewership increase for the Milano Cortina Games compared to the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The records are understandable. Canada was denied a record-extending 10th gold medal and capped off a flawless, unbeaten run for Team USA in the first Olympic tournament to feature NHL players in 12 years.
Team USA struck first blood exactly six minutes into the opening period when Matt Boldy converted the team's very first shot on target. Canada finally broke through late in the second period when defenseman Cale Makar fired a shot past Hellebuyck at the 18:16 mark to tie the game at 1-1.
The hero of the night was 24-year-old New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes. Just 1:41 into the sudden-death 3-on-3 overtime period, Hughes latched onto a feed from Zach Werenski and snapped a shot right through the five-hole of Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington.
The sudden-death winner mirrored Sidney Crosby’s epochal “Golden Goal” against the Americans in 2010. But while Hughes sealed the victory, the foundation was laid by an all-time, superhuman performance from U.S. goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
Facing a relentless Canadian attack, Hellebuyck stopped an incredible 41 of the 42 shots he faced. He was particularly tested during a lopsided second period in which Canada outshot the U.S. 19-8, the most shots by a single team in a period during a gold medal game.
Hellebuyck finished the tournament leading all goaltenders with a staggering .956 save percentage and a 1.18 goals-against average.
