It’s 6:40 AM CST on Sunday, February 22nd, 2026. (My deepest sympathy to the West Coasters in this story.) Your alarm is ringing, you question everything, but you know what lies ahead of you. The USA Women have achieved the ultimate goal, already defeating Canada in the gold medal game for hockey, thanks to a heroic effort by team captain and GOAT, Hillary Knight, and one of the most beautiful game-winning-goals you will ever see off the stick of Megan Keller in overtime. You are riding that high. Soaring with the bald eagles. You feel an indescribable sense of pride not only because the USA Women’s reached the pinnacle of Olympic hockey, but you also witnessed a Texas-born player, Hannah Bilka, represent your home state on Olympic ice. Something that had never been done before in hockey.
An instant classic that will be played on repeat in ads and hockey homes for the next four years to come.
You shake the sleep from your body and start breakfast; you are having a classic spread. Biscuits, bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns are on deck today. You forego the coffee and crack open a Rocky Mountain water, and see the mountains are bluer than ever this morning. A good sign.
Then, you tune in. It’s USA vs Canada in the final event of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the men’s hockey final. This is it.
You don your red, white, and blue and make sure nothing is on fire in the kitchen, and lock in. Sidney Crosby is out. The USA roster is full. Tage Thompson, who was unable to finish the game against Slovakia, is in. This is the best of the best for the USA, and everything is on the line. (I know Dallas Stars fans are still bitter that Jason Robertson isn’t part of this roster, but for the sake of the article, we won’t dive into that. Factor in the news that Mikko Rantanen will miss time due to an injury during the Olympics, and I am okay with the choice to not put him in the crosshairs for injury.)
The game starts at a fever pitch, and both teams are clearly putting their bodies on the line with no remorse. The smaller rink makes for an even faster game, and NBC’s “Inside the Glass” analyst, Brian Boucher, says this is the fastest game he has ever seen played. Faster than the Stanley Cup Finals he has seen. The boys are buzzing. Then, the first sip of glory.
Matt Boldy breaks through arguably two of the best defenders in the game, Cale Makar and Devon Toews, for the first goal on Canada goaltender Jordan Binnington. You lose it. You are Free Birding. Harder than you have Free Birded ever before. It’s 1-0 in the first, and you feel like this could be the start of something special. As the first period continues, both sides throw their bodies, willingly sacrificing their health for the sake of the country. Dylan Larkin swoops behind his own net, behind goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, and Canadian forward Tom Wilson obliterates him for arguably the biggest hit of the tournament. Larkin springs up, unfazed. It’ll take more than that to keep these players down for the biggest game of their lives. The period ends, and you have a chance to breathe for a few minutes. Time to check the biscuits. Not burnt. No fires. You lock back in, and so does Canada.
The 2nd period is an onslaught by the Canadians. They are settling in, they are cruising. They are fast, passing is on point, and they are playing as if the gold medal is on the line. Well, it is, and they are aware of it. The USA is on the verge of collapse, but it has a secret weapon. Connor Hellebuyck. A man possessed. Save after save, it’s as if Hellebuyck is becoming more and more dialed in on the task at hand. Stop everything. Devon Toews, looking for redemption after not being able to stop Boldy for the USA’s first goal, sees daylight early in the second period. In the slot, Toews ‘ eyes widened. An open net. Hellebuyck faced the corner from which the puck came, and by the grace of the 1980 Miracle on Ice USA team, Hellebuyck exerted himself and made what can only be described as a once-in-a-lifetime save with the blade of his stick, reaching behind himself to stop the game-tying goal.
Then, more danger. Jake Geuntzel gets two minutes for holding, and the perfect penalty kill of the USA is put to the test. The test gets even tougher as Charlie McAvoy is then called for hooking, putting Canada up with a two-man advantage for over a minute. The USA escapes unscathed from Canada’s power play despite playing on its heels. The penalty kill remains perfect in the Olympics, but Canada is pressing, and finally, the USA cracks. Both Toews and Maker redeem themselves as they pair up for the Toews game-tying goal. You feel deflation setting in because, as much as you don’t want to admit it, Canada has tilted the ice. The 2nd period ends. Canada has outshot the USA 19-8, and it’s the most shots the USA team has given up in the entire tournament. You pull yourself together, make yourself a plate, clean up the empty Coors Light cans, open a fresh one, and get ready for the next 20 minutes, hoping it’s not the last of the tournament.
The 3rd period begins, and we are officially at fever pitch. It’s the USA vs Canada for the gold medal and bragging rights. The period begins exactly how you expected. Fast. Again. Canada knows they have the momentum, and they skate like it. When you face a team with a line touting Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and teen sensation Macklin Celebrini, you prepare for anything, and Team USA did just that. They stood the test of the top line in hockey, and then, hope. Fleeting, but hope. USA forward Jack Hughes goes down hard behind his own net, the referee’s hand goes up, and then you see it. Hughes has lost his chompers. There is blood on the ice and blood filling his mouth, which uncovers what would become a timeless look. The Hughes hockey smile. Multiple teeth have been knocked out, and the USA is going on a four-minute power play thanks to Sam Bennett for high-sticking. You think to yourself, “This could be it. This could be when the USA pulls ahead and digs in to finish this.”
You were wrong. Classic. The same Jack Hughes who is sporting a new smile is now headed to the penalty box himself. Ironically, for the same reason as Bennett, high-sticking. Crap. It’s 4-on-4 hockey for a short time before Canada goes back on the power-play. Maybe this isn’t meant to be. It’s only the 46th anniversary of the 1980 Miracle on Ice team winning gold. It’s on Johnny Geaudrea’s son’s birthday. Geaudrea’s family is in attendance. Team USA has only been carrying around Johnny Hockey’s jersey with them all tournament long. Maybe this isn’t meant to be, or maybe it is.
The clock hits all zeroes. Regulation is over. Hellebuyck has stood strong against a fierce Canadian team, and Nathan MacKinnon has had another prime opportunity to secure the gold for Canada, which he didn’t. It’s the biggest game for Team USA in over a decade, with everything on the line. Of course it’s going to overtime because why wouldn’t it?
You nervously hard crack another Coors Light because you don’t know what else to do. You sit in silence with the only sound coming from the television as you see the same advertisements that you’ve seen during Olympic coverage for the last two weeks and think to yourself once again, “I am never going to watch this show with Tracy Morgan and Harry Potter. Stop shoving it down my throat.”
Overtime begins. It’s 3-on-3, and you know whoever wins this, the opposing side will complain about the OT format but you lean forward for the hardest lock-in ever because clearly you leaning forward on a couch will be the leading cause of why Team USA will win this. You think to yourself, “Wow! This OT is 20 minutes? You mean to tell me that this 3-on-3 could literally go on for 20 minutes?” Then, less than two minutes later (1:41 to be exact), it happens. After Canada loses the puck in the offensive zone, the USA responds with Zach Werenski coming down the camera-side boards. Werenski has numbers and sees a toothless Jack Hughes drifting down towards the slot, and makes the pass he will see in his dreams for years to come. Hughes, with the USA and most of the world watching, snaps a low shot, and Canada goaltender Jordan Binnington lifts his leg, giving up the five-hole and missing the puck with his stick. The lamp lights up and then, pandemonium. The USA has done it. Golden.
So many feelings and emotions come over you. You feel the joy of victory. You laugh when Nathan MacKinnon looks absolutely disgusted and is handed a stuffed animal for finishing in second place. You are beaming with pride as your friends and family text to celebrate with you. Everyone is watching. Then, tears.
You see the Geadruea jersey waving on the ice. You see the Geadreau kids being brought onto the ice for the team photo. You see the Geadruea family in the stands in tears, knowing that if their son were still with us, he would be out there on the ice celebrating along with this team, you know, he is watching with the rest of us. Beaming with pride with the rest of us. Arguably, he is the biggest fan of this gold medal victory. You are exhausted. You have poured emotions into this winter Olympics and both the men’s and women’s hockey tournaments, and have been afforded the privilege to see both achieve the pinnacle of their sports.
It’s now 11 AM, and the dishes are done. You have sipped your last Coors Light for the morning, and you have taken out the trash. Your timeline is completely filled with USA highlights, and you have replied to all your friends and family who have texted you. You lie down for your pre-planned siesta and drift away for a few hours. Golden.
If you take anything away from these Olympics, or either the men’s or women’s hockey team victories, Mike Tirico summed it up best.
“So, for all the young people out there, not just the hockey, but all the Olympics you’ve watched, those dreams are formed now. Go chase them and go get them, because our country loves sports, and it brings us together, unlike anything else. And if you didn’t know that, and if you haven’t been watching the last two weeks, you saw it in Team USA Hockey winning the gold over their arch rival Canada here in Milan to wrap up these 25th Olympic Winter Games.”
Now, if you will excuse me, the NHL ramps back up this Wednesday.