Back on top: U.S. Women’s Hockey captures third gold medal

Photo courtesy of BDZ Sports/Wikimedia Commons

Yes, you are reading that right folks. The United States Women’s National team took home the gold in a 2-1 overtime win over Canada. This gold medal marks the Americans’ third gold medal in women’s hockey and their first since 2018, after falling to Canada in the gold medal games in 2022, 2014, and 2010.

With this victory, the U.S. closed out this tournament undefeated with a total of six wins and one overtime win. This win clinched the U.S.’s first Olympic run to gold without a loss since 1998. If that record was not dominating enough, they outscored their opponents 33-2!

Another big win for women’s sports comes in the form of viewership numbers. This gold medal game was the most-watched women’s hockey game ever. The broadcast averaged 5.3 million viewers and peaked at 7.7 million viewers during overtime. USA Hockey reports that girls' and women’s participation in hockey has grown by 65 percent over the past 15 seasons and has become one of the fastest-growing youth sports in North America. 

Now onto how it unfolded. United States goaltender Aerin Frankel proved instrumental from the start, stopping 30 shots on goal and denying a Canadian shot with 6:40 left in the first period. Frankel finished her first Olympic Games with four wins, a 0.39 Goals Against Average (GAA), a .979 save percentage, and three shutouts in five games. Canada opened the scoring when forward Kristin O’Neill found the back of the net early in the second period. The Americans pushed to respond, generating chances from forward Hannah Bilka and defender Haley Winn as they looked to even the score and shift the momentum. 

In the third period, Frankel was pulled to give the U.S. an extra attacker. Captain and forward Hilary Knight provided the equalizer with 2:04 remaining in regulation time. Knight’s goal marked her 15th career Olympic goal and her 33rd career Olympic point, breaking the all-time U.S. Olympic Women’s hockey record for all-time goals and points. Her showing in this Olympics earned her the honor of being selected as one of the U.S’s flag bearers at the Closing Ceremony, a storybook closing for her very last Olympic Games.

After the game, Knight talked about her game-tying goal, saying, “When you have a one-goal deficit against Canada, you have to find the back of the net, especially against a great goaltender…We knew it was a matter of time, but you could also run out of time against a great team. We're fortunate to have a great squad to get the job done.”

As regulation expired with a tied score of 1-1, the game was pushed to a 3-3 overtime. This marked the third gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada to enter overtime in Olympic history. At 4:07 into overtime, U.S. defender Megan Keller scored the golden goal with a backhanded shot on goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens. 

Keller spoke on her historical goal, saying, “I'm lost for words…This is an incredible feeling. I love these girls so much. This group deserves it. Just the effort and the faith that we kept through this four-year journey is something very special.”

Their efforts did not go unnoticed, gaining massive amounts of support from the entire United States. However, following questionable comments from President Donald Trump during the U.S. Men’s Hockey gold medal celebration, the women’s team declined his invitation to the State of the Union address. 

The team released a statement on Monday, Feb. 23, saying, “We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal–winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement…Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”

This win represents a return to the top for the program and a long-awaited breakthrough after years of coming up short against Canada in the final. It was a performance that not only delivered a gold medal but reinforced the United States’ rightful place among the elite in women’s hockey.