Megan Keller’s OT goal lifts US past Canada for Olympic gold
MILAN — In Hilary Knight’s final Olympics, she got here up clutch but once more, whereas veteran defenseman Megan Keller scored the golden goal in 3-on-3 extra time Thursday because the United States girls’s hockey group gained gold by beating archrival Canada 2-1.
“If you had to play against her and practice against her, Megan Keller can really do it all,” veteran defenseman Lee Stecklein mentioned. “To see that it moves under pressure like that, just incredible.”
That second would not have been doable with out Knight, who deflected a shot from defenseman Laila Edwards with the goalie pulled for the game-tying goal with 2:04 remaining within the third interval to offer life to Team USA.
“I remember [coach John Wroblewski] drawing it up,” Knight mentioned. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, this is our moment. Here we go.'”
The US had allowed just one goal all event earlier than Canada fourth-liner Kristen O’Neill scored short-handed early within the second interval of Thursday’s finale.
This was the ultimate Olympic recreation for the 36-year-old Knight, who along with her second gold medal turned probably the most adorned participant in US girls’s hockey historical past. She introduced in May that these Games — her fifth — can be her final.
“I’ve had a heck of a career personally. It’s been an incredible ride,” Knight mentioned. “I have to soak this all in because this room is just so special, this team is so special. This is the best US hockey team I’ve ever been a part of. That is just so tremendous.”
Knight’s third-period tally moved her into sole possession atop the US report e-book (males’s or girls’s) for targets (15) and factors (33) in an Olympic profession. She had a memorable event in Italy, proposing to her companion, US speedskater Brittany Bowe, two days earlier than the gold medal match.
“Poetic. I said it yesterday, Hilary always goes out with a bang,” longtime teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield mentioned. “From her proposal that had me falling off a chair to her record-breaking goal, you couldn’t script it any better.”
Another frequent chorus from US gamers after the sport: “Classic Hilary.”
“I think that’s the perfect way for her to break the record,” Stecklein mentioned. “She carries that pressure, and she knows we’re relying on her. If it wasn’t her, I do believe it could have been someone else. But also, it’s so not surprising for it to be her because that’s just who she is and who she’s always been.”
The US roster featured a robust mixture of veterans and breakout younger gamers, and the 2026 Games represented a passing of the torch. Wisconsin seniors Caroline Harvey and Edwards, who had a mixed 18 factors and have been the highest two US skaters when it comes to ice time, are among the many US group members who’ve photographs from their childhood posing with Knight.
The United States gave up solely two targets within the event, tying the 2006 and 2010 Canada groups for the fewest allowed in a single Olympics by a girls’s group.
US goalie Aerin Frankel made 30 saves Thursday, some spectacular, however did not get the offensive help as Team USA regularly missed alternatives in regulation till Knight capitalized.
Frankel had a terrific event, ending with a .980 save share and changing into the primary goalie in Olympic historical past to report three shutouts in a single event.
Entering Thursday, Team USA had scored no less than 5 targets in each recreation and had outscored groups 31-1. But for lengthy stretches within the gold medal match, the US regarded extra jittery than it had in any earlier second at these Olympics.
The win cemented a dominant event for the American girls. The US was the deepest group, and 10 gamers registered no less than 5 factors — six greater than some other nation.
“I’ve been on some great teams, with a lot of great teammates, great players, Hall of Famers,” four-time Olympian Coyne Schofield instructed ESPN earlier than the sport. “But this one is special for sure.”
The remainder of the world simply hasn’t caught as much as the United States and Canada. The North American powers have gained each gold and silver medal since girls’s hockey was launched on the Olympics in 1998.
The lead to Milan wasn’t too stunning after Team USA swept the four-game Rivalry Series within the lead-up to the Olympics by a mixed rating of 24-7. The US entered the ultimate by posting 5 straight shutouts — together with a 5-0 blanking of Canada in group stage play. The Canadians, nonetheless, have been with out captain Marie-Philip Poulin (proper knee damage) for that contest, and he or she seemed to be nonetheless nursing the damage, particularly as broadcast cameras captured her getting rides from the locker room to the ice within the semifinal.
Poulin had scored in every of her earlier 4 profession Olympic gold medal video games however was held off the rating sheet Thursday.
“Utmost respect for her,” Knight mentioned. “I think you saw that going through the handshake line, just embracing and understanding we have so many things in common. The only difference is we’re on the other side of these teams and some legendary performances. I’ll miss it.”
