Hilary Knight's late equalizer forces OT as Megan Keller nets golden winner in Milano Cortina final

Hilary Knight tied a tense Olympic gold-medal game late in regulation to force overtime, and Megan Keller finished the job with an overtime winner as the United States came back to beat Canada 2-1 and reclaim the women's hockey gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The finish at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026, delivered a dramatic close to the tournament and returned the title to the U. S.

Hilary Knight sparks the comeback with a decisive third-period goal

After Canada opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal — the first goal the United States had allowed in the tournament — the Americans engineered a late rally. The U. S. began the second period on a power play from a penalty at the end of the first. The Canadians later earned a power play late in the third, but the U. S. successfully killed it with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.

With the puck in Canada's zone and roughly 2: 30 to play, the Americans pulled their goalie to create an extra-attacker advantage. Captain Hilary Knight redirected a wrister from the top of the zone, tying the score and forcing overtime. Shots after regulation were almost even, 29-28 in favor of Canada, underlining how tightly contested the match was.

Megan Keller finishes in overtime to secure Olympic gold

Just four minutes and seven seconds into the overtime period, Megan Keller slipped a shot past the Canadian goaltender to clinch the gold medal for the United States. Keller's finish capped a comeback that began with the late tying play and ended with the decisive strike in sudden death. The result returned the women's hockey gold medal to the U. S. in a one-goal thriller.

Game flow, key moments and what followed

The finalists traded momentum through special-teams play and close defensive work. The shorthanded opening goal for Canada ended a long U. S. shutout streak in the tournament that lasted three hours, 52 minutes and seven seconds. Later, the U. S. killed a late Canadian power play, then used a pulled-goalie situation to create the tying opportunity that Hilary Knight converted.

Overtime proved brief but decisive, with Keller finding a path through for the game-winner. The match unfolded at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026, concluding a tightly contested tournament final that hinged on special teams, late-game strategy and opportunistic finishing.

Immediate takeaways and status of the result

• The United States recovered from a late deficit to win 2-1 in overtime.
• Hilary Knight provided the tying goal in the final minutes of regulation by deflecting a wrister from the top of the zone.
• Megan Keller scored the overtime winner four minutes and seven seconds into sudden death.
• The United States' tournament shutout streak ended with the shorthanded Canadian goal earlier in the game.
• Shots after regulation were 29-28 in favor of Canada.

This is a developing story; details may evolve as more information becomes available about the game and its aftermath.