The United States are on top of the ice hockey world for the first time in nearly a half-century — and no miracle was needed this time..
Jack Hughes scored one minute 41 seconds into overtime to enable the US to beat Canada 2-1 in the gold medal final at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday, claiming their third men’s title at the Games and their first since the celebrated “Miracle on Ice” 46 years ago to the very day back in 1980.
Unlike that ragtag group of college kids that pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history by defeating the supposedly unbeatable USSR outfit in Lake Placid, the Americans in Milan were a machine, full of NHL players, who stormed through the tournament unbeaten.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was by far the best player on the ice on Sunday, stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced as Canada tilted the ice towards him.
He made the save of the tournament by getting his stick on the puck on a shot from Devon Toews in the third period, then minutes later denied Macklin Celebrini on a breakaway — something he also did to Connor McDavid earlier.
It was only fitting the US needed to beat their northern neighbours Canada, who had defeated them at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago and have claimed international ice hockey supremacy for quite some time.
Canada had won every international competition over the past 16 years that featured the world’s best players — but not this time.
Winning a fast-paced, riveting game full of big hits and plenty of post-whistle altercations, the US got a goal from Matt Boldy six minutes in and led until Cale Makar tied it late in the second period.
Canada, back-to-back Olympic champions in 2010 and ’14, fell short while playing without injured 38-year-old captain Sidney Crosby.
McDavid, widely considered the best player in the world who was captain in Crosby’s absence, suffered another devastating defeat on the doorstep of a title. He and the Edmonton Oilers had lost to Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two years.
