MILAN — Put aside the hard talk, the hard hitting and what will probably be some leftover hard feelings from Team USA vs. Team Canada in men’s hockey at the 2026 Olympics.
And put aside exactly how and when it all ended, though we’ll tell it here anyway in the interest of good housekeeping: Jack Hughes fired a wrist shot past Jordan Binnington at 1:41 of overtime Sunday afternoon at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena to lift Team USA to a 2-1 victory, making this the first time the American men have captured Olympic gold since that miracle at Lake Placid in 1980.
But there’s a way to grasp the high-octane intensity that exists between these two outfits without getting caught up in hyperbole and bookkeeping. Simply roll back the tape and look into the eyes of the Canadian players as they received their silver medals. The stares were blank and the handshakes perfunctory, because the Canadians know the value of silver as pertains to this tournament. None of them will be inviting friends to the house this summer for silver-medal cookouts. Had the Americans lost, it would have been the same thing.
This was more than hockey, more than bragging rights. Like it or not, this was, this is, also about politics — and about the empty-calorie rhetoric that fills the air after these kinds of games in these kinds of times.
The last time these two teams competed against each other — at the 4 Nations Face-Off final in Boston a year ago — the game was played amid the highest of tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump had antagonized Canadians, talking of the country as the “51st state” as he threatened steep tariffs. Anthems were booed. Tweets were exchanged. Even Wayne Gretzky’s allegiances were questioned. All of those tensions remain.
But here’s some good news, and it would have been good news whether it had been the United States or Canada receiving the gold medals. This was probably the most-watched game in hockey history, right? Here’s something better: It was absolutely, positively the coolest crowd ever to attend a hockey game.
I have no charts or diagrams, no fan surveys, to back up the point. It was just there. It was everywhere. What we had on Sunday was a religious retreat for true hockey lovers, for people who naturally were rooting long and hard for their hometown nation but doing so in a way that was patriotic without paranoia.
Even the cheering had some occasional inter-country teamwork going on, as when the Canadians would yell, “Let’s go Can-a-da,” and the Americans would yell, “USA!” Early in the game, when things were a mite more festive, it had a nice rhythm to it, as though chorus captains from both countries had met up last month at the midpoint of the brand new Gordie Howe Bridge to work out the kinks before taking the act to Milan. Might as well use that bridge for something.
I could submit a rollout of fan testimonials from Sunday’s game, but you don’t have time for that. The Athletic’s coverage of USA-Canada is vast and meaningful, and you don’t want to miss any of it.
What I will do is introduce you to two sturdy hockey lifers — one American, one Canadian — who I believe speak for a lot of the fans who were in attendance on Sunday.
Let’s start with the guy in the Mike Eruzione 1980 Team USA sweater, who is not to be confused with the real Mike Eruzione, who was also in attendance Sunday in his role as Captain for Life of the “Do You Believe in Miracles?” crew from Lake Placid.
Mark Horton is his name, and he’s “a retired military guy” from Tampa, Fla., who, if he had his way, would have been wearing a sweater honoring Jim Craig, the goaltender for the 1980 Lake Placid gold medalists. “But they didn’t have it in my size,” Horton said. “It was either Jack O’Callahan or Mike Eruzione, and I chose Eruzione.”
Horton made the trip to Milan because he loves hockey and wanted to watch the Olympics and root for Team USA.
“First off, I’m not into politics,” Horton said. “All you need to know is that I believe in the United States Constitution. As for Canada, I respect our friends from the north.”
So there’s that.
Let’s move on to Raeann Althen, who attended the Olympics with her husband, Scott. They’re retired farmers from Calgary. They were rooting for all things Canadian, of course.
“We were here for the men’s quarterfinal, and the men’s semifinal,” Althen said. “We were here for the women’s hockey gold medal game, and we’re here for the men’s gold medal game. We went to the mass start in speed skating, and we also took in the figure skating gala.”
Althen revealed Scott and her entire Olympic itinerary in order to make a larger point, which is that American fans and Canadian fans played nice in Milan.
“We haven’t seen anything remotely bad,” Raeann said.
“Zero negativity,” Scott chimed in. “At the women’s gold medal game, we were sitting with a group of Americans. They were rooting for their team and we were rooting for our team, and we all had fun.”
Of course it’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. And Canadian fans are a little bruised right now. Blame will be assessed, fingers pointed; on another level, we can look forward to many an online catfight by fans from both sides of the border.
But if what happened at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena is any indication, actual, breathing Canadians and actual, breathing Americans have been getting along just as well as they ever have. Except for when the Bruins play the Canadiens.