Mike Eruzione praises U.S. women’s hockey team for victory over Canada
Mike Eruzione, team captain of the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team, talks about Olympic hockey and praises the U.S. women’s hockey team, which just won the gold medal.
MILAN — The U.S. men’s hockey team is looking to end its gold medal drought on a key day as the last U.S. team wins an Olympic title.
On Sunday, February 22, the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” the United States and Canada will face off in the gold medal game for the 2026 Winter Olympics. On that day in 1980, the United States defeated the Soviet Union with a goal from Mike Eruzione, then defeated Finland in the next game to win the gold medal. Eruzione shared stories with both the Milan men’s team and the victorious women’s team.
This game will be different, as both the American and Canadian teams are loaded with NHL stars. But Canada is America’s biggest hockey rival and has performed well in recent championship games.
Canada boasts three of the league’s top four scorers in Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini. The American team also has similar talent with Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, the Tkachuk brothers and Quinn Hughes.
Captain Sidney Crosby, who was injured in the quarterfinals, will not participate. He is not listed on the lineup sheet on the International Ice Hockey Federation’s website or on the lines posted by Hockey Canada on social media.
USA TODAY is broadcasting live coverage of the U.S. vs. Canada gold medal game from Milan. Here’s what you need to know about the game, including how to watch it.
When is the gold medal match between USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
- date: Sunday February 22nd
- position: Milan Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
What time is the men’s hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Puck drop between the United States and Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympics gold medal game will take place at 8:10 a.m. ET.
How to watch the men’s hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Streaming options for the U.S.-Canada gold medal showdown include NBC’s subscription streaming service Peacock, both NBCOlympics.com with TV Login and the NBC Olympics app.
Canada will be without captain Sidney Crosby for the game against the gold medal-winning United States.
He was not listed on the lineup sheet posted by Hockey Canada about an hour before the game between the hockey rivals took place at the Milan Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena.
Crosby was injured four days ago. He skated on Feb. 21, and coach John Cooper said the team would decide what was best for Canada and Crosby.
Canada has an advantage over the United States when facing each other in the championship game of best-on-best tournaments involving NHL players, such as last year’s 4 Nations Faceoff.
Read here about the recent history between the two countries
Mike Brehm, USA TODAY: Canada 3, USA 2 (OT)
Jace Evans, USA TODAY: Canada 4, America 2
Helen St. James, Detroit Free Press: America 4, Canada 2
Full predictions can be found here
How America and Canada reached the gold medal race
Both teams are 5-0 in this tournament.
The United States defeated Latvia, Denmark, and Germany in the qualifying rounds, Sweden in the quarterfinals, and Slovakia in the semifinals. The U.S. needed a come-from-behind victory over Denmark, forcing Sweden into overtime.
Canada defeated the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and France in the preliminary rounds, the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, and Finland in the semifinals. The Canadians rallied to win their final two games, defeating the Czech Republic in overtime.
