February 21st, 2025
Alex Rickman
They’ve done it.
Saturday night gave Canadian hockey fans yet another famous triumph over the United States, with Canada mirroring their 2010 Olympic result with a 3-2 overtime victory to take home the gold, this time won on American soil. It didn’t come easy, but it’s safe to say that a tournament that some, including myself, thought was going to be a glorified All-Star game gave us some of the best hockey we have seen in a long time, and the gold medal game may have even have been the best hockey game I’ve ever watched.
Things started off well for Canada, with Nathan Mackinnon finding the back of the net just under five minutes into the game. Canada seemed to have the upper hand for the majority of the period, but Brady Tkachuk would tie things up around the seventeen-minute mark, giving the Americans some momentum as we reached the break.
At this point in the competition, a few things were clear. Firstly, this was going to be a tight game, no matter who came out on top. It was also clear just how important it was going to be to finish your chances. On both sides, there were clear opportunities to put the puck in the net, but each team only found the twine once. Missing whatever chances you get can be a death sentence, and that was clearly going to be the case in this game.
The second got off to a slower start than the first, but Jake Sanderson made sure fans wouldn’t have to wait too long to see the tie broken, putting the US on top 2-1 7:32 into the frame. Canada needed a response that was fast, and they would get it from a player who had been impressing the entire tournament. Sam Bennett (by the way Canucks fans, impending UFA) roofed a shot at the fourteen-minute mark off of a great pass from Mitch Marner to level the score, settling things down and putting some pep back in Canada’s step.
The second intermission was intense. There was a strong feeling that the next goal would be the one that decides the game, and that would prove to be the case. After a period full of opportunities, the horn sounded on a scoreless third, ushering in what was effectively a game-seven overtime. Whatever came next was going to be a ‘where were you when’ moment, but now the question was whether it would be Canadians or Americans asking that question for years to come.
The Americans had the advantage early in overtime, but an unlikely hero rose to the task to keep them off the scoresheet. Jordan Binnington had been far from great for Canada throughout the round-robin, but in overtime, he showed everyone why he was Canada’s guy, making a series of clutch saves when his country needed him the most to keep us alive. Binnington just loves a do-or-die game at TD Garden.
About eight minutes into overtime, it finally happened. Auston Matthews made the genius decision to leave Connor McDavid wide open in the slot, and McDavid made no mistake, firing one past the glove of Connor Hellebuyck and into the back of the net. The dust had finally settled, and Canada took home a 3-2 win against the United States thanks to a golden goal. Where have I heard that one before?
This was simply one of, if not the best, hockey game I have ever watched. Seeing Canada get the job done on American soil at a time like this is something I will never forget. The strength shown by these players should make everyone across Canada even prouder than they already should be to be Canadian. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted after the game, “You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game.”
Beyond the great performances from star players, depth guys on both sides made a strong impact on that game. On the American side, Jaccob Slavin was a thorn in the side of Canadian forwards all night, putting up a perfect glue-guy performance and cementing himself as arguably the best defensive defenceman in the NHL. On the Canadian side, beyond the previously mentioned heroics from Sam Bennett and Jordan Binnington, new fan-favourite Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli stood out as strong performers in the bottom six. I’d also like to shout out Colton Parayko, who is a new favourite player of mine for his work this tournament for absolutely no reason in particular.
At the end of the day, the Americans put up a good fight but learned a lesson about why you don’t poke the bear when it comes to hockey. Are we Canadians known for being polite? Absolutely, but our anger gets taken out through our geese and our hockey.
But at least they’ll always have the group chat.