It seemed almost inevitable, did it not? The two favourites in both men’s and women’s hockey made it to the finals of their respective tournaments to face off for gold and glory once more.
We already know the (disappointing) result in the women’s tournament: a late-game blown lead and heartbreaking overtime loss to the Americans in the gold medal game. But we are still anxiously awaiting an early morning Sunday to see what happens when Connor McDavid and the Canadian squad take on their American rivals for the gold medal in men’s hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
These two teams have the most heated rivalry in modern hockey. Of course, the greatest international hockey rivalry was between Canada and the then-Soviet Union in the latter decades of the 20th century.
But since the rise of American hockey in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, they have become the primary adversary for Canada in international tournaments. In recent years, it has gotten extremely heated and competitive, with a possible peak at the four Nations Face-Off one year ago.
In anticipation of Sunday’s gold medal showdown, let’s revisit some of the past matchups between Canada and the United States in Olympic hockey.
Canada versus the United States at the Olympics
Since 2000, Canada and the United States have created some of the most memorable moments in hockey history during their Olympic matchups. So far, things have trended in Canada’s favour. Fingers crossed that it maintains through this weekend.
2002 Salt Lake City Olympics
Starting off with one of the biggest moments in Canadian hockey history at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Canada was stuck in a 50-year drought chasing an elusive Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey, headed into this tournament. Early on, it looked like that would continue as Canada stumbled out of the qualification round with a 1–1–1 record and a -2 goal differential. But, they clutched up in the elimination round, upsetting Finland, then defeating a surprise Belarusian team in the semi-finals, setting the stage for the gold medal game against the United States.
Canada defeated the USA 5–2 to win gold. Thanks in large part to the now-cultural icon Lucky Loonie that was implanted under the centre ice dot.
At the same time the men’s team was on a gold medal path, the women’s team channelled the Lucky Loonie energy to dominate their tournament. With a perfect record in the round robin and a 25–0 goals-for ratio, there was only one other team that could stand in their way. The United States. The inevitable matchup ended with a double gold on American soil as the women’s team won their tournament as well, making it the first time the Canadian men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams both won gold.
2010 Vancouver Olympics
This is the big one. This is THE tournament that legends are made of. After a horrifically disappointing showing in the 2006 Olympics, a seventh-place finish, the stakes were higher than the nearby mountains in Vancouver for the 2010 Games on home soil.
Once again, the preliminary round in the men’s tournament was cause for concern. Canada won only their game against Norway, losing in a shootout to Switzerland and in regulation to the United States. This left a difficult path to the final rounds that saw Canada face Russia in the quarterfinal and Slovakia in the semifinal. They prevailed, setting the stage for a rematch of the preliminary round and of the 2002 gold medal game. If Canada won on American soil, would the USA win on Canadian soil?
In one of the hardest-fought games ever seen, Canada took a 2–1 lead late into the third before the USA tied it with just 25 seconds left. Off to overtime they went. And this overtime is where legends were made. Sidney Crosby, in his first Olympic tournament, scored the gold medal-winning goal. His call for a pass from Jarome Iginla could be heard on the broadcast. Chris Cuthbert’s call on TV lives on as one of the most memorable in Canadian hockey history.
In the women’s tournament, Canada was looking to make it three straight gold medals and a second over the United States, after not playing them in the 2006 Olympics. Once again, an entirely dominant performance by the Canadian team had them flying through until the gold medal game. Two goals by Canada, both from Marie-Philip Poulin, in the first period gave them enough to shut out the United States and claim another gold, sweeping the hockey tournaments on home soil.
2014 Sochi Olympics
The women’s team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics may have faced more difficult competition, but they still found their way through to the finals, where they faced off against the USA for the third time in four Olympic tournaments. But, with an empty net and less than one minute remaining, who else but Poulin scored the tying goal to send the game to overtime. And wouldn’t you guess it, Poulin scored the overtime winner as well. Four consecutive gold medals, three of them over the United States, and a legacy-defining moment for a Canadian hockey legend.
On the men’s side, Canada was able to defeat the United States 1–0 in the semi-finals en route to defeating Russia on home soil for the gold medal.
2022 Beijing Olympics
After the Canadian women’s team lost to the USA in the 2018 Olympics, Canada was out for revenge. And they made good on that with one of the most dominant performances of the past few decades. A preliminary round victory over the United States gave Canada the number one seed through the elimination rounds. With both winning out in their respective pathways to the gold medal game, the stage was set for yet another battle between these two teams.
Canada prevailed once again in what ended up being the most-watched event of that Olympic tournament as Poulin led the way offensively.
The Canadian men’s hockey team will be looking to end the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics on a high note with a victorious effort on Sunday. Will they prevail? Leave a comment down below with your favourite Olympic hockey moment between these two nations.
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