Sunday marks the 45th anniversary of the U.S. men’s hockey team winning gold at the 1980 Winter Games in what’s widely known as the “Miracle on Ice.”
The U.S. men’s hockey team will take the ice, with a gold medal on the line Sunday, hoping to rekindle that magic all these years later against its arch nemesis, Canada.
There’s plenty of bad blood heading into Sunday’s gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada, with American Brady Tkachuk telling ESPN on Saturday that “there’s hatred” as Team USA hopes to spoil Canada’s golden dreams Sunday the same way the women did earlier in the week.
Tkachuk acknowledged Canada has been “the top dog” for a minute now, but the U.S. is eager to steal Canada’s thunder.
“For us, we want to be in that position, be the best,” Tkachuk said. “So it’s going to be a game where I think a lot of guys could say, this is the biggest game that they’ve ever played in.”
The U.S. men have repeatedly chanted the “gold-or-bust” mantra leading up to the Winter Games.
This roster, thanks to the NHL allowing players to participate in the Olympics for the first time since 2014, is their best chance in recent memory of capturing an Olympic gold medal – something the U.S. men’s hockey hasn’t done since 1980 in Lake Placid.
2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
The U.S. men haven’t beaten Canada in a gold-medal game since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Coincidentally, Tkachuk’s father, Keith, was part of the Americans’ historic win.
Canada also beat the US, 3-2, in the final of the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off in February of 2025.
Tkachuk believes it’s time for that to change.
“It’s been 46 years,” he said. “So many players that have paved the way for us that haven’t had a chance to win gold for us, that for our dream to be right there. It’s something that we’re not taking lightly. And I mean, we have an opportunity to achieve a childhood dream.”
The U.S. women have had more success against Canada, though the latter still owns the all-time rivalry.
The Americans were the heavy favorites heading into these Olympics and the team dominated the competition leading up to Thursday’s gold-medal game.
Canada held a one-goal lead for most of the game before Hilary Knight tapped in the equalizer in the final minutes of the third period, and Megan Keller scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
“We saw the girls win,” Vincent Trochek said. “Obviously win gold for USA, and if we can beat Canada on Sunday, it’s just a clean sweep. And I mean, that’s what everyone’s here for.”
The USA-Canada gold-medal game will mean a somewhat early wake-up call for New Yorkers on Sunday, with the start time scheduled for 8:10 a.m. ET.