On February 19, 2026, the U.S. women’s ice hockey team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime to win gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics, marking their first since 2018 and third overall. Captain Hilary Knight tied the game late in regulation, setting an overall U.S. Olympic record with 15 goals and 33 points in her career, forcing the game into OT, where Megan Keller scored the winning goal.
The team celebrated arm-in-arm, singing the national anthem, with Knight calling it “the best f—ing part.” Taylor Heise emphasized the rarity of hearing the anthem as winners. Likewise, Coach Mike Sullivan praised the team’s inspiration for future generations ahead of the men’s semifinal.
Captured on a hot mic, Team USA captain Hilary Knight enthusiastically described singing the national anthem on the victory podium. “It’s the best part. The best f—ing part,” she confided to her teammates after taking home the gold.
Likewise, forward Taylor Heise told the media, “When you only get to hear your national anthem one time, and it’s if you win, it’s unbelievable, adding, “Getting to hear that national anthem, and getting to be on [the podium] with your girls, and to celebrate that big win is huge.”
Speaking later, Hilary Knight declared, “To find success on the world stage representing your country, I mean – and the anthem going, it’s just incredible. This team’s got so much resolve. Never quit. Always ready to fight and go to battle.”
“It’s just a testament to the preparation of our group and the love that we have in that room, and the way we found a way to get the job done at the end of the night,” Knight added, providing context to the historic win for the team.
Coach Mike Sullivan explained, “We were talking about it last night; we were talking about it again this morning. It’s a great thrill. Those girls, what a terrific hockey team, and they’ll be an inspiration for the next generation of girls growing up in the United States. … We couldn’t be more proud of them.”
"*" indicates required fields
Before U.S. women’s ice hockey captain Hilary Knight scored the late equalizer in the 2-1 OT gold medal win over Canada, her final appearance at the Games, she admitted she was more nervous about proposing to partner Brittany Bowe, a U.S. speedskater, than about playing for gold.
“I think I was more nervous for the proposal than I was for the gold medal game to be honest, and my legs felt like jello,” Knight stated, “I was kind of carrying that for the whole tournament, I was like, ‘I just need to get this over with,’ and I looked at the calendar and thought, ‘well once we win this game we’re not going to have much time’.”
Watch the clip here:
Building on this point, the star player added, “Call me crazy, but doing it before the gold medal game it just seemed fitting for us, we found one another through the Olympics and it was just really special. To cap it all off with the gold medal is awesome and I can’t wait to cheer her on for the 1,500 metres.”
Featured image from embedded video