2026 Olympic Games: Canada leads U.S. 1-0 with one period left to go women's gold-medal hockey game

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O'Neill spoke about her goal during the intermission: "It was a pretty surreal moment," she said.

The Canadians lead this gold-medal game after 40 minutes, and goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens has a lot to do with that.

She’s a goaltender who can steal a game. We’ve certainly seen that in the PWHL, where she’s been the best goaltender statistically since the league launched in 2024.

You have to go back to March 2025 to find a game where she allowed more than two goals against the Montreal Victoire.

We knew she would have to be at her best for Canada to win, and she has been — especially in a second period where the U.S. Had a lot of sustained zone time.

A curling update during the hockey intermission: Brad Jacobs delivered an absolutely surgical play in the 4th end, picking out the Norwegian stone and forcing Norway to one.

It’s 2-1 for Canada leading with the hammer going to the fifth end.

Canada hangs on to the 1-0 lead as we go into the second intermission.

Ann-Renee Desbiens has been a wall in net for Canada this second period, shutting down the American's scoring chances.  

The Canadian fandom inside the Santagiulia Arena in Milan is off the charts. 

There are Canadian flags, jerseys, tuques, sweaters and pants — all in red and white. That's alongside the bedazzled Mounties who have been spotted in the stands at other events at these Games.

Mike Bell and Hamish Black showed off their custom-made getup at today's game, including accessories like a "Tim Birkin" purse.  

"We had to show up in a big way," Black said before the pair made their predictions for the game. 

“I think that the American women are young and fast, but Canada has the better hands. And I think when it comes down to pressure, that's when it really counts,” Bell said.

In 2022, O'Neill was on the taxi squad at the Olympics — on call in case a player came down with COVID-19. She never got to play.

Now, she's earned a spot on this team and has opened the scoring for the Canadians. 

Poulin has talked about how O'Neill always plays with heart.

"She never lets anybody down," Poulin told me last month. "She knows her role. She has an impact in every sense of the word."

That's just the second goal the Americans have allowed in this tournament.

Canada strikes first on a burst of speed from Canada’s penalty killers. It’s Kristin O’Neill from Oakville, Ont., who gets the shorthanded goal off a two-on-one. 

There’s no jailbreak rule in international play, so the penalty kill plays on.

A curling update for you during the hockey intermission: It's Canada vs. Norway in the men's semifinal game. The winner moves on to the gold-medal game, the loser plays for bronze. 

The Canadians had the hammer to start. Here we go, folks.

That’s a great start to this game for Canada, who controlled the play for stretches of that first period. It’s probably the best first period this team has played in the tournament. Starting strong was a priority for this team.

We’ve talked about how the Canadians will have to grind out this game, and that’s what they’re doing so far.

Leading the team in ice time through the first was Fast, with nearly 10 minutes. As Canada’s top defender, they’ll be leaning on her a lot.

Twenty minutes gone and we're still 0-0.

But Canada will be down a player when they take to the ice in the second period, after defender Ella Shelton got a hooking call in the final minute of play. Shelton and U.S. Forward Britta Curl-Salemme were battling for the puck in Canada's zone. Shelton reached around with her stick, tripping up Curl-Salemme, who drew the penalty.

There will be 1:46 minutes remaining on this player advantage when the second period starts. 

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