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Everyone got the matchup they wanted for the men’s hockey Olympic gold medal game.
Sunday, the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” pits the United States against Canada in what is arguably the fiercest international rivalry in all of sports, going after all the balls.
Unfortunately for the Americans, Canada has owned this rivalry since day one.
This will be the eighth time the USA and Canada have played for Olympic gold, and the only time the Americans have won was back in 1960. They also met for the gold in 1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 2002 and 2010. In the best-of-best format, the USA was 5-on-1 and 1-9 in the World Cup of Hockey.
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Canada’s Brandon Hagel, left, battles with USA’s Matthew Tkachuk during the first period of a 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes//The Canadian Press via AP)
The very first meeting between the two countries in a best-of-best format was back in the 1976 Canada Cup, which Team Canada won 4-2. The Americans did not get their first victory over their northern neighbors until 20 years later, having lost seven of their first eight meetings and tied the second.
The USA won that year’s World Cup and took home the best-of-three series against Canada, but since then it has mostly been Canadian dominance again.
Canada has gone 7-2 against the Americans since 1998, and four of those wins were absolute gut punches for the USA. Canada took the 2002 Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake City over the Americans, but more famously, Sidney Crosby’s golden goal eight years later also came at the expense of Team USA in front of a crowd in Vancouver. Four years later, Canada again defeated the United States in the Olympic semifinals, and last year Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off with an overtime victory against the Stars and Stripes.
Matt Boldy of Team United States and Sidney Crosby of Team Canada shake hands after the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship game between Team Canada and Team United States at TD Garden on February 20, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Chase Agnello-Dean/4NFO/World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images)
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The USA’s only wins in the aforementioned span came during the group stage of both the 2010 Olympics and last year’s 4 Nations. So it’s been a while since the Americans had real bragging rights. Overall, Canada leads the best-on-best series, 15-5-1.
These two teams are already very familiar with each other as both rosters are largely composed of the same members as last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off where three fights ensued in the first nine seconds of the countries’ first best-versus-best game in nine years.
Tensions between both teams and the fans ran high in that tournament, fresh from President Donald Trump‘s “51st state” comments and charges against the country.
Canada’s Sidney Crosby (87) is checked by USA’s Charlie McAvoy (25) as Vincent Trocheck (16) looks on during the first period of 4 Nations Face-Off hockey in Montreal, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
But this is the true big stage, with revenge, bragging rights and Olympic gold at stake.
The gold medal match takes place on Sunday at 8:10 a.m. ET.
