Winter Olympics 2026 Day 16 recap: Team USA hockey stuns Canada for gold, Eileen Gu wins again, Milan Cortina flame goes out

Well, the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics are officially in the books. But the United States, thanks to a thrilling finish on the ice on Sunday, are headed home on a high note.

Here are the top stories from the final day of the Milan Cortina Olympics:

USA stuns Canada in OT, again

Just like the women’s team did a few days ago, the United States men’s hockey team picked up a thrilling overtime win against their neighbors to the north to wrap up the Olympics on Sunday.

Jack Hughes scored the winning goal past Jordan Binnington not even three minutes into overtime on Sunday in Milan, which sent the Americans into a frenzy on the ice. It marked the American’s first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since the famed 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”

Matt Boldy scored first for Team USA to give them an early lead on Sunday, but Cale Makar evened the game up for Canada on the only shot out of 42 attempts that got past goalkeeper Conner Hellebuyck in the net. That set up the three-on-three overtime period, and eventually the win for the United States.

Canada had owned the rivalry since the Olympics opened up to NHL players in 1998, too. They won gold in both 2002 and 2010, and shut out the United States in the semifinals in 2014. But now, at long last, the Americans have won gold on the ice again.

Eileen Gu defends gold medal in women’s freeski halfpipe

Eileen Gu, the American-born freeskier competing for China, won her second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the women’s halfpipe. After pulling out on her first run, Gu bounced back with a 94.00 in Run 2 and a 94.75 in Run 3. Both scores were good enough to seize gold.

China took the first two spots on the podium, with Gu’s teammate Li Fanghui earning silver with a 93.00 on her third run.

Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin, Gu’s classmate at Stanford, was on top after her first run, but couldn’t recover from missing a landing on her second, despite getting the most amplitude on her jumps among the competitors in the field.

USA Hockey honors Johnny Gaudreau

Shortly after the dust settled after their 2-1 overtime win, Team USA found a way to honor Johnny Gaudreau on the ice.

Gaudreau, a former member of the Columbus Blue Jackets, died in a shocking traffic accident about 18 months ago alongside his brother. They were killed by an alleged drunk driver while biking in New Jersey.

Players made sure to bring out a special Gaudreau Team USA jersey with them to the ice, and then both Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski went to grab Gaudreau’s two oldest children, Noa and Johnny. Jr. to bring them out to celebrate with everyone, too.

“To have Johnny and Noa out there,” Dylan Larkin said afterward, “it just felt right.”

Closing Ceremony hands off Olympics to France

The Milan Cortina Olympics reached their official conclusion with Sunday’s closing ceremony. And, as per custom, the International Olympic Committee began to look ahead to France in 2030. 

The Olympic flame was featured for the last time at these games as Italy’s 1994 gold medal cross-country skiing relay team carried it into the Arena di Verona, the site of Sunday’s closing ceremony. 

From there, Olympic officials lowered the Olympic flag. Members of the Milan Cortina contingent handed it the flag off to the French contingent as France takes the baton to host the Olympics in 2030 for the second time in six years. Paris hosted the Summer Games in 2024.

In between, the Olympics will shift to Los Angeles for the Summer Games in 2028. 

Final Medal Count

The United States overtook Italy to jump into second in the final medal count with 33 total won in these Games. Norway led the way with 41 medals, 18 of which were gold. But the United States finished with 12 gold medals, two more than Italy picked up. 

Highlight of the day

Here’s the last look at the Olympic flame for the 2026 Games. The dual flames in Milan (seen here) and Cortina were extinguished simultaneously to mark the official end of the Winter Games. 

One more thing

If you want more Alysa Liu, you’re in luck. 

The dual gold-medalist U.S. figure skating sensation told NBC on Sunday that she has “no plans to leave” figure skating.

What does that mean for her 2030 prospects in France? Well, that’s a long way out.