When the puck drops at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, North America’s most intense hockey rivalry will decide the gold medal.

The USA men's ice hockey team will play Canada in the Winter Olympic 2026 final in Italy on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.

MILAN (AP) — It had to be the U.S. and Canada for Olympic gold. As the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago showed, the North American powerhouses are atop the hockey world on the international stage. They proved it at this tournament,

The Canada and United States men's hockey teams are evenly matched heading into the gold medal game. USA TODAY predicts the winner:

While Canada overcame a slow start to win in the semifinals, the United States men's hockey team raced to a five-goal lead to set up a showdown.

Men's ice hockey crowns its Olympic champion on Sunday. Here's everything to know ahead of Sunday's gold medal match.

Here's how to watch the U.S. men's ice hockey team when they go for gold at the final game of the Winter Olympics.

It will be the USA and Canada meeting up in the gold medal game of men's hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Here's when the puck drops.

Canada and the United States meet in the Milano Cortina 2026 men’s ice hockey final on 22 February. Canada leads the Olympic head-to-head record, while both teams remain unbeaten this year. Connor McDavid tops the scoring chart and Connor Hellebuyck leads in save percentage.

SportsLine's expert Mike Tierney reveals his United States vs. Canada picks for their Winter Olympics women's hockey gold-medal matchup on Thursday

In the semifinal, Slovakia had few answers for the American onslaught. Now, the U.S. men will meet Canada for a chance to win the team's first Olympic hockey gold since the "Miracle on Ice" back in 1980.

Canada has a chance at revenge against the United States to close out the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, and the men’s Olympic hockey tournament is the perfect way to end the event. The Canadians always have massive expectations when