US Women's Hockey Wins Gold in Thriller Over Canada

For Team USA women's hockey, it's going to be a party like 1998. Or 2018. Because there's a new team that reached immortality at the Winter Olympics.

Megan Keller capped off a thrilling comeback win for Team USA in the Gold Medal Game on Thursday afternoon, scoring the golden goal in a 2-1 overtime win over Team Canada.

How It Happened

Team Canada grabbed early momentum in the first period with a pair of power-play opportunities. Canada had an 8-6 lead in shots after the first period.

Early in the second, the US had carryover power play time, but Canada cashed in on an opportunity. A shorthanded two-on-one ended with Kristin O'Neill taking a pass from Laura Stacey and scoring on a backhand to make it 1-0 Canada. Both USA and Canada had scoring chances in the remainder of the period, but the one-goal lead held going to the third.

With 2:04 remaining in the third, USA tied the game on a deflection goal by Hilary Knight. It was Knight's 15th career Olympic goal, setting a new record for women's hockey.

At 4:07 of overtime, Keller took a lead pass from Taylor Heise and made a great move around Claire Thompson before scoring on the backhand to secure the gold medal.

By the Numbers

Shots: USA: 33, Canada: 31
Power Play: USA: 0-for-1, Canada: 0-for-3
Faceoffs: USA: 51.6%, Canada: 48.4%
Goalie: USA Aerin Frankel: 30 saves on 31 shots, CAN Ann-Renee Desbiens: 31 saves on 33 shots

Key Performer

⭐ Megan Keller — Already a gold medal winner in 2018, Megan Keller cemented her place in Olympic history with the overtime golden goal.

⭐⭐ Hilary Knight — A historic Olympic career comes complete with the game-tying goal that set up Team USA's overtime heroics, just in the knick of time.

⭐⭐⭐ Aerin Frankel — The Team USA netminder made 30 saves on 31 shots and won a goaltending duel, holding the margin at one goal for over 37 minutes.

The Takeaway

Could this be the start of a long stretch of winning for Team USA? It may have been Hilary Knight's final Olympic appearance, but Team USA was heavily powered by young talent that will certainly be back in 2030 and 2034. USA has now closed the gap on Canada in gold medals at the Winter Olympics to 5-3.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.