A look at five things to know from Sunday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games
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MILAN – From more hockey heartbreak to the closing of an entertaining (and sometimes controversial) Olympics, here are five things to know from Sunday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games:
MISSING THE MARK
Canada’s men’s hockey team will be ruing its missed opportunities in a 2-1 overtime loss to the United States in a thrilling men’s hockey final to cap the Milan Cortina Olympics. Canada dominated play for much of the game and outshot their North American archrivals 42-28. But the Canadians didn’t create much on a 93-second 5-on-3 advantage in the second period, and Devon Toews and Nathan MacKinnon failed to convert gilt-edged chances in the third with the score tied 1-1. Unfortunately for the Canadians, Jack Hughes proved to be a lot more opportunistic. The American forward wired a shot past Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington just 1:41 into the 3-on-3 overtime period. The result was a double gut-punch for Canadian hockey fans after the Americans beat Canada on Thursday in the women’s hockey final — also by a score of 2-1 in overtime.
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STRONG SECOND HALF
It wasn’t shaking up to be a banner Games for Canada at the halfway point. Canadian athletes had eight medals through Day 8 of the Olympics, but none of them were gold. It looked like Canada might struggle to match the four gold it won four years ago in Beijing, the country’s lowest total since the 1994 Lillehammer Games. But freeski star Mikaël Kingsbury, who just missed gold in the men’s traditional moguls, won gold in the debut of men’s dual moguls to start an impressive second half for Canada. More gold medals came from Megan Oldham in freeski big air, Steven Dubois in 500-mere short-track speedskating, Valérie Maltais, Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin in speedskating team pursuit and Brad Jacobs’ Calgary-based rink in men’s curling. Canada ended up in the weighted official medal standings 11th, with five gold, seven silver and nine bronze. Its 21 total medals was good for eighth.
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HALFPIPE HURTS
Canada came close to adding to its medal total in the women’s halfpipe final, with Calgary’s Amy Fraser finishing fourth. While she missed the podium, her performance was impressive given she broke her shoulder in training last March before the world championships in Engadin, Switzerland. Halfpipe has proved to not be for the faint of constitution. Rachel Karker, a bronze medallist four years ago, competed after chronic knee injury limited her training and competition in advance of the Games. After two falls Sunday she required the help of two ski poles as she slowly left the competition site. And Cassie Sharpe, an Olympic champion in 2014 and silver medallist in Beijing, wasn’t able to compete in the final at all after sustaining a concussion from a heavy crash during qualifying.
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NORWEGIAN WOULD
Norway didn’t win a gold medal on the final day of competition of the Games, but Heidi Weng’s silver in the first-ever Olympic women’s cross-country skiing 50-kilometre mass start capped a spectacular showing from the Scandinavian nation. Norway dominated the standings with a Winter Games-record 18 gold medals, and 41 medals overall. Cross-country skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo led the way with six gold medals, giving him a Winter Games-record 11 over his career. He is second in career gold medals among all Olympians, summer or winter, but well back of the 23 won by American swimmer Michael Phelps.
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CIAO, ITALIA
Speedskaters Steven Dubois and Valérie Maltais carried the Canadian flag into the closing ceremony of what was an eventful Milan Cortina Olympics. Both the men’s and women’s hockey tournaments provided plenty of thrills despite initial concerns after the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena was rushed to completion. Other highlights included Norway’s dominance and a Winter Games-record 12 gold medals for the United States. There was also plenty of controversy, from the bad conditions for freestyle skiers at Livigno Snow Park to a Canadian curling row — complete with some coarse language from vice skip Marc Kennedy after he was accused of touching the stone after releasing it — that captivated Olympic watchers in the first week of the Games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2026.
