Hilary Knight’s 2026, and last, Olympics have culminated in the most memorable, gratifying experience for the 36-year-old native of Sun Valley, ID.
Scoring the tying goal late in the third period of the gold medal game, her 15th career marker at the Olympic Games to take sole possession of the top rung on the all-time Team USA ladder. Watching her teammate Megan Keller undress partially-injured Team Canada defender Claire Thompson before finishing a backhand deke of goalie Ann Renee Desbiens to secure the gold medal for the Americans, the third all-time for the country and second for Knight.
Oh yeah, and she got engaged in Italy, proposing to her long-time girlfriend, American speedskater Brittany Bowe.
As the sun sets on Knight’s Olympic career, it seems only fitting that she was the player to net the late third-period equalizer to crack what had been an otherwise impenetrable Canadian armour over the first 58 minutes of Thursday’s gold medal game. Knight has had her fair share of adversity at the Winter Games.
Appearing on the world stage for the first time in Vancouver in 2010, she stood at the blue line as a 20-year-old, dejected along with her countrywomen as a silver medal was draped around her neck. Just moments earlier, as the final buzzer sounded in the gold medal game – a 2-0 shutout win for Canada – Knight, frustrated, attempted to shoot the puck into the empty net vacated by Shannon Szabados, who’d joined Canada’s celebratory pile. Knight was immediately faced with an angry interjection by opponent Tessa Bonhomme, gamesmanship extending beyond the 60th minute of play.
Four years later, Knight was in the penalty box in overtime – her team within a Sochi goal post of becoming Olympic champions – only to watch helplessly as Marie-Philip Poulin netted the power-play winner.
In fact, the 2026 gold medal final was practically a role-reversal of the showdown in Russia a dozen years ago, minus the famous goal post dramatics. This time around, it was Canada who couldn’t hang onto the one-goal lead in the waning moments of regulation, going on to an overtime defeat.
Full marks go to the Canadians for putting up a resilient effort after many pundits, including yours truly, had predicted an American blowout. Canada frustrated its archrivals with a solid defensive effort, looking far from the pushovers it had been in the preliminary round versus the United States. It was youngster Kristin O’Neill who netted the icebreaker, shorthanded, to finally accomplish what only one other 2026 Olympian had done to that point – score on goalie Aerin Frankel.
Canada fell just short of netting the insurance marker. Sarah Fillier missed at least two high-danger scoring chances. And the power play couldn’t capitalize late in regulation time after Britta Curl-Salemme was assessed a boarding penalty on a dangerous hit on defender Erin Ambrose.
Holding off an American surge could last for only 58 minutes.
Canada Had Chances In OT
In overtime, the Canadians looked gassed, their only good chance coming after Daryl Watts was knocked off the puck while streaking down the left wing, when a pass to Fillier might have been the better option. Keller punctuated her team’s victory moments later.
Hockey fans have witnessed the final Olympic showdown between Hilary Knight and her superstar counterpart, wearing the “C”, Marie-Philip Poulin. Captain Clutch has been non-committal about possibly wearing a maple leaf in the French Alps, four years from now.
Meanwhile, Knight has further padded her Hall of Fame resume as one of the game’s all-time greats.
