The U.S. won all seven of its tournament games by a combined 33-2, marking the first time since the Americans’ gold-winning performance at the 1998 Nagano Games that they went undefeated.
“Winning gold here in Milan was the ultimate goal, and our group battled constantly to make that a reality,” U.S. coach John Wroblewski said. “From our veteran leadership to our first-time Olympians, this team came together to accomplish something greater than themselves. I couldn’t be more proud.”
U.S. forward Hilary Knight forced overtime by tying the game 1-1 with 2:04 remaining in the third period and goalie Aerin Frankel pulled for an extra attacker.
Knight was standing in the slot when she deflected a shot from the point by Laila Edwards. Knight, who has 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 29 career Olympic games, set Olympic records Thursday for the most goals and points by any U.S. man or woman.
The U.S. captain was asked if she needed to will her team to victory.
“When you have a one-goal deficit against Canada, you have to find the back of the net, especially against a great goaltender,” Knight told NBC. “We knew it was a matter of time, but you could also run out of time against a great team. We’re fortunate to have a great squad to get the job done.”
Knight was playing in her fifth Olympic Games. She had announced last year that these Olympics would be her last, but when asked after the game Thursday if she had scored her final Olympic goal, Knight replied, “We’ll see.”
