The United States claimed hockey superiority over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, with both the men's and women's teams winning gold in overtime against their rivals from the north.
And make no mistake: This is a very real rivalry for both U.S. teams. Fans of men's hockey probably came to that conclusion during the 4 Nations Face-Off last year when the first USA-Canada started with three fights in the first nine seconds.
The rivalry on the women's side has an even more extensive history in recent years and decades, though. The U.S. and Canada have faced each other in the gold medal game of seven of eight Olympics since women's hockey made its debut in 1998, as well as 23 of 24 IIHF Women's World Championships and 21 of 23 4 Nations Cups.
The Americans have taken control in the past year, winning the last eight meetings. They beat Canada twice at the World Championship in April (including in the final), won all four games of this year's Rivalry Series in November and December, and then won both meetings at the Olympics.
Megan Keller scored the gold medal-winning goal at the Olympics, and she and teammates Aerin Frankel and Haley Winn – all of whom play for the Boston Fleet in the PWHL – joined WEEI Afternoons on Monday to discuss the rivalry, winning gold, their newfound fame, and more. Listen to the full two-part interview above.
"Hate 'em," Keller said matter-of-factly when asked about Canada. "I mean, we have a lot of respect for them, obviously. Like, one of the greatest hockey countries in the world, and we get to know them well. They have an incredible group of players, but that's the best part of US-Canada, is the rivalry. I think it's one of the greatest rivalries in all of sport. And so, to cap it off, the gold medal game, US-Canada on all sides, it's special to be a part of. And yeah, there's a lot of dislike on both sides, I would say."
Keller said that bonding with the men's team in Milan and getting to celebrate together after each team won made it even more of a special experience.
"They were so happy for us," Winn said. "We saw them in the cafeteria afterwards, and they were just so pumped up for us."
"[Jack Hughes] has told this story," Keller added. "We were both in the pasta line. I think they had just had a late game, and we were all together as a group getting ready to go out and have some fun, and he just gave me the biggest hug, congratulated me, told me how proud he was of our group. And a few nights later, they ended up winning gold too, and saw him in the cafeteria again, and I got to give him a hug and congratulate them. And I think when we all were hanging out in the cafeteria after we both won, like Charlie McAvoy's in there congratulating every single person on our team. He's just the nicest guy. And I'm like, 'You won too! Like, congrats.' And he's like, 'No, you did it!'
"Honestly, the genuine friendships that we created, like all month when we were there, to be able to be a part of history, both USA men's and women's bringing home gold together for the first time, that's gonna stick with us forever."
Now Keller, Winn and Frankel are hoping to parlay their gold medal into more interest in women's hockey at home. In their case, that's with the Boston Fleet in the PWHL, and they're already seeing some proof that's happening.
"I think it's awesome," Winn said. "This is the first Olympics that – I think everyone has always watched hockey in the Olympics – but this is the first Olympics that there's a league that people can actually follow afterward. So, I think it's huge. I think there's so many more eyes on hockey, on women's hockey specifically. You get so many comments on your social media that's like, 'Didn't even know the league was a thing. Didn't even know women's hockey really existed.' And now we have, like, so many more fans and followers. And I mean, you go to our ticket sales, and they've already kind of gone through the roof. Like our TD Garden game [on April 11] I think sold out right after Meg scored the golden goal, and a lot of our home games coming up kind of are sold out. So, you already see kind of how much it's growing. And yeah, like I said, it's the first Olympics where people can actually continue to follow. So, I think it's gonna be so cool to see the growth of it."