The USA won a thrilling gold medal game over Canada in the women’s hockey competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. And viewers showed up in a big way.
The United States team dominated the entire tournament. Entering the final, they were undefeated, outscoring the opposition by a combined score of 31-1. That included a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Canada in the preliminary round.
However, with the gold medal on the line, Canada led 1-0 until the dying minutes. After a late tying goal, Megan Keller was the hero for the USA women’s hockey team, scoring the game-winning goal in an epic moment.
A GOLDEN GOAL FOR GOLD! pic.twitter.com/oLDfElGnI9
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 19, 2026
The game took place on a weekday afternoon, which wouldn’t have maximized its audience potential. However, viewership was still incredibly strong. NBC has featured live coverage of premier events in the afternoons while also offering traditional primetime coverage. That combination has led to a big ratings increase over four years ago.
And that held true for the USA-Canada women’s hockey showdown. According to NBC, it was the most-watched women’s hockey game on record, drawing an average of 5.3 million viewers on linear television and streaming on Peacock. The game peaked with 7.7 million viewers during the overtime period.
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) February 20, 2026
It’s a great accomplishment for women’s hockey to draw such a substantial audience and one of the crowning moments of this year’s 2026 Winter Olympics for Team USA. Like the NHL, the PWHL is on an Olympic break in the middle of their regular season. Hopefully the professional women’s hockey league is able to get an Olympic bounce to give the overall sport a boost coming off of such a thrilling showcase event in Milan.
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