U.S.-Canada Tensions Turn Olympic Hockey Final Into a ‘Grudge Match’

Amid growing cross-border political animosity, the game meant even more than usual to Canadian fans who had flown in for one of the marquee events of the Winter Games.The U.S. men’s hockey team prepares to take the ice against Canada in the gold medal match in Milan on Sunday.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesFeb. 22, 2026Updated 9:22 a.m. ETFans dressed in the red and white of Canada swarmed the 14,000-seat Santa Giulia Arena in Milan on Sunday as their men’s national team prepared to square off in ice hockey against the United States, playing for the most cherished gold medal in Canadian sports.Against the backdrop of growing political animosity between the Trump administration and Canada’s government, the game meant even more than usual to many Canadian fans who had flown in for one of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics. Magda Palczynska, who was raised in Wolfsville, Nova Scotia, took a large gulp of air as she considered the significance of Sunday’s encounter.“Let’s be honest, it’s a grudge match,” Ms. Palczynska said, her husband vigorously nodding in agreement. “Canadians feel insulted by who they thought were their allies. It’s a matter of pride.”Inside the arena before the game, the dance cam captured spectators from both teams, pumping their flags and decked out in team gear. One American wore a hockey jersey with 1980 emblazoned across the front, representing the year that the United States upset the Soviet Union at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.ImageThe Canadian team was favored over the U.S. team, which hasn’t won the gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesImageCanadian fans said the game meant more than usual given political tensions with the United States.Credit...Jeremy White/The New York TimesImageIce hockey hasn’t carried so much political significance since 1980, when the United States defeated the Soviet Union on the way to winning the Olympic gold medal. It was the last U.S. men’s victory in the event. Credit...Jeremy White/The New York TimesIt was perhaps the last time that ice hockey carried so much political significance — and it was the last time the U.S. men’s team took home the gold medal. (Canada last won it in 2014.)A stadium announcer, perhaps sensing the mood in the arena, told fans not to “disrespect the other team” as the minutes ticked down to the warm-up. A sign on the jumbotron said that the Olympic Games “are a family event built on the values of respect, friendship and excellence” and reminded fans to “treat other spectators, staff, and volunteers with courtesy,” a sign not seen at figure skating or speedskating.Nevertheless, as the U.S. team took the ice for its pregame warm-up, boos were audible. When the Canadian players skated out after them, cheers mostly drowned out jeers. Out on the plaza in front of the arena, where fans lined up to buy beer and to have their photos taken in front of the Olympic rings, Jeff Hunt, 50, a hockey coach in Virginia, Minn., and Rick Lehecka, 51, a retired business owner from Spring Grove, Ill., bought tickets for the gold medal game online a week ago, before knowing that the United States would be playing in it.“It’s like gambling — you got to take a chance, but we had faith,” Mr. Hunt said. With Canada favored to win, he said, “it’s OK to be the underdog.”He added: “We share borders so we have to be friendly, but when it comes to hockey, this is serious business.”ImageMany Canadian fans carried national flags.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesImageAmerican fans outside the Santa Giulia Arena in Milan before the game.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesImage“It means more to us than it would normally,” one Canadian fan said before the game.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesThe pair had paid $2,600 per ticket last week to secure front-row seats, including for Mr. Lehecka’s son, Kyron, 14, who plays goalie for a club team.Mr. Lehecka, who wore a red “Make America Great Again” cap, said that he did not see the match as political, but noted that Canadian fans had booed the American national anthem at the Four Nations tournament in Montreal a year ago.“I think they took it political,” he said. “I would never boo their national anthem. If they don’t like Trump, we elected him.”Canadian fans said they saw the match in unabashedly political terms. “It is political for us, absolutely,” said Lloyd Tucker, 67, a fan from Toronto dressed in full Team Canada gear. “It never was, but it is now. It means more to us than it would normally. Hockey is the national sport, so if Canada doesn’t win the gold it is a loss.”Motoko Rich is the Times bureau chief in Rome, where she covers Italy, the Vatican and Greece.Tariq Panja is a global sports correspondent, focusing on stories where money, geopolitics and crime intersect with the sports world.SKIP