Olympics: 1)8.7 million Canadians watched end of men’s gold-medal hockey game at Olympics 2)Overtime hockey heartbreak closes Milan Cortina Olympics for Canada

1) 8.7 million Canadians watched end of men’s gold-medal hockey game at Olympics

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, Feb. 24, 2026.

Nearly nine million Canadians watched the end of the men’s gold-medal hockey game, which CBC says was Canada’s most-watched moment at the Milano Cortina Olympics.

But it’s an apparent decline from Sochi 2014, the last time Canada’s men’s hockey team made it to the gold medal matchup, when CBC said 15 million Canadians tuned in to some portion of the game and average viewership hovered at 8.5 million.

CBC didn’t say how many people watched this year’s game in total, or what the average viewership throughout the game was: only that 8.7 million were tuned in for the final goal.

The broadcaster says roughly 30.5 million Canadians — about 73 per cent of the population — watched some portion of the Olympics on CBC’s English and French TV networks and broadcast partners TSN, Sportsnet and RDS.

The broadcaster says its online content received “89 million streams,” though the press release didn’t say how long someone had to watch for it to count as a stream.

But it says viewers watched 42 million hours of content on CBC’s digital and streaming platforms, including CBC Gem.

CBC says the final moments of the gold medal men’s hockey game, when American player Jack Hughes scored the final goal in overtime, was the peak of Olympic viewership, while 5.1 million viewers watched the final minute of the men’s semifinal game over Czechia.

It says 4.22 million viewers watched the final minutes of the women’s gold medal hockey game, which the U.S. also won over Canada, and 3.1 million watched Canada win the gold medal in men’s curling over Great Britain.

2)Overtime hockey heartbreak closes Milan Cortina Olympics for Canada

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, February 22, 2026

After a medal-filled second week, Canada’s Olympic run in Milan Cortina ended with a devastating 2-1 overtime loss to the United States in the men’s hockey gold-medal final on Sunday.

New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes scored 1:41 into extra time, left alone in the slot during 3-on-3 play as Canada scrambled after surrendering an odd-man break seconds earlier.

Matthew Boldy of the Minnesota Wild also tallied for the U.S. in the first period, while Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar scored an equalizer for Canada late in the second.

“It’s really disappointing, especially with the group we had. The whole time, we believed in ourselves. We had lots of chances, I had lots of chances, I missed. You get put in those situations, you have to capitalize on your opportunities, and I didn’t,” said Canada forward Macklin Celebrini, of North Vancouver, B.C.

“We went through a lot. We’re all going to remember this time, but unfortunately, it’s going to be more motivational than celebration.”

The gold is the United States’ first in Olympic men’s hockey since the 1980 Lake Placid Games.

Canada played the final without captain Sidney Crosby, sidelined by a lower-body injury sustained when his right leg bent awkwardly in the quarterfinal win over Czechia.

He also missed the 3-2 semifinal victory over Finland on Friday.

Canada had previously beaten the United States for Olympic gold in 2002 and 2010, and defeated the Americans in overtime in last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off final.

Hockey silver served as Canada’s final medal of the Milan Cortina Games.

After sitting on eight medals and no gold at the halfway mark, Canada’s Olympic team collected 13 in the second half — including five gold — to finish the Cortina Games with 21 medals and eighth overall on the medal table, behind Norway (41), the United States (33) and host Italy (30).

Canada finished outside the top five countries on the Olympic medal table for the first time since 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. The 21-medal total, short of the 26-medal target set after Beijing, comes as national sport organizations say core federal funding — about $266 million annually — has not increased since 2005, despite a request for a $144-million boost.

“There were incredible medal moments,” chief executive officer David Shoemaker said at the COC’s closing news conference in Milan on Sunday. “But we’re competitive. We look up at the medal table. We see the countries ahead of us. We aspire to do better, and we worry about the future.”

Canada narrowly missed another podium in women’s halfpipe, where Calgary’s Amy Fraser placed fourth, and China’s Eileen Gu defended her Olympic title.

Cassie Sharpe of Squamish, B.C., the 2014 Olympic champion in the event, qualified third but sustained a concussion in a crash and did not participate in the final.

There was also Canadian content in the men’s four-man bobsled finals, where Taylor Austin of Lethbridge, Alta., piloted the top Canadian team to a 14th-place finish.

Jasmine Drolet of Rossland, B.C., was the top Canadian in the women’s 50-kilometre classic style cross-country ski race, finishing 17th.

The Games take a curtain call in Sunday’s closing ceremony, set to be held at the Verona Olympic Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheatre and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The ceremony gathers athletes from more than 90 countries to celebrate and bid farewell to the Games.

Speedskater Valérie Maltais and short-track speedskater Steven Dubois have been named Canada’s flag-bearers for the closing ceremonies.

“I feel like, honestly, this might be the best day of my life. It’s crazy. It might be the sum of everything that’s happening,” said Dubois, who won gold in the men’s 500 metre and silver in the mixed relay.

“To close it off, a very special Games, as flagbearer, my goal coming here was to enjoy the moment, and there’s probably no way I can do that more than by being a flagbearer. It’s going to be a dream for me.