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2002 – CANADA 7, BELARUS 1

Steve Yzerman had a goal and two assists, Mario Lemieux added two helpers and seven different Canadians found the back of the net to lead Canada to the Olympic gold medal game with a semifinal win over Belarus.

The Europeans had earned their spot in the final four with a quarter-final victory over Sweden, considered one of the biggest upsets in international hockey history, but there would be no repeat against the Canadians.

“The night before the game, we had a team dinner and talked about (playing for gold),” says Canadian forward Ryan Smyth. “We knew we were lucky to be Olympians, but we were now one game away from getting a chance to bring back a gold medal. Obviously with our history, we knew how exciting that could be.”

Canada jumped out to an early lead when Yzerman scored at 6:05, but Belarus fought back to tie the game seven minutes later, with defenceman Ruslan Salei beating Martin Brodeur.

That would be the last puck to find its way past Brodeur, and the Canadian offence took over from there, starting with Eric Brewer’s game-winning goal at 17:25 of the opening period.

Scott Niedermayer doubled the lead early in the second period and Paul Kariya gave Canada even more breathing room before 40 minutes were complete. With the Canadians dominating Belarus, holding a 32-9 advantage in shots on goal after two, the third period was anti-climactic.

Simon Gagné, Eric Lindros and Jarome Iginla added goals in the final frame to complete the rout.

In all, seven Canadians scored goals, and 13 had at least a point – a total team effort.

“A lot of lines contributed in that game so it helped everyone settle in,” Smyth says. “Guys just seemed to find the right chemistry all through that tournament.”

Other Games

1952 – Canada continued its stifling defence, allowing Sweden just nine shots on goal – the third time in five games the Canadians kept their opponents under 10 – but escape with a narrow 3-2 victory to remain unbeaten.

1960 – Fred Etcher scored 12 seconds apart in the first period, the fastest two Olympic goals ever by a Canadian, and Jack Douglas had a hat trick to help Canada hammer Germany 12-0 in its first medal round game.

1980 – John Devaney scored for Canada, but the three Stastny brothers – Anton, Marion and Peter – combined for 11 points in Czechoslovakia’s 6-1 win in the fifth-place game in Lake Placid.

1988 – Merlin Malinowski and Serge Boisvert scored goals and Sean Burke made 28 saves in Canada’s 2-2 tie with Sweden to close out the preliminary round and leave the Canadians and Swedes tied with Finland atop Group A.

2006 – Alexander Ovechkin and Alexei Kovalev scored third-period goals, and Canada was shut out for the third time in the tournament, falling 2-0 to Russia in the quarter-finals in Torino.

2010 – Canada booked its spot in the women’s Olympic gold medal game for the fourth time in as many tries, getting a goal and an assist from Meghan Agosta, two assists from Jayna Hefford and 11 saves from Shannon Szabados to beat Finland 5-0 in the semifinals.

2018 – Haley Irwin and Marie-Philip Poulin scored in the second period to put Canada ahead after 40 minutes, but the gold medal game in PyeongChang goes all the way to the sixth round of the shootout before the United States secures a 3-2 win, leaving Canada with silver for the first time since 1998.

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2002 – CANADA 3, UNITED STATES 2

Canada overcame a partisan crowd and some suspect officiating to defeat the United States 3-2 and capture its first women’s Olympic gold medal, and the country’s first in hockey in 50 years.

The Canadians had lost eight straight to their American rivals, but defender Geraldine Heaney says the team wasn’t worried about the streak. “You learn a lot more from losing, and it’s just how you deal with and learn from your mistakes,” she says. “That helped us prepare for that final game because at the end of the day nobody cares about those other games.”

Canada jumped out to an early lead when Caroline Ouellette fired home a Cherie Piper rebound only 1:45 into the game.

The story then became more about the skaters wearing the whistles than the ones wearing the jerseys. The American referee called eight straight penalties on Canada – “She might as well have worn a U.S. jersey,” says Heaney – but the team surrendered only one power-play goal.

Killing all those penalties – Canada would be called for 13 in the game; the U.S., six – shifted the momentum. “The Americans were starting to lose confidence because they couldn’t capitalize with the extra man,” says Heaney. “It had a snowball effect – we just kept building and getting better.”

Two minutes after the U.S. tied things up in the second, Hayley Wickenheiser pounced on a rebound to restore the team’s one-goal lead.

And as time all but expired on the period, Jayna Hefford corralled a bouncing puck and skated in alone, sneaking the puck by U.S. goaltender Sara DeCosta to put her team up by two with one second left on the clock.

With less than four minutes left in the game, the U.S. would get back to within one, but no closer.

The win capped an amazing career for Heaney, who in November 2013 was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. “I knew it would be my last game,” she says. “It was the best way I could retire from the National Women’s Team. I had seven world championships, but winning the Olympic gold, that was the one that was missing for me.”

Other Games

1952 – Canada defeated Switzerland 11-2 behind three goals from Frank Sullivan and two goals each from Billy Gibson and David Miller.

1992 – Curt Giles scored four minutes into the third period and Fabian Joseph added an insurance marker with just over two minutes left in the game as Canada beat Czechoslovakia 4-2. Dave Hansen and Dave Archibald had the other two goals in Canada’s semifinal victory.

1994 – Corey Hirsch turned aside 34 shots as Canada won a back-and-forth affair over Sweden, 3-2. Chris Kontos, Todd Hlushko and Petr Nedved had the goals for Canada.

1998 – Finland’s power play goal 17 seconds into the third period proved to be the game-winner as it captured the bronze medal with a 3-2 win over Canada. Canada outshot Finland 35-14, but only Rod Brind’Amour and Brendan Shanahan found the back of the net.

2006 – Brad Richards, Martin St-Louis and Chris Pronger staked Canada to a three-goal lead after one period and Martin Brodeur stole the show the rest of the way as Canada defeated the Czech Republic 3-2. The Czechs outshot the Canadians 33-16.

2010 – With its 5-3 victory, the United States defeated Canada in Olympic play for the first time since 1960. Eric Staal, Dany Heatley and Sidney Crosby scored for Canada, which outshot the U.S. 45-22.

2014 – Jamie Benn scored the lone goal early in the second period and Carey Price posted a 31-save shutout as Canada blanked the United States 1-0 to advance to the gold medal game for the second-consecutive Olympics.

2018 – Maxim Noreau scored the game-winning goal just 55 seconds into the third period, breaking open a scoreless game, and Kevin Poulin and Ben Scrivens shared a 21-save shutout as Canada moved into the semifinals in PyeongChang with a 1-0 win over Finland.

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2014 – CANADA 3, UNITED STATES 2 (OT)

It will be remembered, quite simply, as The Comeback.

Down 2-0 to the Americans as the clock ticked away, Canada sat just four minutes from its run of three-consecutive Olympic gold medals coming to an end.

But on the bench, there was no quit.

“We thought, ‘Hey, we’ve been down by a couple of goals, we’ve all been down by a couple of goals, so many times in our hockey careers and it’s difficult, it takes a lot to come back from that, but it’s not impossible,” Brianne Jenner said shortly after the game. “Remembering the experiences we had throughout the year helped us in that situation.”

Jenner got it started with 3:26 to go, taking a pass off the boards from Meaghan Mikkelson and letting go a shot that hit a U.S. defenceman and found its way in to cut the American lead in half.

With just 1:25 remaining, the U.S. hit the now infamous goal post on an empty net, “a sign that we were meant to come back,” captain Caroline Ouellette said, and with 55 seconds left, Marie-Philip Poulin scored to pull Canada even and forcing overtime.

A parade of penalties in the extra period put Canada on the power play, and Poulin got the golden goal for the second Games in a row, setting off a celebration in Sochi, and from coast to coast to coast across the country.

“That’s a game that is going to be tough to beat for a long time, whether as a fan, or as a player,” said Jayna Hefford, who joined Ouellette and Hayley Wickenheiser as four-time Olympic gold medallists. “People all the time are relating it to the 1972 Summit Series, and that’s traditionally male hockey fans … which shows the impact that it had.”

Other Games

1960 – Bobby Rousseau scored four times, Fred Etcher and George Samolenko added three goals each and Canada routed Japan 19-1 to improve to 2-0 and clinch first place in Group A in Squaw Valley, Calif. Etcher finished with seven points in the win.

1980 – Jim Nill, Randy Gregg and Brad Pirie scored goals to give Canada a 3-1 lead early in the second period, but the Soviet Union rebounded to earn a 6-4 victory over the Canadians in the preliminary round finale for both in Lake Placid.

1988 – Serge Boisvert scored two of the Olympic record-setting 10 goals in the first period (Canada led France 7-3 after 20 minutes) and added his hat trick marker in the third as the Canadians scored a wild 9-5 win in Calgary.

1998 – Trevor Linden scored with 63 seconds left to tie the game, but Czech Republic goaltender Dominik Hasek stopped all five Canadians in the shootout to lead to Czechs to a 2-1 semifinal win and send Canada to the bronze medal game in Nagano.

2002 – Joe Sakic scored in the first period, Steve Yzerman got the game-winner in the second and Martin Brodeur stopped 18 shots as Canada advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 quarter-final victory over Finland.

2006 – Jayna Hefford had a goal and an assist, Hayley Wickenheiser added two helpers and Canada held Sweden to just eight shots on goal to win its second consecutive Olympic gold medal with a 4-1 win in Turin.

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2002 – CANADA 7, FINLAND 3

Therese Brisson and Hayley Wickenheiser each scored twice as Canada defeated Finland in the Salt Lake City semifinals.

Brisson opened the scoring six minutes in on the power play, and Wickenheiser built on that momentum two minutes later with a short-handed marker.

The Finns cut the deficit in half with less than a minute to play in the period.

Then things got interesting.

“The second period was probably one of the most frustrating 20 minutes of hockey I’ve ever played,” says Brisson. “We had all the chances in the world and were doing all the right things, but we just couldn’t bury one.”

Canada’s dominance was working against it. With her teammates spending so much time in the offensive zone, goalie Kim St-Pierre was left as a spectator for long stretches at a time. At one point Canada had four straight power plays and still couldn’t find the back of the net. “We really had control the entire game,” says Brisson. “It’s just that second period we weren’t able to bury our chances and the two they had they did.”

During the second intermission the team still felt calm, even though it now trailed 3-2. The same could not be said for everyone in the stands. “We heard later our parents and family were in quite the panic because they didn’t have tickets to the bronze medal game,” laughs Brisson.

The team broke through early in the third, when Wickenheiser notched her second of the game. Six seconds later, Jayna Hefford scored.

Brisson, Vicky Sunohara and Cassie Campbell all scored in the last three minutes to put the game out of reach.

While the closer-than-expected semifinal may have left family a little white-knuckled, it helped prepare the team for its next game against the U.S. “You don’t want to go through a tournament like that with no adversity and then come out and play your biggest rival,” says Brisson. “I think at the end of the day we were glad for it.”

Other Games

1928 – Dave Trottier scored five times and Hugh Plaxton four times as Canada beat host Switzerland 13-0 to win the gold medal in St. Moritz. Goaltenders Jim Sullivan and Stuffy Mueller didn’t allow a goal during the tournament.

1952 – Billy Gibson scored twice to lead Canada to a 4-1 win over Czechoslovakia. Bruce Dickson and Gordie Robertson also scored, while Ralph Hansch made 21 saves in net.

1960 – Canada – represented by the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen – opened the Squaw Valley Games win a 5-2 win over Sweden. Bob Attersley led the way with a goal and three assists and Fred Etcher scored twice and added an assist.

1984 – Canada outshot Sweden 28-22, but the Swedes scored the only two goals of the game to clinch the bronze medal. It was the Canadians’ third straight shutout loss to close out the tournament.

1994 – Paul Kariya scored just over a minute in to the game, but that was the only goal Canada would get as it fell 3-1 to Slovakia, its first loss in Lillehammer.

2006 – Finland scored twice in the first period and withstood continual pressure in its zone the rest of the way to defeat Canada 2-0, handing the Canadians their second shutout loss in a row.

2014 – Shea Weber blasted home a power-play goal with 6:54 remaining to help Canada survive a scare from Latvia and earn a 2-1 quarter-final win. Patrick Sharp also scored for the Canadians, who withstood a Herculean 55-save effort from Latvian goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis.

2018 – After allowing just two goals in three preliminary-round games, Canada continued its suffocating defensive play with a 5-0 semifinal win over the Olympic Athletes from Russia. Jennifer Wakefield scored twice, including the game-winner just 1:50 in, and Shannon Szabados posted a 14-save shutout.

Another Olympic Winter Games is coming to a close in Milan, and another chapter of Team Canada hockey history is being written in Italy.

As part of Black History Month, let’s take a look back at the seven Black athletes who have helped – and are helping – write that history.

DARREN LOWE

1984 – 7GP 2G 2A 4P (4th place)

The trailblazer, Lowe became Canada’s first Black Olympian at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo. The Toronto product scored twice—getting the Canadians even early in the third period of an eventual 4-2 win over Finland and counting the game-winner in an 8-1 win over Austria – and added a pair of assists, putting his name on the scoresheet in each of the first four games (all Canadian wins).

CLAUDE VILGRAIN

1988 – 6GP 0G 0A 0P (4th place)

Born in Haiti and raised in Quebec City, Vilgrain was a Team Canada staple in the mid-1980s, playing 145 games with Canada’s National Men’s Team from 1986-88. That run concluded in Calgary, where he went scoreless in six games in the home-ice Games.

JAROME IGINLA

2002 – 6GP 3G 1A 4P (gold medal)
2006 – 6GP 2G 1A 3P (7th place)
2010 – 7GP 5G 2A 7P (gold medal)

The 2021 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee was front and centre in a pair of games that will forever have a place in Olympic hockey lore. In 2002, the St. Albert, Alberta, native scored twice and added an assist in a 5-2 gold medal game win over the U.S. that ended a 50-year drought for Canada. Eight years later, cries of ‘Iggy! Iggy! Iggy!’ rang in the ears of Canadian fans as Iginla set up Sidney Crosby for the Golden Goal in Vancouver.

P.K. SUBBAN

2014 – 1GP 0G 0A 0P (gold medal)

Has there ever been a better seventh defenceman? As part of a deep Canadian blue-line, Subban – the reigning Norris Trophy winner—got into just a single game in Sochi, playing 11:41 in a 6-0 prelim win over Austria.

SARAH NURSE

2018 – 5GP 1G 0A 1P (silver medal)
2022 – 7GP 5G 13A 18P (gold medal)
2026 – 6GP 0G 2A 2P (medal game to be played)

The first Black woman to wear red and white on the biggest stage in sports, Nurse netted just a single goal in PyeongChang, but it was a beauty in a big game – she wired home the game-winner in a 2-1 preliminary-round victory over the U.S. The Hamilton, Ontario, product broke out in a big way in Beijing, setting an Olympic women’s hockey record for points in a single tournament with 18, earning a place on the all-star team and helping Canada regain its gold medal.

JOSH HO-SANG

2022 – 5GP 0G 3A 3P (6th place)

The Thornhill, Ontario, native played a complementary role in Beijing, averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time—only two Canadian forwards had less—and recording three assists in five games. Two of his helpers came in the prelim finale, a win over host China.

SOPHIE JAQUES

2026 – 6GP 0G 3A 3P (medal game to be played)

The first-time Olympian has been one of Canada’s steadiest defenders in Milan; averaging just over 17 minutes a game, Jaques has earned assists in three-consecutive games and is a team-best +5 while directing 13 shots on goal, third best among Canadian blue-liners.

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1992 – CANADA 4, GERMANY 3 (SO)

When Canadian hockey fans think of Olympic hockey shootouts, the first that come to mind are the 1998 semifinal loss to the Czech Republic or the 1994 gold medal defeat at the hands of Peter Forsberg and Sweden.

But two years before the loss in Lillehammer, Canada came out on top in the first shootout in Olympic history, a quarter-final victory over Germany at the 1992 Games in Albertville, France.

“We had practiced penalty shots quite a bit but I never imagined it would ever come to life the way it did,” recalls defenceman Jason Woolley, who scored one of the three Canadian goals in the shootout. “It was a momentum builder for us at the time.”

With the game tied 2-2 after two, Canada looked as if it had taken the lead for good when Kevin Dahl scored with just 6:06 to go, but the Germans answered less than four minutes later, forcing overtime and, eventually, a shootout.

After the first four shooters were unsuccessful, Woolley gave Canada the lead to start off Round 3, wiring a wrist shot over the glove of German netminder Helmut de Raaf.

Just don’t ask Woolley to remember the goal.

“We were so focused on winning at all costs. I don’t remember much other than Dave King calling my name for the shootout. I was real nervous, until I hit the ice. Then I was ready to shine.”

Wally Schreiber and Michael Rumrich traded goals in Round 4, keeping Canada in the lead, but Andreas Brockmann converted the Germans’ last chance in Round 5, forcing a sudden death round.

Canada’s 18-year-old phenom, Eric Lindros, served as the shootout hero, deftly deking to the forehand to beat de Raaf, and veteran netminder Sean Burke got just enough of Peter Draisaitl’s shot, which stopped on the goal line, to send Canada to the semifinals.

Other Games

1928 – Hugh Plaxton scored six goals to help Canada, represented by the University of Toronto Grads, hammer Great Britain 14-0 in the opening game for both in St. Moritz.

1952 – Canada kept its perfect record intact and hit double-digits in goals for the third time in as many games, getting three goals from George Abel and shutout goaltending from Eric Paterson in an 11-0 win over Poland.

1980 – John Devaney, Kevin Primeau, Paul MacLean, Ron Davidson, Warren Anderson and David Hindmarch had goals and Paul Pageau made 13 saves for the shutout as Canada scored twice in each period to blank Japan 6-0.

1988 – Randy Gregg scored for Canada, but three goals in 6:09 late in the first period were enough for Finland to earn a 3-1 win in Calgary, handing the Canadians their lone preliminary round loss.

1998 – Joe Nieuwendyk and Shayne Corson scored in the first 2:13, Wayne Gretzky had a pair of assists and Canada held Kazakhstan to just seven shots over the final 40 minutes of a 4-1 quarter-final win in Nagano, sending the Canadians to the semifinals.

2002 – Mario Lemieux scored twice and Joe Nieuwendyk tied the game with 3:24 to go as Canada wrapped up a 1-1-1 preliminary round in Salt Lake City with a 3-3 tie with the Czech Republic.

2006 – Canada outshot Switzerland 49-16, including 24-1 in the third period, but two goals from Canadian-born Paul DiPietro and spectacular goaltending from Martin Gerber led the Swiss to a 2-0 victory, their first ever over Canada at the Olympics.

2010 – Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist each in regulation time, and Sidney Crosby scored the lone goal in the shootout as Canada earned a 3-2 win over Switzerland.

2018 – Kevin Poulin needed to make just 19 saves for the shutout, and goals from Christian Thomas, Eric O’Dell, Maxim Lapierre and Gilbert Brule gave Canada a 4-0 win over South Korea to close the preliminary round and send the Canadians to the quarterfinals.

Previous days: Feb. 6 | Feb. 7 | Feb. 8 | Feb. 9 | Feb. 10 | Feb. 11 | Feb. 12 | Feb. 13 | Feb. 14 | Feb. 15 | Feb. 16

2022 – CANADA 3, UNITED STATES 2

Another Olympic gold medal, another Olympic moment for Marie-Philip Poulin. Ho hum.

Poulin scored for the fourth time in as many Olympic finals—netting the game-winning goal for the third time in three golden moments—and Canada regained the gold medal it lost in PyeongChang with a win over the United States.

‘Captain Clutch,’ who was six months removed from scoring the overtime winner at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Calgary, extended the Canadian lead to 2-0 just past the 15-minute mark of the first period and made it a three-goal game 9:08 into the second.

She also helped set up the opening goal from Sarah Nurse, giving her seven goals and an assist in four career Olympic gold medal games.

“Trying to describe her is almost getting to a point where we should not,” 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Danièle Sauvageau told CBC after the gold medal game. “We should just say: It's Poulin.”

As with most Canada-U.S. matchups, though, this one would come down to the wire; Hilary Knight got the Americans on the board late in the second period and Amanda Kessel made it a one-goal game with a power-play goal with 13 seconds remaining.

But Ann-Renée Desbiens—who made 38 saves as the U.S. outshot Canada 40-21—shut the door in a wild final flurry, returning the Olympic gold medal north of the 49th parallel.

“It's just so good,” Poulin said after the game. “It's a great feeling. It was one hell of an effort. This is redemption.”

Nurse finished with a goal and an assist to set a pair of Olympic records—most assists (13) and points (18) in a single tournament.

Other Games

1928 – Dave Trottier scored five goals and Jim Sullivan had the shutout as Canada blanked Sweden 11-0 to open its tournament. As two-time defending gold medallists, the Canadians were allowed to bypass the preliminary and automatically earned a place in the medal round.

1952 – Billy Gibson had a hat trick and Canada took a commanding 6-2 lead after the first period en route to a 13-3 win over Finland. The Canadians surrendered only seven shots on net, the fewest ever for the Olympic team.

1968 – With the gold medal on the line, Canada fell to the Soviet Union 5-0 to close out the round-robin tournament, leaving the Canadians with the bronze.

1984 – Mario Gosselin made 34 saves in the Canadian goal, but Canada managed just 15 shots – its fewest in an Olympic game – in a 4-0 loss to the Soviet Union. It also marked the first time Canada had ever been shut out in back-to-back Olympic games.

1994 – Dwayne Norris scored twice and Petr Nedved once – on the first penalty shot in Canadian Olympic history – but Canada conceded a late power-play goal and settled for a 3-3 tie with the United States.

1998 – Danielle Goyette scored her tournament-leading eighth goal with 4:01 remaining, but that would be it for offence as Canada fell 3-1 to the United States in the first-ever women’s hockey gold medal game in Nagano.

2002 – Canada scored three times in the second period and held off a high-flying German team in the third to grab a 3-2 win. Joe Sakic, Paul Kariya and Adam Foote scored for Canada; Martin Brodeur stopped 18 shots to pick up his first Olympic victory.

2006 – Canada scored four times on the power play to defeat Finland 6-0 in a semifinal showdown and move on to the gold medal game. Gillian Apps led the way with a goal and three assists, while Hayley Wickenheiser added a goal and two helpers.

2010 – Meghan Agosta and Hayley Wickenheiser had five points each to lead Canada to a 13-1 victory over Sweden. Cherie Piper and Gillian Apps had two goals apiece, in a game in which 15 Canadian players had at least one point.

2014 – Natalie Spooner scored twice and Mélodie Daoust added one – all in a span of just over four minutes of the first period – to send Canada to a 3-1 semifinal win over Switzerland and book a spot in the gold medal game for the fifth time in as many Olympics.

2018 – Mason Raymond and Rene Bourque scored goals in the first period, but a defensive struggle went all the way to a shootout before Canada dropped a 3-2 decision to the Czech Republic

Previous days: Feb. 6 | Feb. 7 | Feb. 8 | Feb. 9 | Feb. 10 | Feb. 11 | Feb. 12 | Feb. 13 | Feb. 14 | Feb. 15

2010 – CANADA 8, NORWAY 0 

By the time Feb. 16, 2010 rolled around, it had been a long time since Canada had played a men’s Olympic hockey game on Canadian ice – 8,025 days, to be exact, since Canada faced Czechoslovakia at the 1988 Games in Calgary.

So to say the fans, not to mention the players, were excited for Canada vs. Norway in Vancouver would be a bit of an understatement.

“It was a huge thrill,” Canadian captain, and B.C. native, Scott Niedermayer says. “Even before stepping out onto the ice, just being in Vancouver and seeing so many people around town wearing red and white and waving Canadian flags was pretty amazing.

“When we hit the ice for the first game, the rink was no different. We felt the excitement and the energy that everybody had. It’s something I’ll never forget and it was a pretty special moment for sure.”

Fans had plenty to cheer about in the men’s tournament opener – Jarome Iginla had a hat trick, Dany Heatley scored twice, and Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry added singles for the Canadians, who outshot Norway 42-15.

Niedermayer says the one-sided victory served as a bit of a stress reliever for a team that had only practiced together one time before the puck dropped and knew the pressures of playing on home ice, some of which came from within.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves; going into an ice hockey tournament and being a Canadian, you already know what the expectations are. We are no different than a fan sitting at home and watching the game, we want to go out there and win.”

Other Games

1980 – After opening its first Olympic tournament in 12 years with a pair of wins, Canada gave up a late shorthanded goal to Finland’s Seppo Suoraniemi and dropped a 4-3 decision in Lake Placid.

1988 – Gord Sherven, Ken Yaremchuk and Marc Habscheid scored third-period goals to break open a 1-1 tie as Canada beat Switzerland 4-2 to improve to 2-0 in Group A play in Calgary.

1992 – Canada gave up 52 shots on goal, more than any other game in Canadian Olympic history, but erased a 4-2 third-period deficit to pull even before the Unified Team earned a 5-4 win with a late goal. Dave Hannan and Dave Tippett had a goal and an assist each for the Canadians.

1998 – Joe Sakic scored once and added two assists – his only points of the Games – and Keith Primeau had a pair of goals to lead Canada to a 4-1 win over the United States to close out an unbeaten preliminary round.

2002 – Jayna Hefford had a goal and three assists, Jennifer Botterill scored twice, Kim St-Pierre made 22 saves for the shutout and Canada fired 70 shots on goal as it routed Sweden 11-0 to clinch first in Group A in its preliminary-round finale.

2006 – Five different players scored goals, and Simon Gagné was the lone player to record multiple points, finishing with a goal and an assist, as Canada topped Germany 5-1 to run its record to 2-0.

2014 – Drew Doughty scored both goals, including the game-winner 2:32 into overtime, helping Canada clinch first place in Group B and clinch its spot in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Finland.

2022 – Canada’s journey in Beijing came to an end with a 2-0 loss to Sweden in the quarterfinals. Matt Tomkins stopped 24 of 25 shots, but the Swedes scored the winner inside the last 10 minutes and added an empty-netter late.

Previous days: Feb. 6 | Feb. 7 | Feb. 8 | Feb. 9 | Feb. 10 | Feb. 11 | Feb. 12 | Feb. 13 | Feb. 14

2006 – CANADA 7, ITALY 2

Canada opened defense of its Olympic gold medal with a convincing win over host Italy. Jarome Iginla led the way with two goals, and Dany Heatley, Martin St. Louis and Shane Doan each added a goal and an assist.

The Italian team featured nine Canadian-born players, including starting goaltender Jason Muzzatti. A Toronto native, Muzzatti had suited up for Canada’s National Men’s Team in the 1990s.

“All Canadian kids grow up wanting to play for Team Canada, so it was a little odd playing against Canada,” says Muzzatti. “But my parents were born in Italy and I always wanted to finish my career there, so it was a great honour for me as well.”

The Italians played the Canadians tight through the first 20 minutes. The only goal of the opening period came when Iginla finished off a passing play from Todd Bertuzzi and Joe Sakic on the power play.

Forty-three seconds into the second period Italy tied the game on a goal from Montreal-born Giulio Scandella.

“The place erupted,” says Muzzatti. “I remember just taking it all in. I had a sense that it might be as good as it was going to get for us. And it ended up being that.”

Canada fired 28 shots at Muzzatti and scored five times in the period. John Parco, a native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., scored the second Italian goal in the closing minutes of the frame.

Joe Thornton scored the only goal of the third period. Martin Brodeur made 18 saves in the win. Muzzatti – who now runs Just Goalies, a goaltending camp in East Lansing, Mich. – stopped 43 shots for Italy.

Despite the loss, Muzzatti says his team felt proud. “Normally in a 7-2 game you’re not feeling great, but we arguably stood up against the defending champs,” he says. “We were severe underdogs and we felt pretty good about battling them and making a game of it.”

Other Games

1936 – In a match-up in which neither side took a penalty, Canada defeated Czechoslovakia 7-0 in the final game for both teams, clinching the silver medal for the Canadians. It marked the first time ever Canada had not won Olympic gold.

1952 – David Miller had five goals and an assist and Billy Gibson added four goals and two assists to lead Canada to an easy 15-1 victory over Germany. Canada found the back of the net four times in 48 seconds late in the first period.

1968 – Marshall Johnston, Gerry Pinder and Danny O’Shea scored as Canada blanked Sweden 3-0 and ran its Olympic record against its Nordic opponent to a perfect 10-0.

1984 – After winning its first four games, Canada is shut out for the first time since 1968, falling 4-0 to Czechoslovakia. Mario Gosselin made 32 saves in the Canadian goal.

1994 – Todd Hlushko scored twice and Greg Parks picked up two assists as Canada narrowly defeated France 3-1. Todd Warriner scored the third goal for Canada, and Corey Hirsch faced only 10 shots in backstopping the win.

2002 – Sweden scored five unanswered goals – including four in a 10-minute span in the second period – to beat Canada 5-2 in the opening game for both teams. Rob Blake and Eric Brewer scored for Canada, which outshot Sweden 35-25.

2010 – Meghan Agosta scored twice and Gillian Apps, Cherie Piper and Hayley Wickenheiser added three points each as Canada defeated Switzerland 10-1. The Canadians outshot the Swiss 62-12; Shannon Szabados picked up the win.

2018 – In the first Olympic tournament without NHLers in 24 years, Rene Bourque and Wojtek Wolski—who combined for almost 1,200 NHL games in their careers—both scored twice to lead Canada to a 5-1 win over Switzerland in its curtain-raiser in PyeongChang. Derek Roy added three assists and Ben Scrivens made 28 saves.

2018 – Canada closed out a perfect preliminary round with a 2-1 win over the United States. Meghan Agosta and Sarah Nurse provided the offence in the second period and Genevieve Lacasse made them stand up with a 44-save performance.

2022 – Facing off with the host country for the second time in three days, Canada booked its place in the quarterfinals with a 7-2 qualification-round win over China. Jordan Weal scored two power-play goals in the first 10 minutes and Adam Tambellini finished with two goals and three assists.

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1988 – CANADA 1, POLAND 0

In Canada’s first Olympic game ever on home soil, the team narrowly defeated Poland 1-0.

Marc Habscheid scored the only goal of the game four minutes into the first period. Gord Sherven and Trent Yawney picked up the assists.

Canada outshot Poland 29-17, and Andy Moog earned the win in his Olympic debut.

Those watching the Games expected Canada would dominate Poland – it had won the previous six Olympic meetings by a combined score of 58-2 – but recent history told the players otherwise. The teams had played a pair of exhibition games in Poland two years earlier, with Canada winning one and the other ending in a tie.

“We understood that it wasn’t going to be a walkover, but unfortunately that’s not what the press and the expectations were from the general public,” says Sherven. “We knew that it would be a relatively tight game.”

Poland’s game plan was all about defense. “They played five men back,” remembers Sherven. “They would block the line with men across and the D moving into the zone. A lot of time we were forced to dump and chase.”

This led to the first – and only – goal of the game.

Polish goalie, Gabriel Samolei – the team’s backup tender – misplayed the puck behind the net. Sherven beat the defenseman to the play, picked up the puck before Samolei could retreat to his crease and fed Habscheid out front.

“I heard [Habscheid] yell and I knew the goalie was out of position,” says Sherven. “I just backhanded it in front and he had a wide open net.”

Sherven says the players knew how special it was to be a part of Canada’s first Olympic hockey game on home soil. He can still see his friend’s dad – a normally reserved man – crawling up the glass of the Saddledome to wish him luck. “That’s what I remember, how people reacted.”

Other Games

1936 – Canada recorded its third of four shutouts in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, defeating the United States 1-0 and improving its record to 6-1.

1980 – Canada got goals from five different players – Stelio Zupanich, Tim Watters, Ken Berry, John Devaney and Kevin Primeau – and defeated Poland 5-1. Neither team took a penalty in the game.

1992 – Canada scored three of its team-record nine power play goals of the tournament as it defeated Czechoslovakia 5-1. Joe Juneau and Dave Archibald led the way with an even strength and power play goal each.

1998 – Rob Blake capped off a three-goal second period for Canada, scoring with only seven seconds left in the middle frame as the team defeated Sweden 3-2. Joe Nieuwendyk had a goal and two assists in the victory.

1998 – Lori Dupuis, Jayna Hefford and Thérèse Brisson scored in the opening six minutes of the third period to give Canada a 4-1 lead over the United States. However, the Americans responded with six unanswered goals to win the preliminary round finale, 7-4.

2006 – Canada outshot Sweden 47-8 and wrapped up first place in its group with an 8-1 win. Gillian Apps netted a hat trick, Danielle Goyette scored twice and Hayley Wickenheiser added a goal and two assists to lead the Canadian offense.

2014 – Jeff Carter became the first Canadian since 1956 to score a hat trick in one period and Patrick Marleau set up all three to lead Canada in a 6-0 win over Austria. Roberto Luongo made 23 saves in his lone Sochi start to earn his seventh career Olympic win and pull even with Murray Dowey and Martin Brodeur for the most wins ever by a Canadian goaltender.

2022 – Canada punched its ticket to the gold medal game for the seventh time in as many Olympic women’s hockey tournaments with a 10-3 semifinal win over Switzerland. Marie-Philip Poulin netted a pair of goals, Sarah Nurse had four more assists and Claire Thompson contributed a goal and two helpers as the Canadians scored five times in the first 10:40 and never looked back.