As the tournament nears its conclusion, both Team USA and Canada remain undefeated. In the preliminary round, Team USA dominated Switzerland with a 4-0 victory, while Canada shut out Latvia 4-0. In the quarterfinals, Team USA beat Slovakia 7-2, while Canada narrowly defeated Sweden 5-4.
Team USA has a storied history in the gold-medal game, with 11 victories in their 16 appearances. Last year in 2023, they defeated Sweden 3-2 in overtime to win their latest gold medal. They have won back-to-back gold medals on five previous occasions, including in 2014 and 2015.
This will be the third time that Team USA and Canada face off in the gold-medal game. The United States won their previous meeting in 2005 with a score of 5-1, while Canada responded with a hard-fought victory of 3-2 in 2013. Their most recent matchup was in the preliminary round of the tournament in 2022, where Team USA emerged victorious with an impressive score of 8-3.