Fans Rally Behind Hockey Icon After Olympic Final Defeat
The atmosphere at Champs Sports Bar in Montreal's Plateau district shifted from jubilation to stunned silence in a matter of minutes. When Team Canada scored first in the women's hockey gold medal game against the United States at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, the crowd erupted. But when the U.S. scored the winning goal in overtime to secure a 2-1 victory, the bar fell quiet.
Canada had maintained their lead until the final two minutes of regulation time, when a goal from American star Hilary Knight forced overtime. The sudden turn of events left Canadian supporters heartbroken.
"I don't think America deserved to win that game," said Emma Hebert, a Montreal Victoire season pass holder and minor league hockey coach who watched the game at Champs. "We were making good plays until the last two minutes. It just entirely fell apart. America got momentum as soon as they scored that goal, and they were just all over us. It was like watching a train wreck."
The Return of Captain Clutch
All eyes were on Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who had returned to the ice after being sidelined with a knee injury during a previous 5-0 loss to the U.S. The Beauceville native, nicknamed "Captain Clutch" for her Olympic goal-scoring record, had scored three goals in the quarter and semi-final games against Germany and Switzerland respectively.
Local fans showed up at Champs specifically to support their hometown hero. "She's literally had a legendary run. She's the best Canadian to ever do it," said Isla Warner, who attended the game with Hebert.
Hebert recalled being pulled from her elementary school class in 2010 to watch the women's hockey final at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, remembering the moment Poulin scored the winning goal as a fourth-line player at just 18 years old. "She just did something crazy up there, right? Like, that's something I still think back to now," she said, noting how influential that moment was for her as a female hockey player. "You can be an incredible player, and also a woman."
A Storied Olympic Career
Poulin's Olympic journey is nothing short of remarkable. After her gold-winning goal in Vancouver, she repeated the feat in Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022. Following her injury recovery in 2026, she scored her 18th career Olympic goal against Germany, adding two more against Switzerland.
Claire Duschenes-Best, a 29-year-old pediatric ICU nurse and devoted Poulin fan, expressed concern about the pressure on the captain during the high-stakes final. "It's obviously very special to see someone super senior who's carried a team with a lot of leadership come into this last game," she said. "But I think no matter the result, it's a medal. It's a wonderful achievement to be going to Olympic game after Olympic game. We're so proud."
More Than Just a Game
For many fans, the Canada-U.S. women's hockey final represented something larger than sports. "To see a francophone athlete be at the head of a Canadian team is also very special," said Duschenes-Best, a francophone Montrealer. "It's nice to see the province unite when there are other moments in history where we're a bit more separate from the rest of Canada."
Sophie Emberley-Korkmaz noted the heightened tension between the longtime rivals. "Whenever Canada and U.S. play each other, it always feels bigger than just the game. It feels political, in a sense," she said. "The fact that they win and they get that medal, and their country gets to celebrate, that feels like a slice."
The Future of Team Canada
With Poulin now 34, many believe the 2026 final may have been her last Olympic appearance. Hebert and Warner expressed concern about a potential "leadership gap" with no obvious successor ready to take Poulin's place.
"Being a good leader and being a good player are not the same thing. And I don't know if there's a very obvious voice who will lead Team Canada into the next winter games," Warner said.
Lilly Campbell, 22, reflected on Poulin's potential retirement. "I would love her to come back for the next Olympics, but if this is her last Olympics, it'd be to go with the gold. She's done so much for women's hockey and the PWHL...it is bittersweet. She deserves a good retirement, but I would love to see her come back."
Hebert and Warner expressed frustration with how some discuss Poulin's age. "It's annoying. It's like they're putting her on the shelf already," Warner said. "You can tell there's a difference in her gameplay from when she was 25, but she's still our leading goal scorer."
Uncertain Future for a Legend
Kim St-Pierre, Victoire's business operations director and three-time Olympic gold medalist, offered a different perspective. "She still dominates. She still could be there in four years," she said in a phone interview, noting she felt proud to have played alongside Poulin at the 2010 Olympics.
Despite the disappointing result, St-Pierre praised Team Canada's performance in the final. "Maybe they did not offer the best hockey through the Olympics, but today, the team we saw — that was Team Canada."
As fans process the overtime heartbreak, one sentiment echoes through Montreal's hockey community: the hope that Captain Clutch might have one more Olympic chapter left to write.
