Minnesota Youth Hockey Teams Stopped Their Game To Celebrate Together After Learning USA Beat Canada For The Gold (Video)

On Sunday, Team USA’s men’s hockey team gave Americans a reason to celebrate by beating Canada to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics for the first time since 1980. That included some players who were taking part in a youth hockey game in Minnesota when Jack Hughes scored the game-winner, and an awesome video captured the moment the game was paused so they could celebrate.

The United States and Canada were widely expected to face off against each other in the gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, which marked the first time NHL players had participated on that stage since 2014.

That ended up being the case, although both sides experienced some scares during the tournament. Canada needed to stage a two-goal comeback before beating Finland to punch its ticket to the championship showdown, and Sweden was able to force overtime in its quarterfinal tilt with America before Quinn Hughes put things away.

His brother Jack ended up being the hero on Sunday, as he netted the gold medal-winning goal to give America the 2-1 win in a game where Team USA was largely outplayed by the Canadians, who had to settle for silver on the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle On Ice” (which transpired during the tournament that marked the start of the 46-year gold medal drought that was snapped with the victory).

JACK HUGHES DELIVERS AMERICA’S GOLDEN MOMENT IN OVERTIME. pic.twitter.com/4foFDOri53

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2026

We were subsequently treated to plenty of awesome videos of Americans reacting to the massive win, including one that was filmed at a youth hockey game that took place near a town with a ton of ties to the nation’s women’s team.

A youth hockey game in Minnesota was temporarily put on hold so the players could celebrate Team USA’s victory over Canada

Minnesota is to youth hockey what Texas is to football, and the “Super Rink” that’s located in the Minneapolis suburb of Blaine has served as a home base and incubator for many of the women who’ve gone on to represent the United States at the Winter Olympics.

That facility is located around a 15-minute drive from Centennial Sports Arena in Circle Pines, which was the site of a game between two youth squads who were probably less than thrilled about having to take to the ice on Sunday morning for a contest that clashed with the gold medal battle between America and Canada.

That was also not an ideal development for some of the parents who were resigned to watching things play out in Italy on their phone, and a breakaway that unfolded in the contest they were attending was overshadowed by the moment Hughes put the game-winner past Jordan Binnington and sparked a celebration among the people in the bleachers.

We were subsequently treated to an awesome scene when one of the refs blew his whistle to bring play to a halt so the kids on the ice could learn about that development, and they got in on the action while taking a literal victory lap together after hearing the news.

There are plenty of reaction videos from rinks all over the USA this morning, including this one from the Super Rink in Blaine as two mite teams stop their game to clear the benches and celebrate @TeamUSA‘s Gold Medal game. pic.twitter.com/jS96tCzeQO

— Zach Halverson (@ZachHalverson) February 23, 2026

As you can probably guess, fans of Canada had the opposite reaction, and while I couldn’t find any footage of a game there being stopped so players could mourn, we also got plenty of videos capturing the moment their hearts were broken.

You’ve got to love the duality of sports.