The 4 Nations Face-Off has already delivered an instant classic international hockey game with the fight-filled preliminary round matchup between the United States and Canada last week in Montreal.
The U.S.-Canada rematch on Thursday night in Boston could be another memorable country vs. country showdown for a sport with deep roots in international competition.
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FILE - Team Canada's Phil Esposito, left, raises arms after scoring goal against Soviet Union goalie Vladislav Tretiak, on ice, in final game of series in Moscow, Sept. 28, 1972. Cheering with Esposito are Canada's Ron Ellis, right, and Paul Henderson, third from right. Other Soviets are Vladimir Lutchenko (3) and Vladimir Vikulov (18). (AP Photo/TASS, File)
FILE - United States' Jocelyne Lamoureux (17) scores the game-winning goal in the shootout against Canada during the women's gold medal hockey game at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
FILE - Canada's Sidney Crosby (87) shoots past USA goalie Ryan Miller (39) for the game-winning goal in the overtime period of a men's gold medal ice hockey game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
FILE - Canada's Mario Lemieux rushes into the arms of teammate Wayne Gretzky after Gretzky scored the game-winner in their Canada Cup final match against the Soviet Union, Sept. 15, 1987, in Hamilton, Ontario. (AP Photo/Blaise Edwards, File)
FILE - Team USA plays against Team USSR in the men's semi-finals Olympic hockey game during the XIII Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, N.Y., Feb. 22, 1980. (AP Photo)
FILE - Team Canada's Phil Esposito, left, raises arms after scoring goal against Soviet Union goalie Vladislav Tretiak, on ice, in final game of series in Moscow, Sept. 28, 1972. Cheering with Esposito are Canada's Ron Ellis, right, and Paul Henderson, third from right. Other Soviets are Vladimir Lutchenko (3) and Vladimir Vikulov (18). (AP Photo/TASS, File)
With the Cold War raging and the Soviet Union challenging Canada's dominance in hockey, their Summit Series was tied 3-all with one tie going into the decisive Game 8. The Soviets led 5-3 after two periods before Phil Esposito and Yvan Cournoyer evened it and Paul Henderson scored the most important goal in the country's history to give Canada a 6-5 victory.
Made up of college players who seemed no match for the heavily favored, professional Soviet Union, the U.S. rallied from 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 deficits with Mark Johnson and Mike Eruzione scoring to win 4-3 and produce the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid, New York. The Americans then beat Finland to take home Olympic gold.
Two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Jon Cooper still considers the final between Canada and the Soviet Union the best three-game stretch of hockey ever played, with every game decided 6-5 and the first two going to at least one overtime. The culmination is referred to simply as “Gretzky to Lemieux” as Wayne Gretzky passed the puck to Mario Lemieux for the winning goal in the final game.
A rough start to the tournament on home ice in Vancouver ramped up the pressure for Canada, which led the U.S. until Zach Parise's tying goal with 24 seconds left in regulation. Sidney Crosby beat Ryan Miller off a pass from Jarome Iginla to score the “Golden Goal” in overtime and keep Canada atop the hockey world.
NHL players did not participate on the men's side, but the women's tournament ended with an epic showdown between the U.S. and Canada in the final. Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored the shootout winner to end the U.S. Olympic gold medal drought in women's hockey at 20 years.
Dominik Hasek and the Czech Republic beat Canada in a shootout on the way to gold in Nagano in 1998 in the debut of NHL players at the Olympics ... Nicklas Lidstrom scored and Henrik Lundqvist made a late save to deliver gold for Sweden against rival Finland in the final of the 2006 Turin Games ... The U.S., with T.J. Oshie as the star, beating Russia in an eight-round shootout with Vladimir Putin in attendance at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
FILE - United States' Jocelyne Lamoureux (17) scores the game-winning goal in the shootout against Canada during the women's gold medal hockey game at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
FILE - Canada's Sidney Crosby (87) shoots past USA goalie Ryan Miller (39) for the game-winning goal in the overtime period of a men's gold medal ice hockey game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
FILE - Canada's Mario Lemieux rushes into the arms of teammate Wayne Gretzky after Gretzky scored the game-winner in their Canada Cup final match against the Soviet Union, Sept. 15, 1987, in Hamilton, Ontario. (AP Photo/Blaise Edwards, File)
FILE - Team USA plays against Team USSR in the men's semi-finals Olympic hockey game during the XIII Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, N.Y., Feb. 22, 1980. (AP Photo)
FILE - Team Canada's Phil Esposito, left, raises arms after scoring goal against Soviet Union goalie Vladislav Tretiak, on ice, in final game of series in Moscow, Sept. 28, 1972. Cheering with Esposito are Canada's Ron Ellis, right, and Paul Henderson, third from right. Other Soviets are Vladimir Lutchenko (3) and Vladimir Vikulov (18). (AP Photo/TASS, File)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
