Nathan MacKinnon scores late as Canada beats Finland to reach the Olympic gold-medal game

MILAN (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal with 35.2 seconds left after Shea Theodore tied it midway through the third period and Canada survived another scare at the Olympics, rallying to beat Finland 3-2 in the semifinals on Friday night and advance to the men's gold-medal game.

Theodore's shot through traffic beating Juuse Saros with 9:26 left in regulation brought the bench and a crowd full of red and white back to life after going quiet when Mikko Rantanen scored first for Finland, which then went up by two on Erik Haula's shorthanded goal. MacKinnon's power play goal set off a celebration as the team from the birthplace of the sport will look to win its third consecutive title at the Games when NHL players participate.

The Canadians had tilted the ice toward Saros since Haula scored. They outshot Finland 14-3 in the second period when Sam Reinhart got them on the board with a tip of Cale Makar's shot, and Theodore scored on their ninth shot of the third, seconds after Brad Marchand was on top of Saros following a shove from Haula.

Connor McDavid, wearing the “C” in the absence of injured captain Sidney Crosby, made a perfect saucer pass over Finland penalty killer Roope Hintz's stick to MacKinnon for another memorable goal for Canada in Milan.

It held up on video review after Finland challenged that the play was offside.

Moments before MacKinnon scored, Saros made a nifty blocker save to deny the Colorado Avalanche star, who was high-sticked by Niko Mikkola to put Canada on the power play. Saros also made several more big stops before MacKinnon tucked the puck in short side with Macklin Celebrini setting a screen by jumping.

Canada's stacked lineup, even missing Crosby, eventually broke through the Finnish trap that slows players down and intercepts the puck before an opponent can go deep into the offensive zone. Instead of getting frustrated, some of the best players on the roster led the way, with Celebrini shooting just about every chance he had.

The comeback kept alive the possibility of an all-North America gold-medal game a year after Canada and the U.S. met in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off following their epic matchup earlier in that NHL and NHLPA-run tournament.

The U.S. still has to hold up its end of the bargain to make that happen. The unbeaten Americans face Slovakia in the second semifinal on Friday night.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Team Canada players celebrate after a goal by Nathan MacKinnon during the second period of a men's ice hockey quarterfinal game against Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Canada's Nathan MacKinnon (29) is congratulated after scoring a goal against Czechia during the second period of a men's ice hockey quarterfinal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Finland's Juuse Saros (74) makes a save in front of Canada's Nathan MacKinnon (29) during a men's ice hockey semifinal game between Canada and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Canada's Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates with Nathan MacKinnon (29) and Macklin Celebrini (17) after Reinhart scored a goal against Finland during the second period of a men's ice hockey semifinal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Canada's Sidney Crosby (87) is helped as he leaves the bench after being checked against the boards during the second period of a men's ice hockey quarterfinal game between Canada and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Canada's Sidney Crosby (87) is helped as he leaves the bench after being checked against the boards during the second period of a men's ice hockey quarterfinal game between Canada and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Canada's Sidney Crosby (87) is attended to after being injured during the second period of a men's ice hockey quarterfinal game between Canada and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The kindergarten and first grade students in Linda Davis' classes sobbed and shed tears after being told their teacher, who greeted them most mornings with an infectious smile, wouldn't be coming back.

Davis, 52, was killed during her morning commute Monday, less than a half mile (0.8 kilometers) from the school where she taught students with special needs. Local and federal authorities say a Guatemalan man crashed his pickup truck into Davis’ car as he was fleeing a traffic stop by immigration officers.

“It was extremely difficult to tell 5 and 6 year olds that the teacher they loved and cherished will not be returning to see them,” said Alonna McMullen, principal of Herman W. Hesse K-8 School in Savannah's southside suburbs. “To see the looks on their faces, it broke my heart."

Teachers at Hesse were trying Thursday to create a normal routine for the students, but their grief remained fresh.

Many on their drives to and from school every day pass the crash site where a cross made from red roses and several bouquets of flowers have been left in the median. A paper sign on the ground reads: “Rest In Peace & Power, Dr. Davis.”

Students in Davis' two special education classes drew pictures of her to help deal with news of her death. And faculty crafted banners in her memory to display at the school's home basketball game Thursday.

Davis began teaching at Hesse in September after the school year had begun. Her upbeat personality and her dedication to helping students with special needs thrive soon endeared her to fellow teachers and students alike.

“Even the most difficult students, she knew how to make them shine,” McMullen told reporters.

Davis had been teaching in the Savannah area since 2022. Outside of work, she was raising four children of her own and was guardian to a fifth, according to her sister, Felicia Jackson.

“The preventable, sudden, and violent loss of her presence and love has created a vacuum of compounded grief so vast it feels as though it fills the Mariana Trench,” Jackson said in a social media post.

Standing nearly 6 feet tall, Davis “filled her house with laughter and music,” Jackson said, recalling how her sister loved singing Disney songs and show tunes with her children “at the tops of their lungs.”

“That was Linda: fully alive, engaged, and loving,” Jackson wrote.

Federal immigration officers have faced increased scrutiny for their aggressive tactics during the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration, especially since they shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson and Chester Ellis, chairman of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, have questioned whether the pursuit that ended in Davis' death was necessary.

A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, Lindsay Williams, said the fleeing driver had no criminal history but was in the U.S. illegally.

Security camera video from outside the school Monday morning shows a red pickup truck speeding past the school, followed several seconds later by two law enforcement vehicles with flashing lights.

Authorities identified the driver of the truck as Oscar Vasquez Lopez, 38. He suffered minor injuries, according to police, and has been jailed on charges including vehicular homicide and driving without a valid license.

ICE officers pulled over Lopez to enforce an immigration judge’s 2024 deportation order, Williams said, and Lopez drove away as the officers approached his vehicle. ICE said in a news release that Lopez crashed into Davis' car after making a U-turn and running a stop light.

“He is presumed innocent, and the court process will determine the outcome,” said Don Plummer, a spokesman for the Georgia Public Defender Council, which has an attorney representing Lopez.

he exterior of Herman W. Hesse K-8 school just outside Savannah, Ga., is shown on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

A school staff member holds a banner memorializing teacher Linda Davis at Herman W. Hesse K-8 School just outside Savannah, Ga., Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Flowers left in memory of Linda Davis lie by the roadway Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at the site outside Savannah, Ga., where Davis was killed in a crash. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)