Connor Hellebuyck and Jack Hughes join Jim Craig and Mike Eruzione as US Olympic hockey champions

MILAN (AP) — Go ahead and put the names Jack Hughes and Connor Hellebuyck right in the same revered place that Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig have occupied since their “ Miracle On Ice ” triumph in 1980.

It had been 46 years since the United States won the men's hockey gold medal at an Olympics. This time, the country can thank Hughes, he of the lost teeth and the winning goal less than 2 minutes into overtime Sunday, for a 2-1 victory over Canada at the Milan Cortina Games, and Hellebuyck, he of the 41 saves, many of them spectacular.

They will be remembered — and always associated with this win.

“As a kid, when you're growing up and you're watching the Olympics, you kind of remember moments. I’m sure this is going to be a moment that younger kids are talking about: ‘You see Jack scoring the OT winner?’” American forward Brock Nelson said. “I'm sure that's a moment that kids are probably going to try to recreate and try to envision themselves in that spot later on in life.”

That's precisely the reason that when U.S. defenseman Charlie McAvoy was trying to find the right words to praise Hellebuyck, this is what he went with: “He channeled his Jimmy Craig tonight.”

Nelson's uncle was a member of that 1980 championship team at the Lake Placid Games, and was present Sunday. Nelson's grandfather was only the only other U.S. men's hockey team to claim gold, at Squaw Valley in 1960. That means this 2026 victory is the first for the country in this sport outside the United States.

Way back when, the stars — the players most strongly associated with most recent men's hockey title at a Winter Games until Sunday — were Eruzione, he of the winning goal against the heavily favored Soviet Union along the way to the gold, and Craig, the star goalie who famously looked into the crowd for his father after that game.

Eruzione, who was at the arena Sunday, and Craig were part of a collection of amateurs who stunned the world.

The big difference this time, of course, is that Hughes and Hellebuyck are professional players, certified stars of the NHL, which brought its players back to the Olympics for the first time since 2014. So there is less to be shocked by with Sunday's outcome.

What those four have in common are the gold medals they'll own forever.

Hughes, a center for the New Jersey Devils, deposited his winner past Jordan Binnington off the rush, with an assist from Zach Werenski, during the 3-on-3 OT.

“In this tournament, he showed he’s one of the best players in the world — clearly,” said Quinn Hughes, the older brother and teammate of the newest American star.

The siblings — Jack is 24; Quinn is 26 — were consistently among the best U.S. players at these Olympics.

This comes after Jack was criticized for his performance a year ago at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which Canada won. And his goal Sunday is the best thing to happen to him on the ice after a rough stretch over the past 11 months. He had shoulder surgery that ended his 2024-25 NHL season, then missed five weeks earlier this season after slicing his right thumb open at a team dinner.

“Last couple years,” Jack said, “a lot of things have happened to me.”

Not surprisingly, his brother offered a strong endorsement, including praising Jack for handling it well when he was placed on U.S. coach Mike Sullivan's fourth line.

“He takes a lot of (gruff). No one loves the game more than him,” Quinn said. “He’s got so much passion. He's a gamer. He made it happen.”

Canada dominated the action Sunday, outshooting the U.S. 42-28. But Matt Boldy put the Americans ahead after just 6 minutes, and Hellebuyck managed to make that be enough to get to the extra period, despite giving up a tying goal to Cole Makar.

Over and over, Hellebuyck was in the right place at the right time, his reflexes good enough to make just about every stop he needed to. And when he wasn't, he had a bit of help from the Canadians, including when Nathan MacKinnon was alone near the goal but put his shot off the side netting.

Or when Connor McDavid had a 1-on-1 breakaway earlier, but appeared to wait too long and didn't get a good attempt off.

Hellebuyck, who plays for the Winnipeg Jets, is certainly no slouch: He's won MVP honors in the NHL.

But he has heard the negativity about not coming up big enough in the playoffs. And Hellebuyck was struggling this season. He had arthroscopic knee surgery in November, a week after Hughes’ operation, and returned three weeks later.

“Those critics — they can keep writing, but they don’t understand goaltending. They definitely don’t understand my game. ... These are the moments that prove it,” he said. “I came into this game, probably one of the biggest of my career, and I really wasn’t that nervous. The second I woke up this morning, I felt I was doing everything right. ... It kind of translated.”

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

United States' Kyle Connor (81), Zach Werenski (8), Jack Hughes (86) and Clayton Keller (91) react after receiving their gold medals after the United States defeated Canada in the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

United States' Connor Hellebuyck (37) celebrate after defeating Canada during a men's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Canada's Macklin Celebrini and United States' Connor Hellebuyck vie for the puck, during the men's ice hockey gold medal game, at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Julien De Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)

United States' Jack Hughes (86) and Zach Werenski (8) celebrate after Hughes scored the winning goal against Canada during the overtime period of the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

United States' Jack Hughes (86) celebrates with goalie Connor Hellebuyck (37) after scoring the game-winning goal against Canada in sudden death overtime during the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The next round of talks between the United States and Iran will be Thursday in Geneva, Oman’s foreign minister said Sunday, shortly after Tehran's top diplomat said he expected to meet U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff then.

Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said on social media he was pleased to confirm the development, “with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalizing the deal.” Oman previously hosted the indirect talks on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and facilitated the latest round in Geneva last week.

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had told CBS in an interview aired Sunday that a “good chance” remained for a diplomatic solution on the nuclear issue, adding it was the only matter being discussed.

The Trump administration has been pushing for concessions from its longtime adversary and has built up the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades.

President Donald Trump warned on Friday that limited strikes against Iran are possible, even as Araghchi at the time said Tehran expected to have a proposed deal ready in the next few days.

Araghchi told CBS that Iran was still working on the draft proposal. He added that Iran has the right to enrich uranium. On Friday, he said his U.S. counterparts had not asked for zero enrichment as part of the latest round of talks, which is not what U.S. officials have said publicly.

Both Iran and the U.S. have signaled they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran’s nuclear program fail.

Minutes after Oman’s confirmation of talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on social media that “recent negotiations involved the exchange of practical proposals and yielded encouraging signals. However, we continue to closely monitor U.S. actions and have made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario.”

The U.S. has said Iran cannot have nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them and that it cannot enrich uranium. Tehran has long insisted that any negotiations should only focus on its nuclear program, and that it hasn’t been enriching uranium since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June.

Although Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, the U.S. and others suspect it is aimed at eventually developing weapons.

Talks were deadlocked for years after Trump’s decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Since then, Iran has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups.

Confirmation of new talks came as new anti-government protests began in Iran, according to witnesses, as university students in Tehran and another city demonstrated around memorials for thousands of people killed in a crackdown on previous nationwide demonstrations about six weeks ago.

Iran’s state news agency said students protested at five universities in the capital, Tehran, and one in the city of Mashhad on Sunday. The scattered protests erupted Saturday at universities following 40-day memorials for people killed in January during anti-government rallies.

Iran’s government has not commented on the latest protests.

Many Iranians have held ceremonies marking the traditional 40-day mourning period in the past week. Most of the protesters are believed to have been killed around Jan. 8 and 9, according to activists tracking the situation.

Iranians across the country are still reeling with shock, grief and fear after the earlier protests were crushed by the deadliest crackdown ever seen under the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands are believed to have been arrested.

Although the crackdown tamped down the largest protests, smaller ones are still occurring, according to protesters and to videos shared on social media.

During the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the shah and brought the Islamic Republic to power, 40-day memorials for slain protesters often turned into rallies that security forces tried to crush, causing new deaths. Those were then marked 40 days later, with new protests.

Posts on social media Saturday and Sunday have alleged that security forces tried to restrict people from attending some 40-day ceremonies.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,015 people were killed in the previous protests and crackdown, including 214 government forces. The group has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists there to verify deaths.

The death toll continues to rise as the group crosschecks information despite disrupted communication with those inside the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s government offered its only death toll from the previous protests on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.

Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Vehicles drive by the Azadi (Freedom) monument in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier with damaged fighter jets on its deck and a sign in Farsi and English reading, "If you sow the wind, you'll reap the whirlwind," at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)