There were cheers across the country, after US men win first Olympic hockey gold since 1980

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — They chanted “U-S-A" and a few openly wept at Lake Placid's Olympic Center, the same building where the “Miracle on Ice” happened exactly 46 years earlier. In Ohio, some waved flags inside a packed bar. And in Florida, a man played baseball wearing a USA Hockey jersey.

The man was George Springer. He plays for the Toronto Blue Jays. Canadians might not have appreciated his wardrobe.

USA 2, Canada 1. The U.S. men are Olympic hockey gold medalists for the first time since 1980, after topping their rivals to the north in overtime on Sunday in Milan. The country — even though the game started at 8 a.m. in the East, 5 a.m. Pacific — was clearly watching, and when it went final overjoyed reactions could be found from sea to shining sea.

“I wasn’t here for the Miracle game, obviously. since I’m only 44,” said Jackie Palmateer, a vacationer who watched from the arena in Lake Placid on Sunday. “We were going to go skiing, and then this happened, and you have to watch the game, and I said, ‘Why would we want to watch this from the hotel?’ So, we came here. It’s like seeing history happen when you’re already in the museum.”

In Madison, Wisconsin, the goal horns went off at the Badgers' hockey arena before the powerhouse women's team hosted St. Cloud State — because the gold-medal game was being shown on the arena screen. When Jack Hughes scored the winner, people inside the arena began cheering.

Among those people: the St. Cloud State women's team, because they were watching even though they had their own game to get ready for. Wisconsin — coached by Mark Johnson, who played for the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team — won the game 4-2.

“We were all watching that game. I was up early and doing my video and watching the game. Man, I think hockey in general won out, whether you’re a female player who likes females’ hockey or you’re a male player and like males’ hockey," Johnson said after his team clinched the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season championship.

“We saw a great final game with Canada and the U.S. in the women’s game, and then today was a classic. The USA figured out how to win a game they didn’t play their best in. Canada’s a proud country. They played a real solid game and came up a little short, but I think in general hockey won, because I guarantee you every house, restaurant and bar in Canada had the game on and they were all watching it, and I’m sure a lot of people in the States that maybe had never watched hockey before watched.”

The White House took notice, with President Donald Trump posting on social media, “Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!” Other politicians also weighed in; Sen. Amy Klobuchar posted a video of a hockey bar — Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub — in St. Paul, Minnesota, jammed at 7 a.m. local time. “They don't call Minnesota the State of Hockey for nothing,” she wrote.

And in South Florida, the Elbo Room — a preferred hangout spot for Matthew Tkachuk — was filled as well for the early morning start time, then went bonkers when the Americans prevailed.

“Extremely proud,” Florida Panthers forward Mackie Samoskevich said.

It was must-see-TV, even across different sports.

Some NBA teams might not have been watching customary pregame film on Sunday. They were watching hockey instead.

“I wasn’t waking up at 5:30," Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "But incredible, what an incredible sporting event, competition at its highest, amazing to watch.”

Kerr had dual rooting interests: He coached the U.S. to the men's basketball gold medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, And the Warriors' vice president of player health and performance is Rick Celebrini — the father of Canada forward Macklin Celebrini, someone the entire Golden State organization follows and roots on, for obvious reasons.

The Miami Marlins gathered in their spring training clubhouse to watch overtime, chants of U-S-A breaking out in there when Hughes got the game-winner. Springer, according to MLB.com, bolted from the Blue Jays' clubhouse to celebrate outside when the U.S. won the game, then took live batting practice in the USA Hockey jersey.

And in Mesa, Arizona, the Athletics watched the Olympic hockey final together in the clubhouse of Hohokam Stadium — and Canadian center fielder Denzel Clarke was the one left heartbroken afterward.

A's manager Mark Kotsay said the game was “pretty incredible.” But he felt for Clarke as well.

“Well, it was one against 72 in there," Kotsay said. “He would have definitely let us all know about it. So, we kind of got fortunate and very thankful for Team USA to win the gold today. Not much does quiet Denzel, but it definitely quieted him.”

It wasn't quiet in Lake Placid. Or just about anyplace else in the U.S. that had the game on Sunday. What happened on Feb. 22, 1980, with the “Miracle” team will resonate, and odds are, so will what happened on Feb. 22, 2026, with this golden group.

“The next generation," U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck said, “has something to look up to.”

On Sunday, it seemed like an entire nation felt that way.

AP reporters Michelle Price, Janie McCauley, Steve Megargee and Dennis Waszak Jr. contributed.

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

United States fans cheer after 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/Petr David Josek)

United States players greet fans after defeating 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' Dylan Larkin (21) celebrates with fans after the 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)

United States' Brady Tkachuk (7), Matthew Tkachuk, center, and Zach Werenski (8) celebrate after their overtime win against Canada in 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 Eichel celebrates after the United States defeated Canada in 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/Petr David Josek)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City and New Jersey announced travel bans, airlines canceled thousands of flights and even Broadway shows were canceled Sunday evening as a fierce winter storm bore down on the Northeastern U.S., prompting blizzard warnings from Maryland to Massachusetts.

Snow began falling in New Jersey and New York as the storm moved northward. The National Weather Service said 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) of snow was possible in many areas, along with heavy winds. Visibility in many areas was expected to be a quarter-mile (400 meters) or less. Officials throughout the region urged residents to avoid travel.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a major nor’easter and major blizzard of this magnitude across the Northeast,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the service’s Weather Prediction Center. “This is definitely a major winter storm and a major impact for this part of the country.”

The weather service issued blizzard warnings for New York City and Long Island, Boston and coastal communities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. State of emergency declarations were issued in New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York as officials mobilized readiness efforts.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a ban on non-emergency travel on all streets from 9 p.m. ET Sunday through noon Monday, with travel restrictions planned in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the region. Regional airports canceled flights ahead of the storm, and even DoorDash announced it was suspending deliveries in the city overnight.

To the south, landmarks such as the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., announced closures Monday.

The weather service said some of the heaviest snow was expected to fall overnight, with as much as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow per hour accumulating at times in some areas, before tapering off by Monday afternoon.

It said the storm's strong wind gusts could cause whiteout conditions and warned of a “Potentially Historic/Destructive Storm” southeast of the Boston-Providence corridor.

“Winds like that, combined with heavy, wet snow, are a recipe for damaged trees and prolonged power outages," said Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the weather service's Boston office. “That's what we're most concerned with, is the combination of those extreme snow amounts with that wind.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also canceled in-person and virtual classes for city schools on Monday, calling it the “first old-school snow day since 2019."

“And to kids across New York City, you have a very serious mission if you choose to accept it: Stay cozy," he said.

In addition to their robust plow operations, city officials recruited people to shovel snow, some of whom will begin work Sunday night to get an early start on the first wave of snowfall, Mamdani said.

Meanwhile, outreach workers have also been out working to coax homeless New Yorkers off the street and into shelters and various warming centers.

More than 3,500 flights were canceled across the U.S. as of Sunday afternoon, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Airports in the path of the storm, including in New York City and Boston, were also seeing widespread cancellations and delays.

With the storm zeroing in, John Berlingieri scrapped plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico. Instead he was preparing his company, Berrington Snow Management, for what could well be a mammoth task: Clearing snow from millions of square feet of asphalt surrounding shopping malls and industrial parks across Long Island.

Employees spent the last few days recharging batteries on the company’s 40 front-end loaders and replacing windshield wipers on snow-removal vehicles, before resting up Saturday.

“I’m anticipating at least one week of work around the clock,” Berlingieri said. “We’re going to work 24 to 36 hours straight, sleep for a few hours and then go back.”

Izaguirre reported from Albany, New York. Associated Press writers Mark Kennedy in New York, Darlene Superville in Washington, D.C, and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon. contributed.

A view from the New Jersey side of the Palisades facing the George Washington Bridge shows a view of the Hudson River with limited visibility during the beginning of an intense winter storm, in Fort Lee, N.J., Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)

Palisade Avenue, normally bustling with rush hour traffic, sits desolate during the beginning of an intense winter storm, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Fort Lee, N.J. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)

A plow starts removing snow from a residential street during the beginning of an intense winter storm, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Fort Lee, N.J. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)

People wait to cross the corner of 20th Street and First Ave. during a snowstorm, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)

A man rides a bicycle in the beginning of an intense snowstorm by 20th Street and First Avenue, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)

FILE - Pedestrians climb over snow banks to try and cross the streets in New York, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)