Markham-born forward Mitch Marner is heading home from the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games with a silver medal. Canada lost the men's hockey gold medal game to the United States 2-1 in overtime in Milan on Sunday, Feb. 22, ending a tournament in which Marner supplied one of Canada's biggest goals.

Marner, who was born in Markham and now plays in the NHL for the Vegas Golden Knights, was making his Olympic debut.

An overtime winner against Czechia

After a smooth group stage, Canada found the knockout round much harder. In the quarterfinal against Czechia, Canada trailed 3-2 late in the third period before Nick Suzuki tied the game with 3:27 left in regulation. Marner then ended it 1:22 into overtime, according to the Canadian Olympic Committee, which noted he had also scored an overtime winner against Sweden at last year's 4 Nations Face-Off.

The semifinal on Friday, Feb. 20, brought more drama. Finland led 2-0 in the second period before Canada scored three straight goals, the last a Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal with 35.2 seconds remaining in the third, to win 3-2. Connor McDavid added two assists in that game, giving him 13 points in five games and a new record for a men's Olympic tournament with NHL players, the committee said.

A one-goal final

Sunday's final was a rematch of the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off championship, which Canada won in overtime. This time the Americans struck first, with Matt Boldy scoring six minutes into the opening period. Cale Makar tied it in the second, and Canada outshot the United States 42-28, but American goaltender Connor Hellebuyck turned aside breakaways by McDavid and Macklin Celebrini. Jack Hughes scored in overtime to give the U.S. the gold.

Players said afterward that they felt they had controlled much of the game. "I thought we carried most of the play," Suzuki said. Forward Tom Wilson said the team had played a solid game, adding: "We fell one goal short and can't bring a gold medal home for our country."

What it means at home

Canada last won Olympic gold in men's hockey at Sochi 2014. The silver adds to a strong Games for athletes with Markham roots: earlier in the Olympics, Unionville's Paul Poirier won bronze in ice dance with partner Piper Gilles.