By Trevor Stynes and Amy Tennery
MILAN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The United States ended their long wait for an Olympic men's ice hockey gold with a 2-1 overtime victory over Canada in a thrilling final on Sunday, with Jack Hughes' winning goal delivering their third title and first since 1980.
The triumph comes exactly 46 years to the day of the famous U.S. 'Miracle on Ice' victory over the Soviet Union on the way to their last gold at the Games in Lake Placid.
Almost inevitably, it came down to three-on-three
play where Hughes collected a pass from Zach Werenski and coolly fired into the net one minute and 41 seconds into the extra period.
The goal resulted in gloves, helmets and sticks flying over the ice as his teammates ran to smother the American hero.
Billed as the showpiece match the ice hockey world wanted to see following the return of NHL players to the Games after a 12-year absence, the North American rivals did not disappoint, serving up a nerve-jangling classic.
Matt Boldy put the U.S. ahead after six minutes with the Americans' first shot of the game and Canada levelled through Cale Makar to set up a nail-biting final period, after U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 40 saves over the 60 minutes.
Finland, gold medallists four years ago, took bronze on Saturday with a 6-1 win over Slovakia.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Ken Ferris)
