U.S. men's hockey hadn't won Olympic gold since 1980. Then Jack Hughes changed everything.

Jack Hughes scored a game-winning goal to earn the United States the men's hockey gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

MILAN — Forty-six years to the day after the U.S. men’s hockey team paved the way to Olympic gold with a miracle, it earned gold again, this time with a sudden-death stunner.

Jack Hughes instantly moved into the annals of U.S. Winter Olympic history when he received a pass from Zach Werenski 1:41 into overtime and fired the puck between the legs of Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington to beat Canada 2-1 and send Santagiulia Arena into a raucous celebration.

“This is all about our country right now. I love the USA,” Hughes told NBC after the game. “I love my teammates.”

It marked only the third time the U.S. men won Olympic gold, following wins in 1960 and the “Miracle on Ice” team that shocked the Soviet Union on Feb. 22, 1980, then later went on to beat Finland in the gold-medal game.

The U.S. had been denied gold medals by Canada in 2002 and 2010. Keith Tkachuk, the father of U.S. brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, had played in that 2002 loss to Canada, and Brady said although he had not heard many stories about the game, “basically all I’ve heard is that there’s just a lot of regret if you don’t win.”