Mark Your Calendars for Sunday Morning
Set your alarms for Sunday morning, folks. Team USA will be squaring off against Canada’s men’s hockey team for the Olympic gold medal, kicking off at 8:10 a.m. ET. Yes, it’s an early start, but it’s worth it to catch that championship action.
Why the early game, you ask? Well, mainly it’s due to the six-hour time difference between Eastern time in the U.S. and Milan-Cortina, where the 2026 Winter Olympics are being held. So, for locals, the game will start at 2:10 p.m. just ahead of that evening’s closing ceremony.
This gold medal match marks the final event of the Olympics. As a bit of trivia, it’s typically one of the last events to take place, often alongside the women’s cross-country skiing finals.
On Friday, NBC host Mike Tirico expressed his regrets for the early time slot, empathizing with fans during the broadcast and explaining why the game is scheduled for the morning. You could sense the concern, which was nice, I think. It shows they understand that not everyone will find it easy to rise and shine.
USA hockey team secured their spot in the finals after a strong 6-2 win over Slovakia, thanks in part to Jack Hughes, who scored twice. Interesting move, really—Hughes had been switched to the third line, and Coach Mike Sullivan remarked that they believed this change would let him make a bigger impact. And it seems it paid off!
The semifinal wasn’t straightforward for Team Canada, though. They held a two-goal lead against Finland for quite a while but ultimately clinched the win with Nathan MacKinnon netting the decisive goal just 35 seconds before the final buzzer.
So, an exciting face-off awaits. Grab that coffee; it’s going to be quite the match!
