Officiating controversy erupts between Team USA vs. Canada in Women's Gold Medal game
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Sam Walker
Feb 19, 2026 (3:27 PM)
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Photo credit: Screenshot
Erin Ambrose took a brutal boarding hit, and the major got walked back fast, putting Team USA and Team Canada in a refereeing firestorm in the third period of a gold medal game.
Canada grabbed the first punch on the scoreboard when Kristin O’Neill scored a short-handed goal to make it 1-0.
Laura Stacey and Renata Fast set it up, and you could feel the bench jolt.
Ann-Renée Desbiens stayed calm between the pipes while the USA kept pressing.
Aerin Frankel matched her save for save, and it stayed a one-shot game deep into the third.
Aerin Frankel matched her save for save, and it stayed a one-shot game deep into the third.
Then the temperature spiked with about six minutes left, when Ambrose got driven hard into the end boards on a play that screamed boarding.
Officials initially signaled a major, and Team Canada’s bench reacted like they’d finally earned the big break.
Seconds later, the refs huddled and reversed course, downgrading it to a two-minute minor in what looked like an immediate lifeline for Team USA.
Erin Ambrose and Team Canada feel robbed
If you’re a Canada fan, that reversal hits the gut, because it felt like the rulebook changed mid-shift.
Tactically, the downgrade matters because a five-minute kill lets the USA’s top guns stay aggressive instead of surviving an extended man advantage against tired legs.
Canada’s penalty kill structure had been tight, with sticks in lanes and the blue line contested, but a shorter minor changes the rhythm and the matchup options.
Ambrose has already logged an offense in this tournament, sitting at 0-2-2 through three games entering the late rounds.
Team USA would ultimately end up scoring after Canada's penalty was killed, with their goaltender pulled.
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