Fresh off scoring one of the biggest goals in the history of U.S. women’s hockey, Michigander Megan Keller has quickly become an Olympic hero for Team USA.
Keller scored the winning goal in overtime of the U.S.’s 2-1 win over Canada in the gold-medal game of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 19, at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan. The goal sealed a come-from-behind victory against the Canadians that saw the U.S. staring down a one-goal deficit with less than two minutes to play in regulation.
But a Hilary Knight goal with the U.S. employing an empty net sent the game to overtime, and Keller’s breakaway goal in the extra period sealed the U.S.’s third-ever women’s hockey Olympic gold medal.
Appearing in her third Olympic games, Keller is no stranger to big moments. But the Olympic veteran may have just experienced her biggest one yet while writing her name into the U.S. Olympic historybook.
Here are five things to know about Keller.
Megan Keller is from Farmington, Michigan
Keller is better associated with Boston to many hockey fans, since she played her college hockey at Boston College and currently plays for the Boston Fleet in the PWHL. But she’s a Michigander through-and-through, calling Farmington her hometown and attending North Farmington High before heading east for college.
Megan Keller wears No. 5 to honor Nicklas Lidström
A lot of high-level players have relatively uninteresting stories for why they wear a certain number, like Detroit Red Wings star Dylan Larkin wearing No. 71 for the Wings because his preferred 21 was taken. Keller’s story is, thankfully, a bit more heartwarming
Keller idolized Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidström growing up and wears the No. 5 in his honor. She plays a lot like Lidström, too, and now joins Lidström on the list of Michigan’s most beloved defenders.
Megan Keller was a 2018 gold medalist
Still playing for Boston College at the time, Keller was one of the youngest players on the 2018 U.S. women’s hockey team that won gold at the Pyeongchang Olympics. She was also involved in one of the craziest games in U.S. women’s hockey history as the U.S. beat Canada 3-2 after a shootout in the gold-medal game.
Megan Keller plays for the Boston Fleet
Four years after finishing her college career, Keller joined the PWHL’s Boston Fleet along with Team USA standouts Knight and Aerin Frankel. She was named captain ahead of the 2025-26 season and currently has the Fleet in first place with 30 points over 14 games played.
Megan Keller may have just scored her biggest goal ever
Only time will tell if Keller’s overtime goal to beat Canada in the gold-medal game of the 2026 Winter Olympics will be the biggest goal of her career. But at this point, it seems hard to beat.
Keller’s goal sealed a stunning come-from-behind victory for a U.S. team that dominated the tournament throughout but struggled to find any success through the first 58 minutes of regulation in the gold-medal game. But after Knight’s goal gave the U.S. life, Keller’s goal earned a well-deserved medal.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Who is Megan Keller? USA hockey hero has strong ties to Michigan
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
