Megan Keller's decisive goal at the Olympics for the United States is explained, detailing the pass and the maneuver.

Megan Keller's decisive goal at the Olympics for the United States is explained, detailing the pass and the maneuver.

Taylor Heise felt fatigued, yet she recognized Megan Keller's speed on the ice. The outcome was the golden goal in overtime, securing an emotional victory for the U.S. over Canada in the women’s hockey final at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday night.

Keller’s goal, scored 4:07 into the 3-on-3 overtime, was a stunning highlight from beginning to end.

It commenced with an impeccable, nearly 100-foot outlet pass from Heise, originating behind her own goal line, directed to Keller just beyond the center red line.

“Meg was flying up the ice,” Heise remarked. “She was calling for the puck, and I was somewhat inclined to change, so I tossed it up to her.”

Keller took it from there. With the puck on her forehand, she executed a backhand move to completely outmaneuver defender Claire Thompson.

“When she received the puck, I thought, ‘I know where she’s going to score that,’ and she did,” stated Switzerland’s Alina Muller, a teammate of Keller’s in the PWHL with Boston, who had scored her country’s bronze-winning goal earlier that day. “That was quite an impressive move for a defenseman.”

After discussing their strategy of playing to win rather than to avoid losing before overtime, Keller managed to calm her nerves as she entered the attacking zone. “Often, you feel a bit anxious when trying to make a move,” Keller explained. “Heise delivered a fantastic pass to me; I saw one defender and thought: ‘Why not?’ I decided to take a chance and head towards the net.”

With Thompson outmaneuvered, Keller found herself one-on-one with Ann-Renee Desbiens, Canada’s goaltender, who had been exceptional throughout regulation, contributing to the game's competitiveness. This maneuver placed Desbiens in a challenging position.

“Clearly, when she cut to the middle for a backhand shot, it’s quite difficult to anticipate where it might go,” Desbiens commented. “I was reaching, and then it obviously slipped through.”

Heise was skating towards the bench and did not even witness Keller shoot and score. She realized the puck had entered the net by observing the reactions of her fellow U.S. players.

“That’s all that matters,” Heise said. “People are already throwing their arms up, throwing the helmets and then I just turned around real quick, threw my gloves off. Couldn’t get my helmet off, so I just skated to the mix of everyone.”

Laila Edwards, who had the shot that Hilary Knight deflected in with 2:04 left to tie it after Canada led to that point, was watching closely.

“Oh, I saw it,” Edwards said. “I saw it. It was unbelievable. I thought it was Connor McDavid out there. It doesn’t surprise me because I know she’s got those things up her sleeve, but I’m so proud of her and I love playing with her.”