Everyone got the matchup they wanted for the men’s hockey Olympic gold medal game.

Sunday, the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” will feature the United States against Canada, which is without a doubt the fiercest international rivalry in all of sports, going for all the marbles.

Unfortunately for Americans, Canada has owned this rivalry since day one. 

This will be the eighth time the United States and Canada have played for Olympic gold, and the only time the Americans have won was back in 1960. They also faced off for gold in 1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 2002 and 2010. In the best-on-best format, the U.S. is 5-15-1, and three of those victories came in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

The very first meeting between the two countries in a best-on-best format was back in the 1976 Canada Cup, which Team Canada won 4-2. The Americans did not earn their first win over their northern neighbors until 20 years later, after losing seven of their first eight meetings and tying in the other.

The U.S. won that year’s World Cup, taking home the best-of-three series against Canada, but since then, it’s mostly been Canadian dominance again.

Canada has gone 7-2 against the Americans since 1998, and four of those wins were absolute gut-punches to the United States. Canada took home the 2002 Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake City over the Americans, but more famously, Sidney Crosby’s golden goal eight years later also came at the expense of Team USA in front of a Vancouver crowd. Four years later, Canada again defeated the U.S. in the Olympic semifinals, and last year, Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off with an overtime victory against the Stars and Stripes.

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The United States’ only wins in the aforementioned span came during group play of both the 2010 Olympics and last year’s 4 Nations. So, it’s been quite a while since the Americans had true bragging rights. Overall, Canada leads the best-on-best series, 15-5-1.

These two teams are already very familiar with each other, as both rosters are largely composed of the same members as last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, where three fights occurred in the first nine seconds in the countries’ first best-on-best game in nine years.

Tensions between both teams and the fans were sky-high in that tournament, as it was fresh off President Donald Trump‘s “51st state” comments and tariffs against the country.

But this is the true big stage, with revenge, bragging rights and Olympic gold on the line.

The gold medal game will take place Sunday at 8:10 a.m. ET.

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A season of frustratingly unfortunate events for USC had led here, to this nightmarish crescendo at the one-minute mark Saturday, in a must-win matchup.

Through a roller-coaster afternoon, the Trojans had navigated one wave after another, riding several hot streaks and surviving the cold ones, knowing full well that their NCAA tournament hopes hinged on a win over Oregon, one of the Big Ten’s worst teams.

All that stress seemed to subside as USC took a six-point lead with 70 seconds remaining. Any rational onlooker would assume that the Trojans had held on for good, dispatching of the Ducks.

But then Oregon scored on a layup. It stole the ball back. And it hit a three-pointer.

USC clung to a one-point lead as freshman Alijah Arenas stepped back for a jumper that clanged away. Kam Woods missed a tip. Then, Oregon got the ball back and drew a foul.

Two free throws from Oregon’s Nate Bittle dealt USC one final, unbelievable blow to their Saturday — and perhaps their season — handing the Trojans a devastating 71-70 loss.

Their hopes of making the NCAA tournament aren’t necessarily dead as of Saturday. Four games still remain for the Trojans to build their case before the Big Ten tournament. But two of those come against UCLA and another against Nebraska, one of the best teams in the Big Ten this season.

USC had hoped Chad Baker-Mazara‘s return from injury would help lift them to a victory Saturday. Baker-Mazara led all scorers with 21, but he also fouled out late, during that final possession.

Arenas struggled most of the afternoon, before scoring 11 in the second half. But it was his turnover in the final seconds that ultimately handed Oregon the win

Baker-Mazara hadn’t played since the beginning of February, and in back-to-back losses to Illinois and Ohio State, the Trojans undoubtedly missed his spark. If not for a late game winner in State College from Arenas, they would’ve dropped all three games played without Baker-Mazara.

The circumstances ultimately left USC in a must-win scenario Saturday, if it hoped to continue clinging to the edge of the NCAA tournament bubble. Oregon had, on the other hand, spent most of the season in the Big Ten cellar. It entered Saturday’s matinee with losses in 11 of its last 12 games.

There was no such urgency in Baker-Mazara upon his return. The sixth-year senior sang and danced his way through warm-ups, before opening the game on a stationary bike in the corner of the arena.

But upon checking in, he jolted the Trojans offense to life with 13 straight points.

The boost Baker-Mazara provided eventually ran out of gas. USC hit just three of its final 14 shots before halftime, and Oregon stormed out in front.

The Ducks did the same in the second half, albeit in much more devastating fashion, leaving USC with a much harder road ahead.

Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo set himself apart from every other Winter Olympian who came before him on Saturday during the Milan Cortina Games.

Klaebo won his sixth gold medal of the Games – this one coming in the 50-kilometer mass start. He set the record for the most gold medals by one athlete in a single Winter Olympics. He breaks a record set by American speedskater Eric Heiden, who won five golds in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

Heiden still owns the individual record as two of Klaebo’s wins have come in team events.

Klaebo’s teammates Marin Loewstroem Nyenget and Emil Iversen took home silver and bronze respectively. The trio of Norwegians broke out to an early lead and then continued to build a gap on their chasers.

Klaebo took over the lead as they reached the final hill. He didn’t look back from there.

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He already entered Michael Phelps territory earlier in the Games when he became the first Winter Olympian to have at least 10 gold medals. He now has 13 on his resume. Phelps finished his career with 23.

The win gave Norway a record 18th gold medal and further increased their lead in the total medal count in these Olympics to 40 overall.

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On Friday, the country set a record for the most gold medals won by a nation at a single Winter Olympics. Norway’s Johannes Dale-Skjevdal won the 15-kilometer mass start.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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