Canada fell to the United States, 2-1, in overtime of the men's hockey gold medal game in Italy on Sunday morning.
The American topped the Canadians thanks to a game-winning goal in overtime from 24-year-old Jack Hughes, who stars for the New Jersey Devils in the NHL. Olympic hockey has a somewhat controversial overtime rule, as the two teams play 3-on-3.
Canada coach Jon Cooper is not a fan. He blamed the OT rules for Canada's loss on Sunday morning.
"You take four players off the ice, now hockey’s not hockey anymore. There’s a reason overtime and shootouts are in play — it’s all TV-driven to end games, so it’s not a long time. There’s a reason why it's not in the Stanley Cup final or playoffs," he said.
Cooper wasn't the only Canadian to have that kind of thought on Sunday.
Canada star Nathan MacKinnon claimed that Canada was clearly the better team on Sunday morning.
“You be the judge of who was the better team today,” said MacKinnon, who stars for the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, per Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press on X, formerly Twitter.
America, meanwhile, stands by its win
You're not going to make the United States feel bad about their win, though.
U.S. star Jack Hughes spoke out following the big win.
“Your whole life, you’re going up against new challenges,” he said. “When I was 12, I was dealing with stuff. When I was 14, I was dealing with stuff. Every single player in that game tonight has been grinding their whole life. That doesn’t faze me.”