Auston Matthews leads Team USA to gold vs Canada; the missed call fans can’t move past

It might not have been the Miracle on Ice, but it was certainly a Miracle in Milan for the United States men's hockey team as they came away with the gold medal after an over 40 year drought after Jack Hughes stunned the Canadians in overtime:

In a stunning bit of coincidence as well, this was 46 years to the day that the Miracle on Ice happened in Lake Placid -- a fitting finish to an incredible Olympic run:

However, for Team USA this gold means more than just national bragging rights and standing on the podium.

The loss of Johnny Gaudreau still hits hard for several Americans on the roster, and knowing how vital he was to their team previously and how engrained in the system he was -- they did it for him:

And with the Gaudreau family in attendance, it made things even more sweet:

While Matthews didn't score, he did get an assist on the first goal of the game when Matt Boldy broke through the defence for an incredible solo effort to beat Jordan Binnington.

But it's something that happened late in the game that is causing a lot of controversy given how much noise there's been recently regarding something similar.

The US clearly had more than five players on the ice after getting caught up in a change and the referees either missed the call or flat out ignored it; even leading to rinkside broadcaster Mike Johnson becoming flabbergasted at the non-call.

Canada would have gotten a man advantage with under ten minutes to go, which absolutely could have shifted the momentum especially since they were completely dominating in the shot department but just couldn't beat Connor Hellebuyck.

Fans were incensed as well, as the officiating during the Games has come under severe scrutiny recently:

Granted, things could've also been different if Canada had capitalized on a 5-on-3, but were unable to solve the American penalty-kill -- which remained perfect throughout the entire tournament.

Hellebuyck was named the goaltender of the tournament, meanwhile Connor McDavid was named MVP and best overall forward:

The absence of Sidney Crosby certainly hurt Canada and though he was certainly in the locker room giving as much wisdom and advice as possible; being on the ice would have made a huge difference.

For now, the US are able to celebrate as the dominant force in international hockey, and for Auston Matthews it's vindication.

As someone who has consistently been told he can't win the big one and can't show up when it matters, Matthews put in a defensive clinic in addition to his assist, and was a dominant force all tournament with seven points.

Heading back to Toronto, the captain has a wave of momentum he hopes will help his NHL team into the playoffs and hopefully a long stay there.

But right now? Time to pop the bubbly and celebrate history.

Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews make one thing clear about Sidney Crosby before gold