Winter Olympics 2026 Day 12 recap: Mikaela Shiffrin wins redemptive gold; Team USA, Canada both need OT to reach men's hockey semis

The Milan Cortina Olympics had a bit of everything Wednesday: redemption for a U.S. skiing great, inspiration from a relentless American snowboarder, more cross-country skiing history, a men's hockey quarterfinals to remember, another Olympic proposal, and a dog making a tension-breaking cameo.

Here are five of the top stories from Day 12 of the Winter Games: Mikaela Shiffrin ends Olympic medal drought, dominates for gold in slalom Mikaela Shiffrin exorcised her recent Olympic demons on Wednesday in Cortina with a redemptive gold medal in the women's slalom . Shiffrin came into this year's Games with more World Cup wins than any other skier, male or female, period.

But she still arrived in Italy with something to prove because, after scattering two golds and a silver across her first two Olympics — Sochi in 2014 and PyeongChang in 2018 — she didn't medal in Beijing four years ago. In fact, she didn't even finish three of her events during the 2022 Games.

Then, this year, she struggled in the women's team combined event , failing to reach the podium even after teammate Breezy Johnson established a lead in the downhill portion of the competition. Just three days ago, Shiffrin finished 11th in the giant slalom .

Flash forward to Wednesday, and Shiffrin zoomed to the bottom of the mountain and back to the top of the skiing world when she crushed the field with a pair of the legacy-defining runs. Shiffrin recorded the fastest time in her first run.

After watching skiers ahead of her spin out or DQ, she maintained an even keel and stayed aggressive amid her second run, transforming her already significant 0.82-second lead into a 1.5-second domination. That margin of victory, according to NBC's Nick Zaccardi , is the largest in any Olympic Alpine skiing event since 1998. The monkey is off Shiffrin's back, and the gold is once again around her neck.

She's the first American woman skier to win three Olympic gold medals, and she now holds titles as both the youngest and oldest American woman to win Alpine gold. She was 18 in 2014. She's 30 in these Games. A GOLDEN MOMENT FOR MIKAELA SHIFFRIN. 🥇 pic.twitter.com/HVBmdC0TW2 — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 18, 2026 U.S.

and Canada men's hockey both need OT to advance to semifinals Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild lit the lamp three-plus minutes into 3-on-3 overtime to push Team USA past Sweden 2-1 and into the men's hockey semifinals . The Americans needed overtime because Sweden's Mika Zibanejad slapped a shot by U.S. netminder Connor Hellebuyck for the game-tying goal with 91 seconds left in regulation.

The Swedes provided a stiff, NHL-themed test. The Americans passed, albeit in OT. They'll now play Slovakia in the semis. QUINN HUGHES! USA WINS! 🦅 pic.twitter.com/WxbCRKxPiO — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 18, 2026 Earlier in the day, Canada booked its spot in the semifinals, but only after it outlasted Czechia in overtime .

The Canadians were down 2-1 after the first period, marking the first time Team Canada had trailed in the Olympics with NHL players since 2010, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo . Then, with less than eight minutes to go in the third period, Ondřej Palát scored to put Czechia up 3-2.