Be sure to have your alarm clocks set Sunday morning.

Team USA and Canada men’s hockey are set to face off for Olympic gold at 8:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, so fans will have to wake up early to see the championship game.

There are a couple of reasons behind the early start time, with the main one being — like many of the events at the 2026 Winter Olympics — the six-hour time difference between the eastern United States and Milan Cortina.

The time difference means that the gold-medal match will start at 2:10 p.m. locally before the closing ceremonies that evening.

The championship game is also the last event for this year’s Olympics before the closing ceremonies, which are expected to kick off at 2:30 p.m. ET and 8:30 p.m. in Milan.

Men’s hockey is typically one of the last events of the Olympic Games, with the championship game often being held on the final day alongside women’s cross-country skiing.

Even NBC host Mike Tirico was apologetic about the early start time and sympathetic to the fans during the broadcast on Friday while explaining the reasons behind why the game starts in the morning for viewers in the United States.

Team USA secured its ticket to the championship game on Friday with a dominant 6-2 win over Slovakia, with center Jack Hughes scoring two goals in the effort.

Hughes’ performance comes after Team USA decided to shift the 24-year-old up to the third line, with coach Mike Sullivan saying that the Devils star “could impact the game more.”

2026 WINTER OLYMPICS

“We thought [Hughes] was playing real well, and so we thought by moving him up and getting him more ice time, he could impact the game more,” Sullivan told reporters Friday morning. “It was just a decision on our part based on how Jack has played and we think he’s getting better with every game he’s played.”

Team Canada’s semifinal win on Friday was not as easy, however, as they trailed Finland by two goals for a chunk of the game.

Canada then scored three unanswered goals, with Nathan MacKinnon scoring the game-winner with just 35 seconds left in the third period.

MILAN — Megan Keller wouldn’t say she’s consistently practiced the jaw-dropping move she pulled off for the overtime golden goal of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday night at Santagiulia Arena. 

Her USA teammates, however, were unfazed. 

“The Megan Keller,” Hilary Knight called it. 

After collecting a long pass from Taylor Heise, Keller poked the puck around Canadian defenseman Claire Thompson before backhanding it past goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens to secure a 2-1 OT victory and the Americans’ spot at the top of the podium. 

“Just saw the change happen. Had some space. [Taylor] Heise made a great pass,” said Keller, who finished tied for the most points in the tournament (nine) with fellow defenseman Caroline Harvey. “Taking a chance trying to get to the net. But, obviously, we would not be in this position if our goaltender didn’t play outstanding in Aerin Frankel. Huge late goal by [Hilary Knight]. Top to bottom, this entire group, we stuck together the whole way. Really proud to be a part of this group.” 

Some of her U.S. teammates saw the game-winning goal in real time. Others did not at all, as the Americans halted the 3-on-3 overtime.

Their celebration took over the ice, making it difficult for anybody to see the replay. 

Keller said the team talked about playing to win and not to lose in overtime. In such a situation, she noted, it’s easy to get a little nervous about making a move.

When she saw she had a 1-on-1 with a Canadian defender, Keller said she thought: “Why not?” 

2026 WINTER OLYMPICS

“I saw her open her hips, and I’m like, ‘Oh, she’s gone,’ ” Kendall Coyne Schofield said. “I didn’t see the end. It happened so fast, but when I saw her open her hips, get the puck and like she had legs. I’m like, ‘This is going in the net.’… I look forward to seeing the replay.” 

The golden goal secured a second Olympic gold medal for Keller, as well as her third overall, after she won with Team USA in 2018 and settled for silver in 2022. 

Named captain of the PWHL’s Boston Fleet ahead of her third season, Keller went into the Olympic break with five goals and six assists through 14 games.

The Farmington, Mich., native emerged as one of the most dominant defensemen in NCAA history while skating for Boston College. 

“I thought it was Connor McDavid out there,” said Laila Edwards, who later corrected herself and said Auston Matthews in order to name an American NHLer.