Thousands of people flooded Dundas Square in Toronto following Canada's Olympic hockey gold medal win. (Photo by Josh O'Kane, CUP National Bureau Chief) Traffic came to a standstill across Canada as people flooded the streets, including the intersection of Bathurst and College in Toronto, pictured here. (Photo by Josh O'Kane, CUP National Bureau Chief)

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FREDERICTON (CUP) — It will go down as one of the most memorable moments in Canadian hockey history, right up there with ‘72, ‘87 and ‘02. Seven minutes into overtime, Sidney Crosby slipped a shot past American netminder Ryan Miller to claim the Olympic crown for Canada.

Despite coming out on top, the U.S. nearly crushed the hopes of a nation as American forward Zach Parise scored with less than a minute remaining to tie the game and send it to an extra frame.

For Crosby, who had been criticized for a lack of offence during the tournament, scoring the winner only added to the storybook-like ending of the game — he told reporters “It’s a dream come true.”

“To have a chance to score in overtime, here in Canada, it doesn’t get much better than that,” said Crosby.

In Vancouver and across the country, tens of thousands of hockey fans flooded the streets to celebrate winning the gold medal. Viewed on television by more people than any event in Canadian television history — with 80 per cent of the country watching at its peak — the game provided the perfect end to 17 days of competition in Vancouver.

Canada started out strong in the game against the U.S., taking a two-goal lead halfway through the second period on goals from Jonathan Toews and Corey Perry. Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler struck back for the Americans in his home rink, getting a shot past NHL teammate Roberto Luongo to set the stage for Parise’s last minute heroics.

The gold was Canada’s eighth in Olympic competition and the first gold medal for a host country since the United States team’s “Miracle on Ice” at Lake Placid in 1980.