The 18,000 crowd at the Canada Hockey Place watched on nervously as Crosby, the 22-year-old seized his opportunity.

Crosby swiped a wrist shot past US net minder Ryan Miller to hand Canada the fairytale ending to the Games.

“It doesn’t feel real. It feels like a dream. It just feels like dream,” said Crosby.

“Our team worked so unbelievably hard. This was really tough, especially when they got the goal late in regulation. But we came out in overtime and this is just an unbelievable feeling.”

Canadian coach Mike Babcock added: “To do it at home with these guys is special.

Oh dear I seemed to have become addicted to the sport of Curling. Perhaps this could simply be due not being able to take my eyes off the stunning Eve Muirhead who is trying to lead the British team to Olympic gold. The British team saw their medal hopes take a severe knock last night as they let threw away victory to the Americans as for once Eve seemed out of form.

Amy Williams won Britain’s first solo Winter Olympic Gold for 30 years with a superb victory in the women’s skeleton. Amy 27, from Bath, smashed her own track record on the way to Team GB’s first medal of the Vancouver Games in a time of three minutes 35.64 seconds.

“It’s crazy,” Williams told BBC Sport.

“I didn’t think I’d be standing here, it’s all such a blur, I can’t remember most of the last run.

“I came out at the bottom and saw our performance director Andi Schmid smiling, so I thought it must be good.

“Before the race I was OK, it was a bit weird as I was on my own in the changing room and didn’t know when to go out.

“I was a bit nervous before it but I thought I’ve got nothing to lose so I thought I’d just go out and enjoy it and it was great.”