PYEONGCHANG — America’s women broke an ice hockey gold medal drought stretching back 20 years Thursday as a Russian curler admitted doping and was stripped of bronze at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

American skier Mikaela Shiffrin was denied gold in the women’s combined, while veteran teammate Lindsey Vonn bombed out of the same event, in a sad end to her Olympic career.

In the ice hockey, USA edged fierce rival Canada 3-2 on penalties, celebrating ecstatically when goaltender Maddie Rooney saved the decisive attempt from Canada’s Meghan Agosta.

America’s win torpedoed a 24-game Olympic win streak for Canada, the four-time defending champion. It also edged USA 12-11 ahead over its fierce rivals in Olympic and world titles.

Away from the competition, Russia’s Alexander Krushelnitsky was stripped of his mixed doubles curling bronze medal after testing positive for meldonium, an endurance booster.

The 25-year-old was one of 168 Russian athletes who passed rigorous testing to compete as neutrals in Pyeongchang, after Russia was banned over a major doping scandal.

In skiing, Shiffrin was restricted to second place in the women’s combined, meaning she ends the Games with one gold and one silver — a far cry from the potential five titles she had targeted.

Vonn, 33 and competing at her last Olympics, led the combined after the downhill race, but she only lasted a couple of gates in the slalom before skiing out.

Austria’s Hirscher, seeking his third gold medal in Pyeongchang, crashed out in the morning run and Kristoffersen of Norway followed suit in the afternoon, leaving the stunned Myhrer to top the podium.

In the men’s ski halfpipe, American defending champion David Wise kept his nerve despite crashing out of his first two runs to seal victory on the final attempt.

Wise, 27, twice lost a ski on his first two runs but he recovered to notch up a scintillating 97.2 on his last attempt and lead a USA one-two ahead of Alex Ferreira.

Among the evening events, South Korea’s teenage short-track speed skater Choi Min-jeong suffered heartbreak as she crashed out of her final event, the women’s 1,000m.

Choi, winner of the 1,500m and 3,000m relay, clipped the blades of teammate Shim Suk-hee in the final lap, sending both skaters hurtling into the side padding.

That left Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands to claim gold, with Canada’s Kim Boutin taking silver and Arianna Fontana of Italy the bronze.

Then in the men’s 500m, South Korea had to settle for second and third in the shadow of China’s Wu Dajing, who set a new world record.

The silver medalist from Sochi 2014 clocked the fastest ever time in his quarterfinal, and lowered that with 39.584sec in the final.

South Korea’s Hwang Dae-heon finished second, with his compatriot Lim Hyo-jun taking bronze.

In the men’s 5,000m relay, South Korea was knocked out of contention halfway through the race after a fall left them three-quarters of a lap adrift.

Further ahead there was no stopping Hungary, who held off China with Canada taking bronze to claim their first Winter Olympics gold, and first medal of any colour since 1980.

Hungary — Csaba Burjan, Victor Knoch, Shaoang Liu and his older brother, Sandor Liu Shaolin — did it in style, setting a new Olympic record of 6min 34.510sec. — Agencies