The Milano-Cortina Olympics have ended and USA Hockey has swept the Olympics. Both the men’s and women’s team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime thrillers. These teams faced vastly different roads to the gold, and both of their wins showcase the immense cultural significance of USA Hockey.
The women’s hockey team went into this tournament as the favorites. After beating Canada in last year’s rivalry series 4-1. They continued their dominance during the preliminary rounds by winning all four of their games and having a goal differential of 20:1. Furthermore, they beat Canada in the prelims 5-0. They then went on to beat Italy in the quarter-finals 6-0 and Sweden in the semifinals 5-0. Heading into the final, USA was the clear favorite of the tournament. However, on the day of the gold medal match team Canada gave them a hard game. Canadian player Marie Philip-Poulin scored the first goal of the game, for a while it looked like the Canadians would win the game. With just 3 minutes left in regulation team captain Hillary Knight scored a deflection goal to send the game to overtime. Not long after, defenseman Megan Keller would score a breakaway goal to end the game, officially securing the gold for the women’s team. Overall, this was a spectacular tournament for the women’s team, and it further cemented US women’s hockey as a powerhouse in the sport.
From the announcement of the roster the men’s team was shrouded in doubt. With key NHL scorers such as Jason Robertson and Cole Caufield left off the team many began to wonder if the US had the firepower to stand up to a hockey power like Canada. The men’s team quickly proved these non-believers wrong as they swept the preliminary rounds. Although they faced strong goaltending and adversity from the Swedish team, they were able to pull away with the win in the quarter finals. After thoroughly steamrolling Slovakia in the semi’s they were set to play Canada in the final. Overall, the final game was one of the greatest ever. Spectacular goaltending from US goalie Conor Hellebuyck helped to propel the team to overtime, where Jack Hughes would eventually net the “golden goal”. For the first time in 46 years, ever since the “Miracle on Ice”, the United States men’s team were champions.
Both of these teams showcased the fight, passion, and skill necessary to win the gold medals. The women continued their prolonged dominance while the men were able to pull away with their first win in decades. GO USA.
