This American men’s Olympic hockey team—fresh off a classic 2-1 win over Canada on Sunday afternoon—stayed in the Olympic Village, and that game? You can bet it’ll be picked apart, celebrated, and fondly recalled, even wistfully, a quarter-century from now, if not sooner. The squad turned down the Four Seasons to live like everyday Olympians for a few weeks. Brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes, along with , Matthew and Brady, each shared rooms with their siblings: Quinn jokingly complained that the Tkachuks always left their door open across the hall.
“Olympic spirit and team chemistry—there’s real weight to that,” says Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, a member of Team USA. “As Team USA, we get to hang out and chat with figure skaters and speed skaters. Winning gold is contagious, and being around other winners, other great athletes, is something I’m really thankful we did.”
They paid tribute to , the late Columbus Blue Jackets forward and seven-time All-Star who almost certainly would have made this team if he and his brother Matt—a minor league player and Boston College standout—hadn’t been tragically killed in summer 2024. A suspected drunk driver hit their bikes the night before their sister’s wedding. After Jack Hughes’ golden goal gave the U.S. its first Olympic gold since 1980, Larkin and Zach Werenski—Gaudreau’s Columbus teammate—brought Johnny Gaudreau’s kids onto the ice.
During a team victory photo, Werenski and Matthew Tkachuk held up a #13 Gaudreau Team USA jersey. Canada tallied 42 shots on goal to the U.S.’s 28, but the skill of Connor Hellebuyck—the best player on the ice, who made 41 saves in goal—and a bit of luck let the U.S. eke out the win. “I think part of why the puck stayed out of our net is that [Johnny] was somehow there, doing something,” Larkin says. “Laughing with Matty. They just put some kind of spell on our net. It’s ironic—this is the defensive end, and he’d never be back there.”
Then there’s Jack Hughes, the New Jersey Devils forward, who had an unforgettable day. He lost teeth on the ice from a high stick to the mouth, put the U.S. in a tight spot late in the third period with a high-sticking penalty, but then scored the game-winner a few minutes into overtime. “The difference is a guy who wants the puck on his stick in that moment—if you watch the video, I turn and skate back,” says Larkin, who was on the ice with Hughes for the winning goal and did step away from the play. “He wanted it, and he f-cking put it in the net. That’s what superstars do.”
For at least a few hours on that Sunday morning—a February day without the NFL, NBA All-Star Game, or Daytona 500—this likable American hockey team captivated the nation, maybe even uniting it. “We built this team with personality; we’re loaded with it,” said Team USA coach Mike Sullivan. “There are whiskey drinkers and milk drinkers, and we’ve got a lot of whiskey drinkers here.” Soon, gap-toothed Jack Hughes, his brother Quinn, and Team USA captain Auston Matthews joined Sullivan on the press conference stage, wearing drinking goggles and chugging Coronas.
Millions on social media and beyond tuned in to this rare shared cultural moment. Expect NBC to brag about its massive viewership numbers any day now. The Miracle on Ice—when a group of U.S. college kids beat the mighty Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War in Lake Placid, N.Y., on their way to gold—is so deeply ingrained in American folklore that both sides of the aisle could get behind winning the country’s first Olympic hockey gold since that legendary 1980 night.
President Donald Trump called to congratulate the team after the win. Political operatives wasted no time trying to score points. The X account for the House Judiciary Committee—chaired by Republican Jim Jordan—posted: “America: Free speech. Waffle House. GOLD Medal in Hockey. Canada: Bagged milk. Fake bacon. Socialism.”
Such antics are to be expected, but the good news is they won’t overshadow this day. “We know what this meant to the country,” says , of the New York Rangers. “Putting on this jersey is emotional—you never know if you’ll get another chance. The way things played out today, and the pride we take in playing together … we felt something special.”
So did the rest of us.
