The American hockey player’s face had bloody lips, missing teeth and disheveled hair.
Jack Hughes represents the best of us. Grit, toughness, pride, a willingness to make sacrifices for others, no matter how messy or irrational.
Forty-six years after The Miracle on Ice, America turned hockey into a three-hour song in Italy.
No politics, no posturing, no complaints, just winning.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! 2, Canada 1.
Mike’s former captain Mike Eruzione was right. This is their team. This is their time. We will never forget 1980. But we no longer have to live in the past. Or have a Netflix account.
The golden light is back, returned by a passionate group of booers, grinders and goaltenders.
“It’s all about our country. I love America. I love my teammates. I’m so proud of America today. What a game from (Connor) Hellebuyck. He’s our best player,” Hughes said on the NBC broadcast. “The USA Hockey Brotherhood means a lot. We are a great team. The Brotherhood is very strong.”
Americans follow a goosebump-inducing script.
They were underdogs, facing a Canadian team that boasted a string of future Hall of Famers, including the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
Their roster was questionable, created in the image of Ford and not Ferrari. Team USA general manager Bill Guerin wanted strength and size, preferring players capable of preventing Canadian goals rather than scoring them.
They were inspired, hanging Johnny Gaudreau’s No. 13 jersey in their dressing room. Johnny and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver in 2024. Gaudreau’s family traveled to Milan on Friday and watched from the stands at Santagiulia Arena, with tears in their eyes as his former NHL teammates honored his memory.
We all agree that Canada might beat America in a best-of-seven series. But in one match, with all the pressure on the opponent, the US relied on togetherness, relying on the chemistry built in the 4 Country Face-Off.
This is the beauty of this sport. The numbers could be lopsided. But it only takes one change, one opportunity to change the outcome.
It happened at the 1:41 mark of overtime. In the required 3-on-3 format — a game like this deserves an even ending — Hughes took a pass from Zach Werenski and scored the golden goal, past Jordan Binnington.
I screamed at the TV as many people across the country do at breakfast binge-watching. It was a primal explosion of appreciation and admiration.
Canada has won every Olympics featuring NHL players. The best of them are always better than everyone else. In 2010 in Vancouver, in 2014 in Sochi and at the 4 Nations last year.
And they were the best team on the ice for two periods, even without injured captain Sidney Crosby.
But they played without elasticity, given the gravity of a country that views hockey gold the way the United States views Olympic basketball championships – as a human right.
America’s plans are simple, even unrealistic. Get ahead early, and survive the onslaught.
Matt Boldy scored in the sixth minute. In a frenetic pace that even die-hard commentators had never seen before, Boldy chased down a bouncing ball and speared between Makar and the Avs’ Devon Toews to score. It was the kind of goal you’d see to win a game, not a starter, a testament to the enormity of the battle.
How does he keep it on his stick and score?
“I don’t know,” Boldy admitted.
The last two periods are also difficult to explain.
The Canadians tilted the ice and aimed at Hellebuyck. They outscored the Americans 33-18 over the final 40 minutes of regulation. Only one penetrated, Makar’s laser from the top of the right circle.
MacKinnon had his chances, his rockets either stoned or too wide. Connor McDavid ran free midway through the second half, failed to downshift and only managed to nudge Hellebuyck’s pads. Macklin Celebrini, the future of the NHL, wants to break away.
But what everyone will talk about forever is Hellebuyck’s rejection of Toews. Alone outside the crease, Toews scored the puck with an open net. He hit it and somehow Hellebuyck, who was down, bent and twitching, lifted his stick for a deflection.
This is the time for momentum to become a movement. America understands it. Hellebuyck held the rope. He needed someone, anyone, to pull him along.
Hughes, 24, arrived straight from the casting center.
He is a former No. 1 pick in the United States. 1 overall, who spent the start of his career weighed down by expectations. He only reached the playoffs once with the New Jersey Devils.
But he comes from a patriot family.
His brother Quinn scored the overtime winner as the US beat Sweden in the quarterfinals. Their mother Ellen Weinberg-Hughes worked as a consultant for the women’s gold medal team.
And here’s Jack in the spotlight.
She’s ready, even though she needs makeup. In the third inning, Hughes lost his smile when Sam Bennett hit him with a high stick.
Moments later, Hughes provided an explanation for the surreal performance.
The kids are back. The birds are free. And one beautiful morning, we felt like one united country.
“We did it for the people back home, for all the love and support we got,” Hughes said. “You dream about this. There’s a lot of talk about us about how to overcome the drought. And we think this is the group that can do it. We are the gold medalists. We are the champions. Tonight, we were the best in the world.”
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