Team USA Beats Canada in Every Possible Olympic Hockey Event

On Feb. 5, I reacted to Team USA’s Men’s Hockey roster construction decisions, lamenting the exclusion of certain star players and worrying about America’s chances at securing gold. But on Feb. 22, the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team triumphed over Canada in the finals, earning the top Olympic prize for the first time in 46 years and, more importantly, proving me wrong. 

I would like to cut myself a little bit of slack. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but the United States’ victory doesn’t disprove any of the issues I raised around Team USA’s roster selection. If anything, they won in spite of those roster errors. The important part, though, is that they won. 

If you didn’t watch the game, or if you’re not a particularly passionate sports or hockey fan, it’s hard to put into words how meaningful this moment was for the tens of millions of us glued to our televisions at 8 a.m. that Monday morning. I’m Jewish, but racing down to the Dunster House basement at the crack of dawn to claim the communal TV felt like my version of Christmas morning. One of my close friends was supposed to join me, but he decided to be lame and stay in bed. I figured that meant I’d be alone for the game. Instead, I was unexpectedly joined by about 30 other Americans and a scattered group of Canadian students whom I had never met before. 

At 7:45 a.m., we were total strangers. By 11 a.m., we were tackling each other while screaming and crying as Jack Hughes scored the golden goal. That’s the power of sports. Looking back, I am so grateful that there are a few dozen other lunatics on this campus as passionate about this as I am. They made a once-in-a-lifetime moment all the more special, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

The game itself was, as expected, a masterpiece of hockey. By now, everyone has surely seen clips of Connor Hellebuyck’s MVP-worthy performance, but I’ll be honest, seeing replays doesn’t do it justice. Watching that man pull off miracle save after miracle save gave me about four heart attacks, but I was cheering through every single one. 

And while the Americans might never have trailed in the game, I want to commend the Canadians on putting on a phenomenal performance. This was probably the greatest display of hockey skill in history. It might be the greatest hockey game ever played, and I’d encourage anyone remotely interested in the sport to give it a watch. I would especially encourage you to watch the 20 minutes after Team USA won.

For those unaware, the more recent National Hockey League season was preceded by a horrific tragedy: Johnny Gaudreau—who likely would’ve been on Team USA—and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver at their sister’s wedding in Nantucket. Throughout the past two seasons, the tributes for Johnny across the league have been as heartwarming as they are tear-jerking. 

Heading into the Olympics, there was a lot of talk of “do it for Johnny,” but nothing could have prepared us for Gaudreau’s former teammates Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski parading his jersey around the ice with American flags draped over their shoulders. And if that didn’t bring you to tears, seeing other U.S. teammates carry Gaudreau’s two children onto the ice to celebrate their dad and country absolutely should have. This was so much more than just a game. This American team demonstrated the power sports have to unite us, bring out the best of us, and, as Jack Hughes noted in his post-game speech, make us “so proud to be American.”

That honor is not limited to the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team. For the first time in history, a country won all three Olympic hockey gold medals, with the United States also beating Canada in Women’s Hockey and Paralympic Hockey. That is an astonishing feat, and I hope it will inspire generations of Americans and athletes to lace up skates and take to the ice. 

That is, ultimately, what this is all for. Young boys and girls are going to grow up trying to reenact Hellebuyck’s iconic stick save, or the golden goals from both Hughes and Megan Keller, the latter of which might be the greatest hockey goal I’ve ever seen. More than the athletic feats, they’re going to be inspired by a group of players that embodied the best parts of the nation: men and women who were proud to represent their country and did so with a level of dignity, honor, and respect that we should all aspire to. 

To those incredible athletes, thank you for giving your all at these Olympic Games. In my Feb. 5 article, I referenced the late Herb Brooks’ iconic quote from the film “Miracle”: “I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right ones.” These players were, above all else, the right ones. I am so glad I was wrong.

Jordan Wasserberger ’27 (jwasserberger@college.harvard.edu) is already trying to see if he can go watch the next Winter Olympics in person.