For the first time in Olympic history, the USA’s men’s and women’s hockey teams both won the gold medal in the same Olympic tournament.
For the women, it was their second gold-medal win in three Olympic games, with their last being in 2018 in South Korea. For the men’s team, it was 46 years to the day since their famous 1980 win against the Soviet Union in the gold medal game, deemed the “Miracle on Ice.”
This time, it was Canada, the premier destination for hockey, that the USA men’s and women’s teams beat in their final games during overtime. For the women, it was 29-year-old defenseman Megan Keller who netted the winning shot. The men’s OT winner came from 24-year-old forward Jack Hughes.
“Oh my gosh, I just, I don’t even know how to explain it,” Bjorn Labrum, a fourth-year psychology major and founder of the PLNU hockey club, said. “It’s almost surreal … I was on the edge of my seat the entire game. There were many opportunities that we could have lost that game, but Team USA just stayed locked in and played their best.”
Highlighting each of the gold medal matches — besides the two game-winning goal scorers — were the two goalkeepers: Aerin Frankel and Connor Hellebuyck. Frankel notched 30 saves on 31 shots, and Hellebuyck saved 41 of 42; each allowed only one goal. Frankel’s save percentage was roughly 97% and Hellebuyck’s was closer to 98%. For reference, the average NHL save percentage this season is around 90%.
Labrum, a goalie himself, was floored by the goalies’ performances.
“Well, an average number of saves is usually around 25-ish, and they’ll still let in maybe four goals in that time span,” Labrum said. “But letting only one goal in on 42 shots is insane.”
Clouding the joyousness of the two gold medals was a video of a phone call in the men’s locker room following their historic win.
Kash Patel, director of the FBI, drank beer and celebrated with the men’s team in the locker room after the win. He also took a phone call from President Donald Trump, and a video of the call was leaked to social media.
At one point, Trump said, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team. If they weren’t invited, I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?”
The video caused immense discourse and argument online. Some cited Trump’s quote as dismissive of the women’s team’s accomplishment in bringing home the gold medal. Others claimed it was simply locker room talk, and a joke that seemed to be overscrutinized by those who believe the former.
Hilary Knight, the captain of the women’s hockey team, made an appearance on ESPN on Feb. 25 and gave her thoughts on the joke.
“I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke, and unfortunately, that is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold-medal feats,” Knight said.
Alternatively, Ellen Hughes, mother of Jack Hughes and player development consultant for the women’s team, said the two teams are very close, and said above all, they care about humanity, unity and the country.
Ryan Whitney, former NHL player and host of the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast, took to his X page soon after to say, “Wow… the queen Ellen Hughes really buried some pathetic narratives today.”
Maddie Mersch, a fourth-year PLNU basketball player, wasn’t pleased with the joke and the implications it had.
“The United States president should not be making a joke like that,” Mersch said. “It’s disgusting. He clearly does not respect women in that way, especially women athletes who did the exact same thing the men did.”
What also struck Mersch was the culpability of the men’s team, who laughed at the joke Trump made, except for a few players.
“Maybe just say, ‘Yes, of course we’ll bring the women’s team. They just won gold and did the same exact thing we did. It’s not like we’re superior to them or better than them,’” Mersch said. “It’s the fact that they all went along with that. And I think that happens so much in our country right now, especially with our president.”
Both teams were invited to the White House for the State of the Union on Feb. 24, but only the men’s team showed up. Hellebuyck was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and is the first hockey player to receive the honor.
Zoey Peters