Jack Hughes smiled through a chipped tooth as he celebrated a golden moment for the United States. The 24-year-old scored the overtime winner in a 2-1 victory against Canada at Santagiulia Arena, ending a 46-year Olympic gold drought.
Hughes finished the tournament with four goals and three assists for seven points and a +8 rating in six games. His biggest strike came at 1:41 of overtime in the final. Zach Werenski stripped Nathan MacKinnon and set him up in the right circle. Hughes beat Jordan Binnington with a quick wrist shot.
After the game, Hughes kept the focus on his team and country.
“It’s all about our country right now, I love the USA,” Hughes said. “I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey Brotherhood is so strong. We have so much support from our players. I’m so proud of the Americans today.”
Hughes praised Connor Hellebuyck, who made 41 saves, calling him the team’s best player.
“Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck,” Hughes added. “He was our best player tonight, by a mile. Unbelievable game. Unreal game by our team. That’s just a frosty, gutsy win. That’s American Hockey right there. That’s a great Canadian team, but we’re USA. We’re so proud of the Americans. Tonight was all for the country.”
Jack’s brother Quinn had 1 goal and 7 assists for 8 points in 6 games with a +2 rating. However, Hughes focused on Team USA’s brotherhood and the pride they were feeling with the win.
“USA Hockey brotherhood means so much,” Jack said. “Look at these guys. We’re such a team. We’ve been together for two weeks. We’re such a team. The USA Hockey Brotherhood is so strong. We’re so proud to win for our country.That’s such an unbelievable game, USA and Canada. That’s such a good game.
“They have so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted to go. We wanted to go through Canada and beat them either way tonight, but that’s an unbelievable one for the Americans.”
For Team USA, the wait is finally over.
Matthew Tkachuk Talked About Team USA’s Win
Team USA also had two more brothers playing, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk. Matthew posted six assists, a +5 rating, and 12 penalty minutes. Brady added three goals and two assists for five points with a +7 rating and 12 penalty minutes.
After the game, Matthew said,
“The United States of America, the greatest country in the world, deserves this because we’ve been knocking at the door for a long time, and we’ve got the game of hockey right now, and I’m so honoured to be a part of this team.”
The United States opened group play with wins over Latvia, Denmark, and Germany. They edged Sweden 2-1 in overtime in the quarterfinal and beat Slovakia 6-2 in the semifinal.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in golf, hockey, baseball, tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
