By JOHN WAWROW, Related Press
The US swept the hockey gold medals at the Winter Olympics for the primary time, beating Canada 2-1 in extra time in each the lads’s and ladies’s tournaments and ending the tournaments unbeaten.
It set off a celebration that shortly grew to become political:
The celebrations
— Ladies’s staff: The gamers largely steered away from politics. Many mentioned they failed to note Vice President JD Vance, his household and friends — and enormous safety element — attending two preliminary spherical video games the place they sat instantly reverse the U.S. bench. They celebrated Workforce USA’s third Olympic gold medal in girls’s hockey win by wrapping themselves within the stars and stripes following Megan Keller’s overtime goal.
“We’re America’s staff in the easiest way and thru positivity and making an attempt to encourage by sport,” captain Hilary Knight mentioned. “And no matter political local weather is occurring, we’re simply making an attempt to have a optimistic impression by our play, and clearly present up and symbolize our nation to the very best of our capability, as a result of we’re proud People and there’s nice unity that we are able to discover by sport collectively.”
— Males’s staff: The celebration following Jack Hughes’ goal was dramatic and fascinating, with Hughes displaying a toothless grin, and others paying tribute to late participant Johnny Gaudreau, who died in August 2024. The boys had been joined within the locker room by FBI Director Kash Patel and obtained a speakerphone name from President Donald Trump.
White Home invites
— Males’s staff: Throughout his name, Trump invited the staff to attend his State of the Union deal with two days later earlier than including he must invite the ladies’s staff as nicely. He later mentioned if he didn’t invite the ladies, he’d danger being impeached, which led to the gamers laughing at a remark many noticed as sexist. A variety of gamers joined Trump on the White Home on Tuesday and had been later cheered on the Capitol throughout his speech.
— Ladies’s staff: The staff didn’t obtain a congratulatory name from the president, and didn’t study of the White Home invitation till hours after the lads’s sport ended. The team politely declined the invitation, citing journey logistics put in place days earlier. Trump mentioned he anticipated the ladies to go to the White Home quickly, however there isn’t a timetable, and the earliest the staff might schedule a go to is after the PWHL season ends in late Might. A lot of the staff is anticipated to attend a “She Received Sport” celebration being hosted by rapper Flavor Flav in Las Vegas in mid-July.
The flights dwelling
— Ladies’s staff: Touring industrial and paid for by USA Hockey, the ladies had been scheduled to fly although New York Metropolis however had been re-routed to Atlanta because of unhealthy climate. The ladies got the selection to attend the State of the Union speech, however declined as they had been wanting to return dwelling. The ladies spent an additional week in Milan as a result of their match opened earlier. The PWHL season resumed Thursday.
— Males’s staff: The gamers flew by constitution — paid for by the NHL and NHL Gamers’ Affiliation — direct to Miami. The NHL season resumed Wednesday.
The fallout
The boys have spent a lot of the week answering questions on why a few of them laughed throughout Trump’s joke. Many mentioned they had been caught up within the celebration. Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman mentioned they “ought to have reacted in a different way” to Trump’s remarks.
“I simply thought the joke was distasteful and unfortunate,” Knight mentioned Wednesday
Nonetheless, by all accounts the 2 groups grew to become shut within the athletes’ village and supported one another’s runs to gold. They’ve emphasised that this week.
“We watched different occasions collectively,” mentioned Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk. “We went and supported them. We beloved the ladies’s staff. The ladies’s staff beloved us and we’re so proud that we had a clear sweep of gold medals and simply a lot respect for them and the opposite athletes.”
The TikTok
A doctored TikTok video surfaced on the White Home account with U.S. participant Brady Tkachuk showing to disparage Canadians. Tkachuk, Matthew’s brother who performs in Canada’s capital of Ottawa, took offense to the publish that carried a be aware saying it contained AI-generated media.
“I’m not accountable for any of these accounts,” he mentioned. “I do know that these phrases would by no means come out of my mouth.”
Tkachuk additionally denied being the voice heard shouting “shut the northern border” throughout Workforce USA’s name with Trump. It isn’t clear who did.
What’s subsequent
— Males’s staff: It’s back to the NHL schedule, playoff races and rejoining lots of the teammates they performed in opposition to in Milan. Although Matthew Tkachuk introduced his gold medal to follow, he mentioned he took a low-key method to not present it off an excessive amount of so to not offend his Canadian teammates.
— Ladies’s staff: The PWHL schedule resumed after a month-long Olympic break, whereas the seven U.S. school gamers put together for his or her respective convention playoffs. The PWHL is enjoying a major post-Games boost, the primary because the league was established three years in the past.
The league reported its two greatest days of in-season dwelling venue ticket gross sales on Feb. 24 and 25. Merchandise gross sales in February jumped by 101% in contrast with the primary two months of the season. The league’s 61 Olympians gained 760,000 extra followers to their mixed social media accounts and the league reported a 200% improve in YouTube video views.
