USA’s gold medal is no ‘Miracle on Ice’ — but its impact on the nation could be the same

MILAN — A “Miracle On Ice,” it definitely was not.

The United States had way back rivaled Canada in NHL expertise.

But the impact of Team USA lastly beating Team Canada at greatest on greatest for Olympic gold might very nicely rival 1980 for generations to return.

“I can’t start to explain what this will mean to the game of hockey in the US,” Mike Modano, certainly one of the best American gamers ever, instructed TheAthletic. “This is a legacy team. … I’m speechless. What a feeling they must have.”

Sunday’s 2-1 time beyond regulation win by Team USA got here 16 years after Zach Parise compelled time beyond regulation in the gold medal sport in Vancouver. Only to see Sidney Crosby rating the “Golden Goal” in time beyond regulation.

This time, Team USA completed the job.

“Best hockey game I’ve ever seen. That was incredible,” Parise instructed TheAthletic after Sunday’s sport. “What a win for the US Hockey is in a great spot here, but this will put it on another level. These guys inspired a young generation of kids, including my own, over the past two weeks. It’s awesome.”

Joe Pavelski practically received it in time beyond regulation in 2010, his shot from in-close stopped by Roberto Luongo. Moments later, Crosby ended it.

Sunday was a very long time coming, Pavelski stated.

“It was incredible to watch them to win today,” Pavelski instructed TheAthletic. “You could feel the energy of game day when I woke up and just a special moment and couldn’t be more excited for USA hockey and how it will grow the next generation.”

That, in a nutshell, is what Sunday’s win would possibly do for the sport in America. Could it elevate it to a different degree in the American consciousness, the place the sport is no longer an afterthought? Could Sunday’s win, witnessed by so many non-hockey followers, convert many new ones?

“I hope we grow the game, the kids back home can — kind of like we did watching the ‘Miracle on Ice’ movie — be able to gain inspiration from us,” stated celebrity defenseman Quinn Hughes.

As particular as 1980 was for Americans, these had been faculty youngsters. The actuality is that the most necessary hockey achievement when it comes to an NHL flex, the greatest versus the greatest, occurred at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey in Montreal. When Keith Tkachuk and present Team USA GM Bill Guerin and the remainder of that crew surprised a superstar-filled Team Canada, that was the first time USA Hockey introduced itself when it comes to being a part of the NHL powerhouse penthouse.

What’s really stunning, in that context, is that it took till Sunday for the US to seize one other best-on-best match. It shouldn’t have taken 30 years.

“1980 arrange that subsequent era, ’96 World Cup arrange our era, we simply received and hopefully will create some extra superstars,” Brady Tkachuk, American flag draped round him, stated postgame Sunday.

So yeah, Sunday was hardly a miracle given the American expertise in the NHL, but it was a large aid for USA Hockey.

“It’s special,” stated Captain Auston Matthews. “It feels like it’s been too long. I think over the last 10, 15 years, there’s been a very big upcharge of American hockey players coming through in the NHL. They’re world-class players. This is the first time in my NHL career we’ve been allowed to compete in the Olympics. To have this opportunity it meant a lot to put USA hockey on the map. We did that.”

Added center Jack Eichel: “It’s incredible. I think this just means so much to all of us and USA Hockey, just so much pride in wearing this jersey and being able to do something special and create our own story here. It’s been a long time since USA Hockey was on the top of the hockey world.”

And now, because of Sunday’s win, there’s a five-year-old somewhere in Arizona or Florida or California who wants to pick up a hockey stick. That’s the impact that’s possible.

“I sure hope so,” stated Dylan Larkin. “…I hope it inspires. I hope that kids want to put this sweater on someday. Because it’s the best feeling in the world. What we just did, nothing will ever match it.”

Somewhere in America, there’s a future Jack Hughes pretending to score the “Golden Goal.”

“I’m sure this is going to be a moment that younger kids are talking about, to see Jack score that OT winner, and they’ll try to recreate it, to try to envision themselves in that spot,” stated Brock Nelson. “Hopefully this keeps the sport the way it’s been going the last 10, 20 years.”

The “Miracle on Ice” is a novel achievement that may’t ever be duplicated as a result of Team USA will not ever ice a bunch of school youngsters once more in the Olympics.

Sunday’s win will assist USA Hockey flip the web page on having to repeatedly dwell off that 1980 story. Respectfully, it is time to flip the web page now. Mike Eruzione can retire now.

“Sully (head coach Mike Sullivan) talked about it right away, as soon as we got here, that there was the ’60 team, the ’80 team, so 34 guys total in all of USA Hockey history to win a gold medal,” said Charlie McAvoy. “That’s what we were playing for. And s—, man, two weeks later, we did it. We did it. We’re part of that history. No one could ever take it away from us. This group’s gonna walk together forever. “I’ve never been so proud in my life.”

Added Eichel: “I know what the 1980 team did and what that meant for generations that came after in USA Hockey. We wrote our own story here. It’s a really proud moment for every guy in that room, every person that’s part of the team.”

There will be some hyperbole now about USA Hockey proudly owning the sport, and I imply, they only received males’s and ladies’s Olympic gold medals in Milan.

Bragging rights, they’ve for positive. Owning the sport? No manner.

What we do have is a rivalry that is unparalleled. Two nations which can be as whilst doable now in hockey.

“It’s been close for a while. You know, they’re an amazing, skilled group of players,” Team Canada celebrity Nathan MacKinnon stated postgame. “Just, yeah. I just felt like it wasn’t going to be. You guys can be the judge of who the best team was tonight. But they won. We lost.”

That’s not sour grapes. MacKinnon is always one to simply state the facts. Team Canada dominated Team USA for the last two periods of regulation, outshooting them 42-28 overall. They had the best chances.

But Connor Hellebuyck stole one for Team USA. That’s part of hockey. The goalie is part of the team.

“Hellebuyck was insane, you saw the looks they had. Canada is an insane team out there,” said Quinn Hughes. The game’s never been faster, it’s never been more skilled. And they got some special players, Hall of Famers, all over their team.”

Deep down, Team USA knows that could easily have been a different result.

“The Canadians played a hell of a game and somehow the puck stayed out of our net,” said Larkin. “The gold medal game is so intense and so many things going on, so many superstar players flying around the ice, the fact there’s multiple times that puck didn’t go in for them, Connor Hellebuyck was unbelievable in a game, the biggest of them all. And then we got the one that counted, the one that mattered in the end. It’s incredible.”

And that’s just it. Team USA, finally, scored the goal that mattered.

Somewhere there’s a kid wanting to buy goalie pads. Because that’s going to be Hellebuyck’s legacy from this gold medal game. He made that Hughes overtime goal possible by standing on his head in regulation.

“I was that kid. Being a kid, watching TV, watching my heroes,” said Hellebuyck. “I can’t put it into words yet. This gold is a nation’s gold. “It’s not just a Team USA gold, it’s a whole nation’s gold.”

Is hockey lastly going to be cool in the United States? Sunday’s win would possibly give it an opportunity.