USA Hockey Rides Grief, Grit, and Glory to Olympic Gold

None of the players on the 2026 United States men’s hockey team were alive when a group of American college kids stunned the world at Lake Placid in 1980. The “Miracle on Ice” exists for them mostly as grainy YouTube clips, fading photographs and a slogan — “Do You Believe in Miracles” — passed down like folklore.Belief and inspiration for this American team, formed 46 years later, came from something far more recent, far more painful and far more personal: the death of Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed along with his brother, Matthew, in 2024.Amid the wild celebration that erupted after the United States defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime on Sunday to win the gold, Americans Zach Werenski and Matthew Tkachuk skated slowly around the littered ice, holding aloft a Team USA No.13 jersey.It belonged to Mr. Gaudreau.The image served as a symbol of love, remembrance and just how far the American hockey program has come in four decades. This was not a ragtag group of amateurs that came together to pull off one of the biggest upsets in sports history. These Americans were a machine led by goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and a roster of seasoned NHL players.Mr. Gaudreau, who played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, was supposed to be part of that machine. An elite winger more than a decade into his NHL career, he was one of the most accomplished American players of his generation and predicted to contend for the Olympic roster. That possibility ended on August 29, 2024 when he and his brother were struck by an SUV while riding bicycles near their hometown in New Jersey on the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding.Their deaths stunned the hockey world.The Gaudreau parents, Guy and Jane, along with Johnny’s wife, Meredith, and their two oldest children were in the stands in Milan on Sunday, celebrating and crying, happy about the outcome on ice, saddened Johnny and Mathew were not there to fulfill their own Olympic glory.“It was their dream,” Jane Gaudreau said of her sons.They were there in spirit, though. Team USA made sure of that, hanging Mr. Gaudreau’s jersey in its locker room throughout the tournament, a constant reminder of why this team mattered beyond the game.Whatever inspiration the jersey offered was needed. The matchup between the United States and Canada seemed inevitable, two teams boasting NHL veterans and international experience. The rivals met for the 20th time in Olympic competitions with Americans winning their most recent in Beijing in 2022 and Canada holding the historical edge.This time, the gold medal was on the line amid a political climate where President Trump has threatened Canada with tariffs and criticized its leadership. Yet, in this game “ice” wasn’t a dirty word.“This is going to be the year,” Mr. Eruzione, the captain of the 1980 team, predicted before the tournament. “They’re not underdogs. They’re going in preparing to win.”Both teams went 3-0 in the preliminary rounds, but Canada was weakened by losing captain Sidney Crosby to a lower-body injury in the quarterfinals.The gold medal game lived up to its billing. Tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, Jack Hughes scored in overtime, earning America’s third men’s title at the Games and sending the American bench spilling onto the ice.“This is all about our country right now,” Mr. Hughes said. “I love the U.S.A. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is strong.”The growth of Team USA was evident across the Winter Games, winning a record 11 gold medals and 32 overall. The gold-medal count surpassed the 10 gold at Salt Lake City in 2002.President Trump offered the men’s hockey team congratulations on Truth Social. “They won the Gold. Wow!,” he posted just hours after an armed man was shot and killed by Secret Service agents at Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were at the White House when the incident occurred, but it served as a reminder that the Games unfolded against a backdrop of political tension, domestic unrest and global uncertainty.But that was far from Team USA’s thoughts as they celebrated winning Gold and honoring their fallen hero.

USA Hockey Rides Grief, Grit, and Glory to Olympic Gold

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