Team USA Hockey: Miracle on Italian Ice

Jack Hughes was on his hands and knees on the ice, looking for his teeth. Sam Bennett's high stick had knocked them out late in the third period, and Hughes — blood running down his chin, the game tied 1-1 — did what any 25-year-old would do. He looked down at the ice to see where they landed. "My first thought was, 'draw the penalty,'" he told NBC after the game. "Actually, my first thought was, I looked on the ice and saw my teeth."

He scored the golden goal anyway. One minute and forty-one seconds into overtime at Milano Santagiulia Arena, Hughes took a pass from Zach Werenski and beat Jordan Binnington through the five-hole. USA 2, Canada 1. The first American men's hockey gold since the 1980 Miracle on Ice — exactly 46 years to the day. The photo that went everywhere wasn't the goal. It was Hughes draped in the American flag, grinning through a gap-toothed, bloody smile. "This is all about our country right now," he said. "I love the USA. I love my teammates. It's unbelievable."

President Trump awarded Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a State of the Union address after his dominant performance in the Olympic final.© The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

But the moment that stopped the arena came after the buzzer. Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, and Zach Werenski skated out carrying a jersey — No. 13, GAUDREAU across the back. Then Dylan Larkin and Werenski brought two toddlers down from the stands to join the team photo: Noa, 3, and Johnny Jr., who turned 2 that day. Their father Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew had been killed by a drunk driver while cycling near their home in Salem County, New Jersey, on August 29, 2024 — the night before their sister Katie's wedding. Johnny played ten NHL seasons with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets. His jersey had hung in Team USA's locker room for the entire tournament. "He was one of America's very best," head coach Mike Sullivan said before the final.

Meredith Gaudreau was in the stands. She'd flown to Milan with Johnny's parents, Guy and Jane, to watch the team her husband would have been on. Their third child, Carter, was born about seven months after Johnny died. "They didn't have to do that," Meredith told ABC News Live two days after the game. "I was so thankful for that. I was just very, very proud." She paused. "Still, every day is kind of a gut punch. But when the guys do what they can to still include John and our kids, it just means everything to me."

Connor Hellebuyck during his early career with the Manitoba Moose, long before his 41-save performance in the Olympic final earned him Best Goalie honors and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.© TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Connor Hellebuyck made it possible. The Winnipeg Jets goaltender stopped 41 of 42 shots in the final, including a breakaway stuff on Connor McDavid that kept the game tied in the second period. His save percentage across five games was 95.6%. He was named the tournament's Best Goalie. Later, President Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a State of the Union address. McDavid, for his part, won Olympic MVP despite the loss — 13 points in the tournament, an Olympic record. Even in defeat, you couldn't ignore what he did.

Matthews captained the team with three goals and seven points in six games, including an assist on the opening goal of the final. He became the first Mexican-American to win Olympic men's hockey gold. Quinn Hughes, Jack's older brother, was named the tournament's Best Defender and an Olympic All-Star, breaking the record for most assists by an American in a single Olympic tournament with NHL players. The 2024 Norris Trophy winner played every situation Sullivan asked him to.

And then there's their mother. Ellen Weinberg-Hughes won gold with the U.S. women's team days before her sons took the ice — she was a player development consultant on the staff when the women beat Canada 2-1 in their own overtime final. That made the Hughes family a double-gold household. Ellen had won silver at the 1992 IIHF Women's World Championship as a player. She's a UNH Hall of Famer. Her sons grew up watching her love this game, and now the whole family has Olympic gold.

Sean Higgins, the driver who killed Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, faces up to 70 years in prison. His attorneys rejected a 35-year plea deal; the trial is still pending. Jack Hughes returned to the New Jersey Devils after the Games and finally got his teeth fixed on March 17. The sweeping, bloody, beautiful image of him wrapped in the flag hasn't gone anywhere. But the image most people remember from Milan isn't a goal or a save. It's a team standing on the ice with a dead friend's jersey and his two little kids, one of them turning 2 on the day his dad's team finally won it all.