This week's rundown has more of a red, white, and blue feel to it, and rightfully so.
USA Men's Hockey win Gold
The story of the week, and of the Olympic Games here in USA, is the USA men's hockey overcoming Canada to take gold in Milan.
First of all, how cool is it when the entire country rallies around a team like Americans did in the lead up to the gold medal game? Maybe it was just here in Minnesota, but even non-hockey fans were glued to their TV Sunday morning rooting on Team USA. To have a couple of days where there was a sense of unity in this country (when is the last time we felt that?) is a special and unique feeling that should not be taken for granted in today's USA.
I'll admit, I was surprised USA was able to hold on through the end of regulation. Team Canada had the ice tilted in their favor and it just felt like USA was holding on for dear life at times. But Canada failed to capitalize on their chances (we've seen that story before here in Minnesota) and it cost them. That's not USA's fault.
USA had to be looking to just get the game to overtime when Canada was controlling play in the third period. Anything can happen in 3-on-3, and with the game turning into a puck possession battle you can argue that it levels the playing field even more than 5-on-5. Sure enough, USA had a couple good chances before Jack Hughes scored the biggest goal of his life.
Other thoughts- That Matt Boldy goal was incredible. And it wasn't even the play of the game. That paddle save by Hellebuyck should be framed in every hockey bar in the United States from now until the end of time.
The 5-on-3 penalty kill was one of the best penalty kills of all-time. Every hockey coach should be showing their team that on video.
And the coolest part of the gold medal? The Minnesota stamp on it.
The Minnesota Wild played a huge part in the gold medal. Matt Boldy and Quinn Hughes were two of the best players on Team USA the entire Olympics. Brock Faber played a key role as one of the top defenseman. Bill Guerin was the architect of Team USA. John Hynes was behind the bench as assistant coach. When you think of this Team USA team, it'll be hard not to think about the Minnesota Wild's impact on it.
46 years since the last gold medal. USA is back on top of the hockey world.
USA Women's Hockey
The next biggest story of the Olympics? The USA Women's hockey team also toppling Canada for the Gold Medal.
The USA Women were rolling leading up to the gold medal game. They had allowed 1 goal (!!) prior to their re-match with Canada. They had outscored their opponents 31-1 (!!). And they had already beaten Canada 5-0. They were favorited in the gold medal game and deservedly so.
But as hockey fans know, winner take-all games are tough. Players are laying it all on the line. Play can tighten up. And when you're playing a team for the second time, each team learns how to attack and defend their opponent better.
It was looking bleak for Team USA. They had their goalie pulled late in the third period before Hilary Knight tipped in a shot Laila Edwards to tie it up 1-1.
And then in 3-on-3 overtime, Megan Keller scored a beauty of a goal off a feed from who else but Taylor Heise to secure the gold medal for Team USA.
Just an incredible Olympics for USA Hockey. The men's and women's teams go 12-0, and each defeated Canada for the gold medal.
Faber and Lacombe get Gold
One thought that crossed my mind when USA won the gold medal was Brock Faber and Jackson Lacombe getting to see the flip side of a winner-take-all championship game.
It wasn't long ago Faber and Lacombe experienced the losing side of sudden death OT when the Gophers lost to Quinnipiac in the National Championship game in 2023. Now, a little less than three years later they are wearing gold medals around their necks after being on the winning-side of sudden death.
Seven former Gophers won gold at the Olympics, with Abbey Murphy, Grace Zumwinkle, Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, and Lee Stecklein winning gold on the women's side, along with Faber and Lacombe on the men's side.
Final Olympics thoughts
I love the Olympics. I love getting into sports like curling and bobsled once ever four years. I love that there is something to watch every night. I love the pride everyone has competing for their country.
I find it harder to get into the Olympics when they are seven timezones away, however. Often times when I turned on the Olympics in primetime each night, highlighting the key moments of the past day's competitions, I already had an idea of what was going to happen based on a headline I saw earlier in the day, which took away the suspense.
Experiencing these Olympics gets me even more excited for the summer Olympics in 2028 taking place in Los Angeles. We will get to watch and experience the top moments live in prime time. There will be even more of a connection to the Olympics with them being in the USA. I cannot wait to watch primetime swimming and track and field, and I only find myself saying that once every four years.
And speaking of four years, events like the Olympics and presidential elections always cause me to reflect on how much my life has changed over four years. The last Winter Olympics I was living with my girlfriend and two dogs in a townhouse. Four years later, that girlfriend is now my wife, we live in a house with those same two dogs plus a third dog that came into our lives a couple years ago, we have a one-year old boy toddler running around our house, and I started a company designing and selling apparel for Minnesota sports fans. It's crazy how fast life changes, and I can't help but wonder what life will look like the next time the Winter Olympics come around.
Pablo Lopez out for the season
You could argue the Twins season ended before they even played their first exhibition game. Pablo Lopez is out for the season after reporting a sore elbow during their first official team practice. MRI's revealed a torn UCL which required season-ending Tommy John surgery.
I made a video earlier this week with some thoughts on this situation and how Tom Pohlad had a chance to prove to fans that he's different than the previous Pohlad predecessors (breaking news, the Twins have done nothing since Lopez went down). For the few Twins diehards out there who watch every pitch, I feel for you. This season was already forecasting to be a long summer, and undoubtedly this news will make it very difficult for the Twins to contend this summer. Target Field is a great place to watch a baseball game but I imagine there will be many, many empty seats this summer.
This whole situation has Minnesota sports written all over it. A key player is out for the season before the first game is even played (remember Teddy Bridgewater in 2016?). Minnesota sports fans can never catch a break, and this is yet another one of those situations we can point to.
I encourage you to check out our shop and pick out your favorite shirt that expresses your emotions of this situation...
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