MILAN, Italy (Michigan News Source) – Forty-six years to the day after the “Miracle on Ice” captured the imagination of a nation and sealed the last Olympic gold for the United States men’s hockey team, Team USA is golden once more.
On Sunday, the United States stunned Canada 2-1 in overtime. The echoes of 1980 reverberated through the arena as Jack Hughes buried the game-winner less than two minutes into the extra time. In an instant, history felt cyclical. Destiny felt real.
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The goal itself was pure poetry with a Michigan accent.
Hughes’ overtime strike was set up by a slick feed from Grosse Pointe Woods native Zach Werenski. Joining them on the decisive 3-on-3 shift was Detroit Red Wings captain and Waterford product Dylan Larkin. Three Michigan connections on the ice. One golden moment.
“This is all about our country right now,” Hughes told NBC after the game, emotion pouring through every word. “I love the USA. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable.”
Unbelievable — yet somehow familiar.
Before Hughes could play hero, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made sure there would be an overtime at all. The Commerce native delivered a masterclass between the pipes, turning aside 41 shots and frustrating a relentless Canadian attack. Time and again, he flashed the glove, kicked out the pad, and stood tall when Team USA needed him most.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Hellebuyck, the reigning NHL Hart Memorial Trophy winner, as he accepted his gold medal. “I love this group. We’ve had so much fun over here. We’ve grinded. We’ve battled. This is some of the best and most fun hockey I’ve ever played.”
Fun — and forged.
Many of these stars were shaped not just by talent, but by place. The roots of this championship run stretch back to Metro Detroit and the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Plymouth. It’s there where elite prospects sharpen their edges and form bonds that last long after youth tournaments end.
Hughes himself relocated to Michigan during high school to train within that system. Summers still bring NHL standouts back to the same rinks, where friendships are rekindled and rivalries are paused for shared ice time.
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“The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong,” Hughes said. “We’re such a team.”
For Larkin, the brotherhood predates Olympic ice.
“There’s Zach Werenski and Kyle Connor — I grew up playing with those guys with Belle Tire here in Detroit,” Larkin told Local 4 prior to the Olympics. “I think the cool part is that a lot of us played there [in Plymouth]. At the Four Nations, we all got together and saw the different guys telling stories of when they were there. It’s great to have something special you have in common while wearing the jersey.”
That common thread runs even deeper in Ann Arbor.
Kyle Connor, Larkin, Werenski, and Quinn Hughes all wore the maize and blue at the University of Michigan before pulling on red, white, and blue. In total, six members of Team USA hail from Michigan — more than any other state:
Kyle Connor (Shelby Township)
Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce)
Jack Hughes (Canton)
Quinn Hughes (Canton)
Dylan Larkin (Waterford)
Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe Woods)
For a state synonymous with hockey culture, the fingerprints were everywhere on this championship.
Sunday’s victory delivered the United States its 12th gold medal of the Winter Games, surpassing its previous record of 10 set in Salt Lake City in 2002. More poetic still, it completed a historic sweep: both the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime to claim gold.
On the women’s side, Farmington Hills native Megan Keller iced Friday’s championship alongside Plymouth’s Kirsten Simms, adding yet another Michigan chapter to this Olympic story.
