OT: Whoo Hoo!

[MyIdaho]

Can't wait to watch this! Kid that had graduated a year before me from my high school back in Rochester MN was on the winning team back in 1980 and I was watching with all my buddies from my college dorm in Moorhead when we won. Looking forward to the game tomorrow but living in AZ means a 6 AM start..... Mimosa will wait until after a cup of coffee and a 2nd cup of coffee with Baileys! Maybe I can stomach a Mimosa by third period. lol! GO USA!

Just curious, was this Eric Strobel?  I have been Gopher hockey fan since 74 and remember watching all the Gophers that played on 80 Olympic team!   

Nice win today, USA< USA< USA!

[StickierBuns]

Interesting to see many Canadian fans so sour and full of excuses for this loss online. I'm sure this hurts for them, its their sport. My stoic friend from Toronto is beside himself, lol. Hellebuyck was masterful....they needed him to stand on his head and the best goalie in the NHL did just that. The Canadian coach looked physically ill after Hughes's overtime goal. 

Listen, Canada's offensive playmakers are amazing, they really are. Better than the USA, but the difference were the goalies yesterday and USA has the best. Binnington is no slouch, but Buck is a level up. Also: give a shoutout to Jimmy's Famous Seafood....research it and you'll know what I mean! F the Huffington Post.

[purplefaithful]

We watched most of the closing ceremonies last night...What a lifetime experience for those athletes and what a special location too.

French Alps in 4 years will be amazing as well. Get ready Utah and LA!!

Here's a very "local" perspective....

------------------------------------------------------------------
It is totally acceptable to be emotional, Minnesota.

Especially when I drive around town and see, hear and talk hockey in the winter. Especially when I fly into Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport during the snowy times, look down during the approach and see backyard hockey rinks dotting the landscape. From 24-hour rinks in Warroad to a friend buying goalie equipment for his 12-year-old to my 50-year-old buddy with a bad back still trying to grind through a men’s league in West St. Paul, I get the hockey culture in this state.

So Sunday, Feb. 22, should be celebrated by the nearly 6 million residents of Minnesota. From International Falls to Albert Lea. From Lake City to Luverne.

Because Minnesota pulled off the double.

The U.S. women’s hockey team won an Olympic gold medal Thursday, Feb. 19. The American men followed suit three days later. Both victories in Milan came against our friendly neighbors above us, Canada.

Both games in which the Canucks outplayed the Americans for most of the game. Both wins coming 2-1 on golden goals in 3-on-3 overtime.

On Thursday, Taylor Heise — Lake City’s own, a five-year Gophers standout and two-time PWHL champion with the Frost — had the golden assist with a stretch pass to Megan Keller, who dipsy-dooed around defender Claire Thompson before beating goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens for glory.

Three days later, Wild star Matt Boldy opened the Americans’ scoring by slithering through two of the best defenders in in the world in Cale Makar and Devin Toews before beating goalie Jordan Binnington in the first period.

While the American women weren’t at their best for most of their game, it didn’t look like the men could match Canada’s level. The Canadians controlled play, outshot the United States 42-28 and made all of us uneasy to watch it unfold.

And in a close game, Canada’s Conor McDavid will crush dreams. Like Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he is inevitable. The Edmonton Oilers star’s next-level play in overtime against the Americans in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face Off last year is still fresh in our minds. Like it or not, overtime in Olympic hockey is 3-on-3 play. When Canada can trot out McDavid, Makar and Nathan MacKinnon on one line, they are the three horsemen of the hockey apocalypse.

“They’ve got the best offensive players in the world,” Lou Nanne, the former North Stars player, coach and general manager, said by phone from his condo in Florida. “But the best offensive players in the world sometimes don’t score. And they don’t play defense as the best defensive players in the world.

“And all of sudden you had McDavid caught up ice and Makar even farther up ice.”

Zach Werenski claimed the puck from MacKinnon behind the American net and quicky sent a pass to Jack Hughes, who nudged the puck past Makar to start a 3-on-1 rush. Werenski chased the puck down in the offensive zone and fed Hughes, who fired from just inside the left circle.

More American glory.

“Great play by Werenski and a fabulous shot by Hughes,” Nanne said.

It came 46 years to the day when Mike Eruzione’s goal produced the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid, N.Y. Jim Craig stood on his head in goal against the Russians that day. Connor Hellebuyck channeled his inner Craig on Sunday. Toews and McDavid will attest to that after their prime scoring chances were thwarted. Hellebuyck shouldn’t pay for another dinner for the rest of his life after stopping 41 shots Sunday.

It’s been much too long for Americans to inject that 1980s euphoria into our veins again. It wasn’t until last year that the 1980 team received a Congressional Gold Medal for its heroics. Breaking a 46-year drought seems to be a good reason to grant another. Maybe through a faster process this time?

What a few days for American hockey.

“Isn’t that phenomenal?” Nanne said. “Again, we had to get to overtime to win. I think the U.S. [women are] better than Canada. I don’t think anyone is going to beat them in the next Olympics.”

Heise, Lee Stecklein, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle and Rory Guliday are the Minnesota natives on the women’s team. Heise, Stecklein, Pannek, Zumwinkle, Britta Curl-Salemme and Kendall Coyne Schofield all play for the Frost, and Abbey Murphey plays for the Gophers.

The men’s team included Minnesota natives Brock Faber, Jake Guentzel, Jackson LaCombe, Brock Nelson and Jake Oettinger. Boldy, Faber and Quinn Hughes all play for the Wild, with Hughes named the tournament’s best defender after he had seven assists to go with the game-winning goal in overtime in the quarterfinals against Sweden.

Wild General Manager Bill Guerin selected the Team USA men’s roster. Obviously, he made all the right moves. And Wild coach John Hynes handled a U.S. penalty kill that was 18-for-18 during the Olympics, including a stretch of 5-on-3 on Sunday.

Celebrate Minnesota. The Americans don’t win double gold medals without the State of Hockey.

Strib

[greediron]

https://twitter.com/AndyMSFW/status/2025609625421193623?

Can't remember how to embed, but this is funny

[Vikergirl]

Quinn Hughes is such an important pick up for the Wild. Hilary Knight is a 5 time Olympian. That requires incredible dedication. The women's team includes 5 Minnesotans and 6 Minnesota Frost players. Of course the men's team includes 3 Minnesota Wild players and the multigenerational history of Brock Nelson. But the Johnny Gaudreau tribute and his kids made me lose it. Omg memories of 1980 came flooding back. It was so great to see them break through. Love seeing the growth of girl's and women's hockey too. There was a dad that is a great advocate of women's sports and he was following the team. Hilary Knight invited him to a game it was so cool. Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend that is an Olympic speed skater. And Haley Winn's brothers with their hilarious outfits and videos showed so much support. I loved watching Laila Edwards make history, that is going to inspire so many little girls. Quinn and Jack Hughes and Auston Matthews at the presser was absolutely hilarious. What a great Olympics.

[JimmyinSD]

I dont know if this will embed or not,  here's the link if not  

proof the that Quinn Hughes may be a midwesterner after all...

[purplefaithful]

https://twitter.com/AndyMSFW/status/2025609625421193623?

Can't remember how to embed, but this is funny

I dont know if this will embed or not,  here's the link if not  https://twitter.com/i/status/2025761152605516266

proof the that Quinn Hughes may be a midwesterner after all...

Alright moderators, here's' how the heck you do it:

[spell out twitter]copy twitter link here, type this at end of your paste [/twitter]

brackets important

[greediron]

Alright moderators, here's' how the heck you do it:

[spell out twitter]copy twitter link here, type this at end of your paste [/twitter]

brackets important

Thanks PF. Sorry for my ineptitude.  Tired the post link, but it didn't have a twitter option.

[JimmyinSD]

[kmillard]

Interesting to see many Canadian fans so sour and full of excuses for this loss online. I'm sure this hurts for them, its their sport. My stoic friend from Toronto is beside himself, lol. Hellebuyck was masterful....they needed him to stand on his head and the best goalie in the NHL did just that. The Canadian coach looked physically ill after Hughes's overtime goal. 

Listen, Canada's offensive playmakers are amazing, they really are. Better than the USA, but the difference were the goalies yesterday and USA has the best. Binnington is no slouch, but Buck is a level up. Also: give a shoutout to Jimmy's Famous Seafood....research it and you'll know what I mean! F the Huffington Post.

I was really happy for Helle. I have watched him in Winnipeg since he came out of the minors. Won the MVP last year and the Jets had the best record in the league. He had a tough 1st round of the playoffs and they lost in the 2nd round so the talk was he couldn't win when it mattered. Probably on his way to the hall at some point. Great career for a 5th round pick out of commerce township, Michigan.