US men’s hockey stars reflect on American pride after bringing home Olympic gold

The U.S. men’s hockey team made history with its 2-1 overtime victory over Team Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics in the gold medal game on Sunday.

Jack Hughes scored the golden goal to give the United States its first gold medal in men’s hockey since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team.

“We deserve it,” Matthew Tkachuk said during an exclusive sit-down on News Channel’s “Special Report” about the whirlwind celebration he and his teammates have experienced in recent days.

“We really pride ourselves on being true Americans who would do whatever it takes for this country and to win. And I’m very proud of the guys and very proud to be able to compete with them.”

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The US team spoke to News shortly after visiting President Donald Trump at the White House.

“You never dream of being in this position, but to share this with (Matthew), but also my other 23 brothers… I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Brady Tkachuk said of the experience of playing alongside his brother Matthew in the gold medal game.

“To be able to represent this country and all the incredible people and the millions of Americans that were back home, we felt their love. We felt their support.”

Team USA goaltender and Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck spoke about his transition back to Canada for NHL competition.

“Mentally, it’s going to be hard to come back to this. I need at least 24 hours to understand this because not only has it been the most fun experience of my life, but you also see the pride of this country,” Hellebuyck said.

“It’s bigger than the game of hockey…I know my city loves me in Winnepeg, and I’m looking forward to trying to bring some joy to that city too and hopefully chasing a (Stanley) Cup.”

Canada has historically been the most dominant Olympic hockey team in history, with nine gold medals, the best in the world. Sunday’s victory also avenged a loss to Canada in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face Off exhibition last year.

“The moment the boots hit the ground here in the US, we could feel how many millions of people were tuning in, supporting us, and loving how we represent,” Matthew added of the outpouring. “We were kind of Team USA there for a while, and we could feel it on the other side of the Atlantic (ocean). We just appreciated everyone’s support. It was really amazing to represent the best country in the world at that time.”

Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski appeared on News Channel’s “News & Friends” Tuesday morning, hours after celebrating their gold medal victory against Canada in Miami. The two talked about what it meant to them to represent the Stars and Stripes.

“I think a lot of us played in the U.S. National Team Development Program… When we were there, you could put on the jersey every day for two years before you were drafted. We went through training. We’re not military by any means, but they train us a little bit and it really instills some pride in you,” Larkin said. “Once you go through that, you take your shirt off… And every time you take it off, at least for me, I don’t know when I’m going to put it on next.

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“So every time I get the opportunity to represent the United States of America, I put that jersey on, I’m all in. I love doing it, and it’s something special. I could talk all day about how great our country is. Just being home and seeing our friends and family, it’s just special.”

Trump invited the United States men’s Olympic hockey team to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.

News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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