Gold. Through the battles, it’s the only thing that was on the mind of Team USA for four years. With a shootout victory over Canada, the Americans avenged their loss from four years previous and made a statement to the world. It wasn’t anything the team wasn’t used to.
Just under a year before, the Americans fought for equality in compensation and development, and USA Hockey nearly shut them out. Even calling high school players to try to field a team, the administration failed to break the unity of women’s hockey in the States.
Winning gold was the ultimate reward, but so was their story. Now, the hope is that women’s hockey can boom in this country. Akin to the "Miracle on Ice" 38 years to the day of the American gold-medal win in Lake Placid, there’s a chance to spread the game.
It’s what people like Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.) and Hilary Knight (Hanover, N.H.) have been fighting for, recognizing the effort is for something much larger than themselves.
"We weren’t receiving the support of a gold medal-winning team, and this is what a gold medal-winning team looks like with the right support," said Knight, a member of the Boston Pride, to the Washington Post. "We’re taking steps in the direction, but there’s still a long ways to go."
The gold medalists that 3.7 million people watched on Feb. 21 are also pros. They play in the NWHL and CWHL and with the Minnesota Whitecaps. Some of them still play in college, with three Boston College skaters, all defenders, on the roster.
With the Olympics over and a fouryear wait before the opportunity to defend the title, the NWHL and CWHL will live on, with most of those players likely returning home to play for their club teams. They’ll be skating in the practice rinks of the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils and at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill.
It’s a return to reality after two weeks of making history. It’s the aftermath that isn’t thought about on that quest for gold. Hockey goes on, and so will the athletes.
"Representing your country with 22 other teammates and winning the gold medal, words can’t describe it," said Megan Keller, a defender with Boston College who was joined by Eagles Kali Flanagan (Burlington, Mass) and Cayla Barnes on Team USA.
Locally, the Pride and the Blades both continue their voyages in pro women’s hockey. Boston College remains a threat to win the NCAA title each year. Other local teams, including Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard, keep making strides.
So do the women who won.
"What this group has been able to accomplish is way beyond sport," said Boston Pride skater Gigi Marvin, a forward for Team USA, in an interview with ESPN. "And that’s never going to fade. Like my little niece, when she wakes up tomorrow, it’s going to affect her more than it will me what we did last March. We can find such joy in how we were able to help others who will come after us."
So, what’s next? Nearly 4 million people saw the most important game in the sport’s history. Will that spark a women’s hockey revolution that’s been knocking on the door for the past half-decade since the NWHL started play?
"I hope now that women’s hockey explodes," said Knight to ESPN. "We want to keep growing the game and building a future that’s far better than anything we ever had. And I can only think tonight’s going to help."
"Since we’ve been here our mission has been clear; we stay in the moment," said Duggan. "We really showed that today. We took it one shift at a time, we took it minute by minute."
If the near-boycott hadn’t happened, would USA still have won gold? Probably. They were still the best team at the tournament. But would the impact have been the same?
Instead of just winning gold, the group won for the sport in many other ways. Eyes have been on women’s hockey. The future they built for the sport means players and future skaters who watched the game, who now hear about the success, have hope of being treated like an athlete, not "just a girl" or lesser than, as this group had to face for years.
That’s the victory won more than any else, but the gold magnified it for the perfect storm. The exposure that can only come from gold means even more attention is going to be given to the athletes who fought on the ice and for generations to come.
The women won. In sports, that’s almost never the case. Empty rinks and unpromoted webcasts and chants of "no one cares" later, an entire nation cares, united by the women who won.
"What a way to come through," said Knight to the Boston Globe. "I was jumping on my couch 20 years ago watching Cammi Granato and Team USA win. To be able to be here 20 years later and win a gold medal, it’s pretty amazing. I hope there’s a parade or something."
The gold is great. It’s what the athletes fought for. Not just the winners on the ice, but every player who was a part of the stand a year ago, and every athlete all the way down to high schoolers presented with the impossible question of doing what’s right or the chance to play in the Olympics.
"It is the greatest moment of our lives, and greatest honor of our lives," said Duggan. "We are so proud to represent the U.S., USA Hockey, and everyone who supported us along the way. This team is made of gold, and we proved it today."
The next time USA takes the ice in four years in Beijing, some of the skaters who won gold might not be back. But others who are beginning college careers or just starting out as pros will have the chance to skate, and they might have it better.
They’ll have four years of respect, four years of a nation flaunting their defending champions. No matter where the sport goes in the decades to come, this is the group that’s going to be remembered, the group that avenged the loss in Sochi four years ago, and the group that changed the sport, hopefully for good.
They won.
That’s the victory that’s going to be remembered.
