Here's RI's connections to the gold-medal winning USA men's hockey team
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Connor Hellebuyck had his Jim Craig moment.
Team USA's goaltender denied Canada men’s hockey a gold medal just a minute in the third period in Milan. The United States’ goaltender reached back, and to his right, for a stick save against Devon Toews.
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Hellebuyck stayed under pressure for the remainder of the gold medal match against a loaded Canadian team in Milan. But then Jack Hughes lifted the United States, 2-1 in a 3-on-3 overtime, to its first men’s hockey gold medal since that 1980 team.
Hellebuyck made 41 saves in a stunning effort that rivals Craig’s 36 stops in the 1980 semifinals against the Soviet Union.
The men’s team finished off the Winter Olympics with a 12th gold medal for the Americans – the best tally the United States has ever had. And there were a few Rhode Island connections to the winners.
Head coach Mike Sullivan, of Marshfield, Massachusetts, selected John Hynes (Warwick) and David Quinn (Cranston) to his coaching staff. Hynes, who was a Providence Journal All-Stater in 1992-93 with Toll Gate, is the head coach of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. Quinn, who started playing in the CLCF youth league, is currently an assistant coach for the New York Rangers.
And Hughes’ father, Jim, was also a star for Providence College men's hockey between 1985-89.
The Olympic hockey connections to Rhode Island don't end there.
Women's hockey also boasted an Ocean State tie. It wasn't a player, but an official. Former University of Rhode Island hockey player Amanda Tassoni was on the ice as a women’s ice hockey official. According to the school, Tassoni played hockey for URI from 2007-11, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2011. Prior to URI, Tassoni was an All-State player at Mount Saint Charles Academy.
“To be selected for the Olympics and work at the top level of hockey in the world is an incredible honor and something I don’t take lightly,” Tassoni told Rhody Today. “I keep in mind that I represent more than myself every time I step on the ice. Because of that, it’s extremely important to hold myself accountable in my preparation on and off the ice."
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Here's Rhode Island's connections to gold-winning USA men's hockey team