It’s time for the ultimate locker room bragging rights as Jake Guentzel and his USA teammates take on Brandon Hagel and Team Canada for the gold medal in hockey. The two powerhouses didn’t disappoint as they bring perfect records into the gold medal game with Canada coming back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Finland 3-2 and the Americans blowing open a close game against Slovakia with three second period goal on the way to a 6-2 final.
Finland took the bronze medal on Saturday with a 6-1 win over Slovakia. Now the hockey world can turn it’s attention to the final contest of the entire Winter Olympics. Neither Lightning player has racked up world-beating point totals with Guentzel recording one goal in five games (although he did have another waved off against Slovakia). He has been a key part of the Americans second line with Auston Matthews and Matt Boldy.
For Canada, Brandon Hagel has found himself in more of a defensive role for Coach Jon Cooper, as he’s skated on the fourth line with Bo Horvat and Seth Jarvis. Like Guentzel, Hagel has been held to just one goal through five games.
As for Coach Cooper, he’s looking to add a gold medal to his impressive trophy collection that includes the following hardware:
Robertson Cup (NAHL)
Clark Cup (USHL)
Calder Cup (AHL)
2x Stanley Cup (NHL)
IIHF World Championship Silver Medal – 2017
4 Nations Champion – 2025
That’s a pretty impressive resume.
It should be a pretty fun game no matter what the outcome ends up being. Once it’s done, it’s back to NHL hockey and the playoff stretch.
Have fun watching!
