Scoggins: USA Hockey is on the verge of a historic Olympic double

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1973 hit song “Free Bird” has blasted over the speakers inside the hockey arena at the Milan Cortina Olympics a total of 57 times the past two weeks.

Americans from coast to coast are hoping to hear it a few more times Sunday because is there anything more synonymous with Skynyrd than hockey glory?

Don’t question the logic. Celebrate it. Revel in it. Sing along.

USA Hockey is standing on the doorstep of something historic: an Olympic gold medal double.

The women’s team already secured gold.

The men have a chance to join them Sunday and win their first gold medal since a bunch of amateurs produced a miracle in 1980.

“Free Bird” has blared whenever a Team USA player, man or woman, scores a goal in Milan. Banger of a song and perfect anthem for two teams that have treated fans to a thrill ride.

Football is king south of the border, but the United States can claim bragging rights and head-to-head superiority in hockey for the next four years when Team USA faces Canada for men’s hockey gold in what figures to be an all-out brawl.

The American women defeated Canada 2-1 on Thursday on Megan Keller’s dipsy-do goal in overtime to earn their third gold medal.

Team USA demolished its competition before reaching the final, then had to dig extra deep to survive its archrival.

Team USA and Canada reside in a league of their own in women’s hockey. They alternate winning gold. The results in these Games support the notion that this was the strongest American women’s team ever assembled.

The roster was fast and deep and loaded with offensive firepower. They outscored their first six opponents 31-1.

The men have been dominant in their own way, highlighted by a 6-2 thrashing of Slovakia in Friday’s semifinals. Their path has vindicated Bill Guerin’s roster construction.

Guerin, the Wild general manager, serves in the same role for Team USA. This is the first Olympics with NHL players since 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Guerin heard criticism for his decisions when selecting the roster.

He prioritized tough checking and team chemistry over stuffing the roster with high-end scorers. Most notably, he did not include Jason Robertson and Cole Caufield, two of the top goal scorers in the NHL.

Guerin’s eye for what he wanted has been proven correct. A gold medal won’t be hailed as a miracle, but it would serve as a crowning achievement on Guerin’s résumé and those of his players.

Both the women’s and men’s rosters are littered with Minnesotans and players with Minnesota ties. Big names in hockey, familiar names back home.

Seeing them excel on the Olympic stage is a reminder of how fortunate we are to watch them up close in our backyard.

I spent a few minutes with Guerin in his suite at Grand Casino Arena during a Wild game a few days before he left for Italy. His excitement to get going was palpable. As a three-time Olympian as a player, he has a deep understanding of what that experience means.

“These guys have been waiting for this for a long time,” he said. “This is special.”

Sunday has a chance to be historic. To return home with two gold medals in hockey would be beyond description. The opening lines to “Free Bird” ask if a person leaving will still be remembered.