Members of the Gophers women's hockey team gathered in their team lounge Friday hoping for a celebration, and for most of the day it looked like most of them would leave happy. They ate, they laughed and they yelled at the giant TV, imploring the U.S. women's hockey team – which includes five current or former Gophers – to defeat rival Canada in the gold medal game.
In the end, though, they felt the sting that so many felt when Canada scored twice in the final four minutes of regulation and won 3-2 on a power play goal in overtime. Only they felt it even more than most.
"That makes me so sad," junior forward Rachael Bona said, as she watched tears streaming down the cheeks of the U.S. players on TV. A few Gophers players, thousands of miles away from the action, shed a few tears in their team lounge as well.
