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18 // MARCH 2018 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM it comes to a game like this very lit- tle has to do with those outcomes. Certainly you can learn from your past, which we did from what hap- pened in 2014, but at the end of the day it's a new day." That new day meant a different style of play, one that featured a free-flowing, puck possession style of play that kept opponents constantly on their heels. But while the chances were there night after night, the goals were harder to come by. That's where the young goaltending tandem of Nicole Hensley and Rooney stepped in to shut down the opposition. Rooney was only 7 months old and Hensley was barely 2 years old when Cammi Granato, Karyn Bye and crew celebrated winning the first Olympic gold medal in women's ice hockey 20 years ago. But stepping onto the biggest stage in sport, they channeled their inner Sarah Tueting and Sara DeCosta in helping the U.S. recapture that golden feeling. "The 1998 team was our role mod- els in this process and to get it done with this group of women was just amazing for our sport and youth in general," Rooney said. J u s t a s t h e " M i r a c l e o n I c e " inspired what would later come to be known as the "greatest generation" of NHL players, Granato and her team- mates opened the door for females of all ages to find a league of their own. On the anniversary of the biggest victory in men's hockey and three days after celebrating the 20-year mark of the women striking gold in Nagano, these women were poised make their own history and inspire the next generation. "I'm not surprised that they were difference makers in this outcome," said head coach Robb Stauber. "I told them before the Olympics that they were going to be a big difference in us winning a gold medal. I could feel it." A n d w h e n M o n i q u e s c o r e d a breakaway goal with 6:21 left in the gold-medal game, her teammates could feel it too. Still, it came down to a shootout and that's when sister Jocelyne's sick "Oops, I did it again" move turned C a n a d i a n g o a l t e n d e r S h a n n o n Szabados into a pretzel and the U.S. into Olympic champions. "They're the best fighters I've ever been around," Gigi Marvin said of her longtime teammates. "As my grand- pa would always say, 'If you're in the trenches who are you going to pick?' And I'm going to pick the Lams." It was a shining moment of redemp- tion for a team that has won seven of the last eight IIHF Women's World Championships but had been snake bitten when it came to Olympic gold. With the sting of Sochi a constant reminder, the team took up residen- cy last fall in Tampa, Fla.. with one thought on their minds. Along the way they waged a very public battle for equality, endured a hurricane, crisscrossed the continent on an exhibition tour, welcomed new teammates and said goodbye to old friends, all in the name of taking the final step up the podium. " Yo u c a n w i n a s m a n y Wo r l d Championships as you want but at the end of the day the Olympic gold medal is different," Stauber said. "Quite honestly, if you're looking at your past, successes or failures, when The U.S. has medaled in every Women's Olympic hockey tournament 2006 2010 2002 2014 2018 1 998 Golden Bookends Oops, she did it again. Jocelyne Lamoureux has Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados at her mercy during the shootout in the gold-medal game. PHOTOS BY Jeff Cable and Getty Images