American women's hockey gold medalist Taylor Heise opens up on what it means to play for Team USA

With the value of the full federation connected her shoulders successful the mediate of overtime successful the Winter Olympics golden medal matchup against Canada, American Taylor Heise passed the puck up to Megan Keller and past made a beeline for the bench.

Heise said she didn’t spot what happened next.

"I passed the puck up and I skated arsenic accelerated arsenic I could to the seat and by the clip she’s already scored, I was astir determination and past everyone started to hop and that’s erstwhile I knew she had scored. So, I conscionable turned close backmost around," Heise recalled successful an interrogation with Fox News Digital connected Saturday. "After I’ve watched it astir 10 times, like, it’s unbelievable she did that and conscionable specified a ballsy play to marque successful an overtime but she’s idiosyncratic that’s truthful talented and tin perfectly bash that with grace each time."

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Taylor Heise #27 of Team United States Laila Edwards #10 of Team United States observe the triumph aft the Women`s Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game betwixt USA and Canada (2-1 OT) connected time thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games astatine Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena connected Feb. 19, 2026 successful Milan, Italy.  (EyesWideOpen/Getty Images)

It was joyousness and triumph from there.

The American squad ran implicit to Keller successful solemnisation arsenic Team USA took location its archetypal golden medal successful women’s crystal hockey since 2018 and lone 3rd wide successful the team’s past astatine the Olympics.

"It decidedly was relief," Heise said of the infinitesimal she was capable to propulsion her gloves up successful the aerial and deed the crystal successful celebration. "I deliberation erstwhile I was capable to propulsion my gloves successful and bash each that and get to observe with the girls, I conscionable deliberation alleviation successful the champion way, not alleviation successful the information that we didn’t judge that we could bash it, but alleviation successful the information that we were done and we yet finished the occupation and climbed Mount Everest and did what we needed to do.

"Just an unbelievable feeling and it’s been ace amusive to relish successful that. And I deliberation present today’s been the archetypal time I tin conscionable similar unbend and instrumentality a 2nd to truly bask successful the glory that we’ve made for ourselves present and I’m ace excited to unrecorded successful it and it’s decidedly moments I’ll person for life."

One infinitesimal that Heise suggested stood retired for her was the quality to perceive "The Star-Spangled Banner" play aft the squad received the golden medal.

She mentioned the value of it successful her postgame media availability with reporters connected Thursday and opened up astir it again with Fox News Digital.

United States' Grace Zumwinkle, left, and Taylor Heise observe aft triumph ceremonial for women's crystal hockey astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics, successful Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.  (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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"Playing for your state and the pridefulness of the spot that you unrecorded successful is beauteous astonishing and to deterioration that USA emblem connected your thorax each time it’s thing that you don’t privation to instrumentality for granted each day," she said. "I deliberation sometimes things tin get repetitive. We’ve been present for 22 days and you’ve got to sometimes retrieve wherefore you bash what you bash and retrieve that hockey is simply a kid’s crippled and it’s conscionable a amusive athletics to beryllium a portion of, and to correspond your state astatine the highest level determination is, it’s beauteous unbelievable.

"And to person the afloat enactment of everyone backmost home, that’s astir apt been my favourite part. The messages we’ve gotten from past alumni and radical who played connected the squad and conscionable radical backmost successful the U.S., that’s decidedly been 1 of my favourite parts due to the fact that they intelligibly spot the endowment and joyousness that we played with for sure."

Heise volition instrumentality the unforgettable infinitesimal successful for the adjacent fewer days, but her play is acold from finished.

She volition instrumentality to the crystal for the Professional Women’s Hockey Leage’s (PWHL) Minnesota Frost. She is 1 of six Frost players who were connected Team USA. The squad gets backmost to enactment connected March 1 against the Montreal Victoire.

With millions of radical watching the golden medal game, Heise suggested she was assured that the PWHL picked up immoderate caller fans.

United States' Grace Zumwinkle, left, and Taylor Heise (27) observe aft winning the women's crystal hockey golden medal crippled against Canada astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics, successful Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.  (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

"I would instrumentality a week disconnected successful Mexico but I recognize that’s not possible," Heise joked. "But yeah, we’re each excited to spell backmost and to get started backmost with the PWHL. It’s decidedly a league that’s fixed america a level to play connected and benignant of looking backmost to the WNBA and however they started. It’s a accordant grind and it’s not conscionable you spell from present to present successful 2 days.

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"With our expansions and everything, it’s decidedly been a hard process for a batch of people, moving teams and such, but I conscionable think, you know, 7.7 cardinal radical that tuned successful for that golden medal game, which is astonishing by the way, I conscionable deliberation it’s beauteous peculiar due to the fact that I deliberation we gained a batch of caller fans. Regardless of if you’re conscionable a women’s hockey instrumentality oregon you tuned successful to the Olympics and present recognize that we play successful a nonrecreational league. It’s beauteous peculiar and I expect america to person a fewer much fans that amusement up for our games and determine that they privation to beryllium PWHL fans successful the future."

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