Forward J.T. Miller ran into Laila Edwards of the U.S. women’s hockey team, which was about to play Team Canada in the gold medal game Thursday. He gave her a fist bump, wished her luck and told her to enjoy it.
“Obviously, going to be an awesome environment to be in,” Miller said. “I think I’m going to head over to the game and watch. That’ll be fun.”
As Miller spoke outside the main gate, Team Finland center Sebastian Aho walked by. The Finns play Team Canada in the semifinals Friday (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA [JIP], ICI Tele, CBC Gem, RDS2, CBC, SN [JIP]).
What’s it like being in such close proximity to your competitors with so much on the line?
“I mean, it’s all business,” Miller said. “I think that everybody knows what we’re here to do and understands the beast that we’re dealing with here, so [you’ve] just got to get used to that. It’s part of the deal. I think everybody’s comfortable in that situation. I think that’s when we can lean on our teammates.”
The Americans will hold a morning skate and go over Slovakia in more detail before the game Friday. Win, and they advance to the gold medal game Sunday. Lose, and they play for bronze Saturday.
“It’s another Game 7 tomorrow,” Werenski said, “and we understand what’s at stake.”