There will be two iconic pictures of the celebration after Team USA’s overtime Gold-Medal win Sunday in hockey. In one, the man who scored the golden goal, Jack Hughes, smiles into the stands, shattered front teeth, fist raised in celebration, a flag draped over his shoulders— the picture of grit and glory. But elsewhere on the ice, in that moment, two of his teammates were planning the second iconic photo. After the Star-Spangled Banner rang out, the team gathered for a shot at center ice. Zach Werenski and Dylan Larkin skated toward the stands, gesturing to the family of their fallen former teammate, Johnny Gaudreau. Each man hoisted a dark-haired toddler over the rails and onto the ice. They folded Gaudreau’s children, 3-year-old Noa and 2-year-old Johnny Jr., into the team picture as Gaudreau’s widow, Meredith, and his parents watched from the stands. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMSunday’s hard-fought win against rival Canada felt fated in a lot of ways. It was played on George Washington’s birthday on America’s 250th. It was one year after the USA lost to Canada in the finals of the 4 Nations Face-Off, setting up an Olympic grudge match for the ages. It also happened to be the 46th anniversary of the 1980 Miracle on Ice, the last time America’s men took Gold in hockey, at the Lake Placid Olympics. And for many in the arena, it was played for Johnny, whose family had been enveloped just this way by the “hockey brotherhood,” as Hughes called it in a post-game interview, since his tragic death in 2024. On August 29, 2024, Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were on a bike ride in New Jersey when life took a horrific turn. The Columbus Blue Jackets phenom, who was known as “Johnny Hockey,” was in town with family for his sister’s wedding when an allegedly drunk driver tried to pass a slower car and struck the Gaudreau brothers, 31 and 29, who were riding on the right side of the road. Johnny and Matthew died at the scene, leaving behind two wives, two sisters, two parents, and Johnny’s two young children. The driver will face trial this month in New Jersey.At the memorial service for the brothers, we learned life had taken another turn before their deaths. Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny’s wife, announced she was pregnant with their third child, “a total surprise.” “John and I had the best six months as a family of four. These will forever be the best six months of my life,” she said at the memorial service. “There’s specifically one week that I will cherish forever — it will be my favorite week of my life out of those six months. We’re actually a family of five. I’m in my ninth week of pregnancy with our third baby.”TEAM USA MEN’S HOCKEY HONORS JOHNNY GAUDREAU AFTER WINNING OLYMPIC GOLDMadeline Gaudreau, Matthew’s wife, was pregnant with their first child. Since then, Carter Michael Gaudreau, Johnny’s son, and Tripp Matthew Gaudreau, Matthew’s son, have been added to the family roster. The family ma
The USA hockey brotherhood carried Johnny Hockey with them all the way to the gold: Mary Katharine Ham
