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Team USA's Olympic gold medal-winning men's hockey team arrived at the White House for their meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, as the players are also expected to attend Trump's State of the Union address.
The team made history with its 2-1 overtime win over Team Canada at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in the gold medal game on Sunday. New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes hit the golden goal to deliver the U.S. its first men's hockey gold medal since the 1980 Miracle on Ice team.
Canada has historically been the most dominant Olympic hockey team in history, with a world-best nine gold medals. Sunday's win also avenged a loss to Canada in the NHL's 4 Nations Face Off exhibition in early 2025, which came amid heightened tensions between the two countries over Trump's tariff policy.
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Trump called the players after Sunday's win, congratulating and thanking them during the locker room celebration.
Trump told the men's team after inviting them to Tuesday's State of the Union that he'd "have" to invite the women's team, otherwise "I probably would be impeached." The players laughed in response to Trump's joke.
Video of the exchange has since gone viral, with some women's hockey fans criticizing Trump and the men's players for making light of the women's team's gold medal victory, which also came against Canada. The women's team has since declined Trump's invitation to Washington, citing scheduling conflicts.
Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski opened up about where their American pride came from as they celebrated their Olympic accomplishment.
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Larkin and Werenski appeared on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning, hours after celebrating their gold medal victory against Canada in Miami. The two opened up on what it meant to them to represent the Stars and Stripes.
"I think a lot of us played at the U.S. National Team Development Program … When we were there, you get to put the jersey on every day for two years, before you're drafted. We go through training. We're not military by any means but they put us through some training, and they really instill in you some pride," Larkin said. "Once you go through that, you take the jersey off … and every time you take it off, for me at least, I don't know the next time I'm going to put it on.
"So, every time I get the chance to represent the United States of America, I put that jersey on, I'm all in. I love doing it, and it's just something special. I could go on all day about how great our country is. Just being home and seeing our friends and family, it's just special."
Werenski was asked whether playing in other countries made him more proud to be an American.
"I think you're spot on. I remember my first World Championships with him was in Slovakia. I've been to Denmark, I've been to Czech (Republic) - these are all great countries, and you play in them, and it's a ton of fun. The Olympics were in Italy, which is an unbelievable country," he said. "You get reminded of how great the United States of America is when you get back here. And we love representing our country, we love wearing those colors.
"Like Dylan said, we learn about it from a young age. We're allowed to live out our dream because of the military - the people that serve, the first responders. It's just an incredible country. It's the best country in the world, and we love wearing these colors, and you definitely get an appreciation for it when you go overseas and play."
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