The incredible Olympic result of the ice hockey family – in the hunt for their third gold

– As far as I know, we will regret it very much if we don’t win here.

26-year-old forward and bully Brady Tkachuk made no secret of what comes next when he spoke to the press after the semi-final win against Slovakia.

Sunday’s Olympic final against Canada will be the most important game he has ever played.

Together with his older brother Matthew, 28, he has the chance to achieve what their father Keith Tkachuk failed to do in 2002, when they lost 5-2 in the final at home in Salt Lake City to their North American neighbor to the north.

However, the Tkachuk family is not the only one with proud Olympic ancestry on “Team USA.” To be completely honest, they don’t really have much to offer compared to anyone else on this year’s Olympic squad.

In the northern part of In the state of Minnesota there is a small community called Warroad with a population of about 2,000 – possibly the settlement in the world with the most Olympic medals per capita.

From here come former NHL player Henry Boucha, who won silver in Sapporo, Japan in 1972, and Gisele “Gigi” Marvin, who lost two women’s Olympic finals during her career, in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014.

Otherwise, the Olympic successes in Warroad are concentrated on the same family – and above all the eldest of the brothers was Christian.

Gordon Christian won silver at the 1956 Olympic Games, held then and now in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Four years later, things were even better for his younger brothers Roger and Bill, born in 1935 and 1938 respectively.

Both were there on the squad that won America’s first Olympic gold at Squaw Valley in 1960 – what is sometimes referred to as “the forgotten miracle.” The American team was all amateurs and was exhausted, but still managed to beat everyone, including Canada and the Soviet Union.

– We were told that if we won gold we would live in a dream world. The thing was, people didn’t know how good my Minnesota boys really were. “Especially the Christian brothers,” said team coach Jack P. Riley after the tournament.

Despite the historic triumph, gold would be overshadowed in the future by what happened 20 years later. In the famous “The Miracle on Ice”The team included Bill Christian’s son Dave Christian, who repeated his father and uncle’s achievement with the sensational Olympic gold medal in Lake Placid 1980.

Now the third generation of the extraordinary ice hockey family can be seen on the ice in Milan – and yes, it may well be that there will be Olympic gold again.

The US national team, which, in contrast to the 1960 and 1980 editions, came to Italy as one of the big gold favorites, includes Colorado striker Brock Nelson – grandson of Bill Christian and nephew of Dave.

The latter is now in Milan and recently told The Athletic that this is his first time at the Olympics since he and the rest of the 1980 team lit the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony in Salt Lake City 24 years ago.

Something Olympic ice hockey has He also hasn’t started since he provided two assists in the USA’s last game against Finland in 1980, the game coming a few days after the legendary 4-3 win over the Soviet Union.

Together with his sister Jeri Christofferson, he now follows Brock Nelson’s progress from the stands of the Santagiulia Arena.

– I’m just so glad he’s here. Just the fact that Brock is an Olympian means a lot. Once an Olympian, always an Olympian. Thanks to my uncles and my father, I grew up with this dream. “This has always been my dream,” said 66-year-old Dave Christian shortly before the group game against Latvia, in which Brock Nelson scored two goals.

– I can’t even describe what it means that Brock now has the same chance.

After witnessing her brother’s progress on the ground 46 years earlier, Brock Nelson’s mother could now experience something similar as her son takes center stage.

– It’s so hard to understand. I was lucky enough to be in Lake Placid for two whole weeks in 1980. “Coming here and looking at my son after seeing my brother makes it a lot more emotional for us,” Jeri Christofferson said.

So far it’s easy Three titles that helped the United States earn an extension in this year’s tournament. Otherwise, it was easy wins for the American team, with Brock Nelson playing his role on the fourth line.

With his unrivaled hockey heritage, he has no relative like the Tkachuk brothers who can tell him how hard it would be to lose an Olympic final.

Only about the glory that awaits us in victory.

– It’s pretty cool that this is an opportunity to bring our family full circle. “It’s actually pretty crazy when you think about it that we have five family members who are Olympians, along with my grandfather, his two brothers and his son – and now me,” says Brock Nelson.

After the 6-3 win against Denmark in the group stage, he saw his uncle Dave in the stands in an emotional moment.

– I saw him waving as we were on our way out. “I’m so proud that he came all the way here to support me and share this with me,” Nelson says.

However, the flight was too hard for 88-year-old grandfather Bill. However, as Brock’s biggest fan, the 1960 golden hero is said to be sitting on the bench with the rest of the family at home in Warroad when the puck is dropped against Canada.

Game starts: Sunday, 2:10 p.m.

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