USA Women's Hockey Falls and Twitter Reacts

The US women’s hockey team has certainly grown accustomed to heartbreak throughout the years, and Thursday afternoon proved no different.

After carrying a 2-0 lead over Team Canada into the final 3:30 of the gold medal match in Sochi, the Americans broke down, squandering their advantage and falling to the Canadians in overtime, 3-2.

Hockey is a game of inches, and that is exactly the margin by which Team USA missed acquiring its first gold medal since 1998. Trailing 2-1 in the final minutes of the contest, the Canadians pulled their goaltender, but they lost possession of the puck.

From her own zone, USA forward Kelli Stack sent a shot the length of the ice, nearly securing a different fate for the Americans. But the puck found iron, enabling Team Canada to claw its way back and earn its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal.

While a silver medal is certainly nothing to scoff at, the Americans have proved time after time why in truth the precious metal does not feel like such a precious medal.

In 2002, Team USA dominated group play, outscoring its opponents, 28-1. Next, it blanked Sweden in the semifinals, 4-0. However, the team’s remarkable run was marred by a defeat at the hands of Team Canada in the gold medal match.

Eight years later, the American squad practically followed the same script. Team USA cruised through both group play and its semifinal matchup, outscoring its opponents over the four games, 40-2. The offensive outburst carried the Americans into another final against the Canadians, but in that contest, Team USA failed to tally a single goal.

In 2006, Team USA fell in the semifinals. The team moved on to the bronze medal match where it was victorious, allowing the team to return from Italy with a winning taste in its mouth. The fact of the matter is that silver is a tough medal to swallow in hockey.

Nonetheless, despite the loss, this year’s entertaining gold medal match created a buzz around the country, especially on social media. Here at The Back Page, we have compiled all different sorts of reactions to the Canadian victory on Twitter, and now we would like to share them with you. Enjoy!

10. Alex Morgan, star of the US women’s soccer team that finished second in the 2011 World Cup, can definitely relate to this American squad, and she is proud of its performance.

“Heart wrenching loss for USA Hockey. Played their hearts out and should be proud of the silver medal they're coming home with.  ‪#TeamUSA”

9. After seeing the excitement that this year’s final provided, Todd Fuhrman from FoxSportsLive offers a great suggestion.

“For the '18 winter Olympics can we just get a ‪#TeamUSA vs ‪#TeamCanada Womens hockey best of 7 to decide gold? Let others play for bronze…”

8. Harvard’s very own Laurent Rivard, a senior men’s basketball player, now has to deal with a broken caps lock key after celebrating his homeland’s victory.

“CANADA!!! Congrats!! We fought till the end!!”

7. Despite no longer playing for Team USA, former hockey star Erika Lawler still feels the raw emotion over her former squad’s defeat.

“What can I say? I love you guys and my heart is broken. Know that you have made us all proud. ‪@usahockey ‪#USWNT Especially me.”

6. BuzzFeed’s Senior Editor Samir Mezrahi is using Team Canada’s win to poke a little fun at Facebook’s recent endeavors.

“Facebook buys the Canada women's hockey team for $16 billion in cash and stock”

5. Cloyd Rivers, the owner of a popular Twitter account, is not having that tough of a time getting over the USA’s difficult loss.

“Sure Canadaland, you won the gold in women's hockey, but how many World Wars have you won? Back to Back World War Champs, son. Merica.”

4. On the other hand, author Ken Jennings has a different opinion.

“Honestly, we should let Canada have hockey. It seems to mean so much to them.”

3. The dramatics of the gold medal match clearly affected millions, including ESPN and Sports Illustrated writer Andrew Brandt.

“USA hockey should be served with a defibrillator...”

2. Sports Illustrated writer Andy Glockner seems to agree with us: What would an Olympic hockey game be without a Miracle reference?

“Do you believe in maple? Yes.”

1. Last but not least, Soaring to Glory, the FanSided page for the Boston College Eagles, gives our favorite take on Canada’s overtime hero, Marie-Philip Poulin.

“Of course some BU girl ruins everything for America.”