Barrett: The beautiful game

By Joey Barrett Daily Item Sports Editor

LYNN — The alarm clocks sounded across the North Shore at 7 a.m. last Sunday, and by 9 a.m. living rooms, dorm lounges, and even Tony’s Pub were rocking for a reason that had nothing to do with football.

The U.S. men’s hockey team had just toppled Canada 2-1 in overtime to capture Olympic gold for the first time since 1980, the year of the fabled Miracle on Ice. Hours earlier, the American women followed suit, clipping their northern rivals to complete a historic double.

For a sport that is still labeled “niche” in pockets of the country, the scene was anything but. My parents, my sister, friends, and—yes—my girlfriend who still calls hockey periods “quarters” were all tuned in. Social feeds lit up with first-time viewers confessing they were hooked, and by the final horn strangers were high-fiving over coffee at Tony’s, where the crowd at 8 a.m. could have passed for a Saturday night.

The victory rekindled an old debate: Is America now the equal of Canada on ice? Toss up, and perhaps beside the point. Comparison, as the saying goes, is the thief of joy, and Sunday was about joy.

Hockey is the ultimate team game. Twelve forwards, six defensemen, one goalie—UMass Lowell alum Connor Hellebuyck stood tall—must mesh in 45-second bursts of speed, skill, and sacrifice. A single lapse lets a Jack Hughes slip behind you; next thing you know, the puck is in your net and the toothless sniper is joking that America’s dentists will take care of him just fine.

Low scoring makes every goal a jolt of electricity, every save a masterpiece. Unlike basketball’s 35-minute stars or football’s quarterback omnipresence, hockey demands relentless line changes and collective buy-in. You can’t take a shift off, and you can’t win alone.

Bostonians hardly need convincing. Around here, the Bruins skate in the same championship conversation as the Celtics, Red Sox, and six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots. I’ll argue with anyone: this is a hockey city. My Bobby Orr jersey saw the hallways of middle school, and Brad Marchand remains my favorite athlete of all time.

If the past week nudges newcomers toward the NHL, the PWHL, college rinks, or local high-school sheets, that’s a win bigger than any medal. Hockey brings people together—at dawn in a pub, in packed living rooms, in communities that value teamwork, passion, and the chance to prove the odds wrong.

The Bruins return from their Olympic break Thursday, and the college calendar is brimming. The beautiful game never left; it just reminded the rest of the country what it’s been missing.