Players, coaches from Nova Scotia still savouring Olympic hockey gold
'Just the moment of a lifetime'
As the final seconds of the women's Olympic hockey gold medal game ticked down, there were tears and grins from the Nova Scotians in the Beijing arena — both in person and beaming in from across the ocean.
Forward Jill Saulnier of Halifax said she's still trying to find the words to describe the feeling of reclaiming the top spot on the podium over the United States.
"Just the moment of a lifetime," Saulnier said Thursday.
"To be able to come home with that and, you know, feel that emotion with the girls and the staff, is pretty special."
Saulnier was part of the 2018 Olympic roster that took home silver after a devastating loss to the Americans.
She said their team's hard work to take back gold over the past four years paid off, as difficult as it was navigating through a pandemic.
'Gut feeling' kicked in
While any matchup between Canada and the U.S. could go either way, Saulnier said, she thought the Canadians had the upper hand in the final after coming out "with a bang."
"There was just a feeling in my gut that things were going to work out, but I was pretty emotional at the very end of the game," Saulnier said.
"There was like three or four minutes left and I was trying to keep it together, but the tears were flowing. I knew, I just knew."
Head coach Troy Ryan, originally from Spryfield, N.S., said the reality of the win has started to set in as he retells the story to family and friends.
From his view behind the bench, those final moments brought back the same surreal feelings as when he walked into the 2018 Olympic opening ceremonies in Pyeongchang as a team staff member.
The important people in his life started flashing through his mind, Ryan said, like family, friends, and the teachers and coaches that helped get him to that moment. He also thought about the players' sacrifices, and how their hard work was finally validated.
Most teams that win something major talk about how tight-knit the team was "and I truly believe this group was so special," Ryan said Thursday from his home in Hubbards.
"I just had, like, an overwhelming sense of pride for the group that we got to work with."
Ryan took over as head coach from Perry Pearn just two years ago, after some time in the assistant role. But he said he didn't want to fall into the mistake of changing too much — the team already was so close to their goals, he said.
So he made two small but key adjustments: collaborating more with the team's leaders on the ice, and practising the offensive side of the game.
This team's passion and joy for the game is not only a pleasure to coach and watch, Ryan said, but part of their success. It also shows that excellent hockey doesn't need to be as "regimented" and serious as people might think.
In the tensest moments of the game, Ryan remembers looking over and seeing two athletes just smiling, happy that they'd done the work to get themselves to that situation.
"The way they dealt with the pressure of it all is the reason I think they had so much success. They were comfortable being themselves, which was really cool to watch," he said.
The pandemic brought plenty of challenges and roadblocks, like having the world championships cancelled in Halifax — twice.
Although Ryan said he and the other Nova Scotians took that especially hard, the second cancellation last April might have been "a blessing in disguise."
The delay until Calgary hosted the championship in August gave the team time to step back, work together in a lot of Zoom calls, and build trust among the group. Team Canada went on to win that championship for the first time in almost a decade, setting them on the "right foot" for Olympic success, Ryan said.
Besides Saulnier and forward Blayre Turnbull of Stellarton, N.S., Ryan said there were plenty of Nova Scotians there as team staff — and a key virtual presence.
COVID-19 protocols meant assistant coach Kori Cheverie of New Glasgow, N.S., didn't make the journey at the last minute.
But thanks to modern technology, Cheverie changed her own schedule to match the team in Beijing. She'd get up in the middle of the night, dressed in game-day gear, so she could video call into the games and planning sessions to break down the opposition's plays.
"She was a big part of our success as well, even though she wasn't there in person," Ryan said.
"It just kind of made it special, and made it unique to us."
Showing the world, and country, more of what women can do on the ice is the key, Saulnier said.
"I know it's obviously the most fun thing to be a part of, but I know it's obviously fun to watch as well, and, hopefully, we can just inspire the next generation."
When asked about what comes next, "resting" is top of mind, Saulnier said with a laugh.
Right now she's focused on winding down after years of chasing gold and intense training. But it's a lot easier going to bed at night with "a smile on your face and a gold medal," Saulnier said.
"I think just kind of enjoying that feeling for now, and then sharpening my skates eventually and hopping back out there."
The much-anticipated game was one of the major draws for Canadians to sit down and tune into the Olympics, and Saulnier said she's hoping that visibility and excitement for the women's game will only continue to grow the professional leagues at home.
With files from Amy Smith