Dom Amore: Proud, emotional day for UConn hockey coach as Thompson, Team USA strike gold

It was bound to be an emotional morning for anyone who loves hockey, and especially proud for a Connecticut and New England rink lifer like Mike Cavanaugh.

Of course, the UConn coach had to be up and ready to watch the Olympic gold medal game at 8 a.m. One of his own, Tage Thompson, was playing for Team USA. And as he was reminded after the dramatic U.S. win, another of his own was to be remembered.

“I’m so happy for Tage, it’s an incredible accomplishment,” Cavanaugh said. “I was probably more emotional when I saw Johnny Gaudeau’s kids out on the ice.”

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Cavanaugh was an assistant at Boston College, instrumental in recruiting and coaching Gaudreau, who helped BC win a national championship and went on to become an NHL star, and his brother Matt.

Johnny, 31, and Matt, 29, were killed by a drunk driver while cycling in New Jersey on Aug. 29, 2024. Team USA included Johnny’s children and held up a jersey with his name and No. 13 as they celebrated Jack Hughes’ overtime goal that gave America a 2-1 victory and its third gold medal in the sport, first since the “Miracle On Ice” of 1980. Team USA has been carrying a “Johnny Hockey” sweater with them.

“During the Olympics tournament, I certainly thought, ‘oh, Johnny would have been on this team,’” Cavanaugh said. “I was fortunate to be with him two years. His freshman year (2012) he scored an incredible goal to put us up 3-1 in the national championship. Really a magical player. He certainly did things you can’t teach, he was one of those players you just opened the door let him have the canvas and let him paint.”

Not long after he became UConn’s head coach in 2013, Cavanaugh landed Tage Thompson, who had an historic career in Storrs as the program established itself in Hockey East and has become of one of the top players in the world.

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“Tage was so athletic for his size,” Cavanaugh said. “And he has an elite shot. It has to be one of the top five in the NHL.”

Thompson, 28, at 6 feet 5, had 31 goals and 33 assists in 70 games for UConn. The Blues drafted him in the first round of the NHL Draft, and later traded him to Buffalo, where he has become a perennial All-Star. He has 30 goals and 29 assists, 59 points in 57 games for the Sabres this season. He has also become a leader on the international stage, with a knack for big plays, including a “golden goal” at the World Championships last May, the first U.S. title since 1933.

On Sunday, Thompson joined Stephanie Labbe, Canadian women’s soccer goalkeeper, Ray Allen (men’s basketball) and women’s basketball stars Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Swin Cash, Rebecca Lobo, Kara Wolters, Asjha Jones (WBB) and Napheesa Collier in UConn’s Olympic gold club.

“I thought he was going to be a very good NHL player,” Cavanaugh said. “I can’t say I thought he was going to become the superstar that he is today. When you’re playing in that game today, you’re a top 50 player in the world. That’s a really special place he’s ascended to. What you’re seeing now, he’s become a man. His skating now is so much better than it was when I had him. His strength, he’s a grown man playing just a phenomenal brand of hockey.”

Making the U.S. Olympic team for the first time for the Milan Cortina games, Thompson scored against Latvia, Germany and Slovakia, with an assist, and though he injured his foot in the semifinal victory, he was out there and got off four shots in the thrilling final against Canada.

“You saw he scored a power play goal early in the Olympics,” Cavanaugh said, “(Jack) Eichel passed it over to him and he one-timed it, and there was not much room, but he found a way to snap it. His shot is so elite, that’s what made him so special. He led the country in power play goals as a freshman.”

And there are few events in sports quite like a gold medal hockey game at the Winter Olympics when it’s U.S. vs. Canada. It’s got the talent of an NHL All-Star Game, with the intensity of a Stanley Cup Finals Game 7. Connecticut was represented not only by Thompson, but Quinnipiac’s Devon Toews, who is with the Avalanche in the NHL and played for Team Canada. Both nearly scored the golden goal to end the spectacular goaltending duel.

“When he did play, Tage played great today,” Cavanaugh said. “I thought he had three Grade-A chances. He got one rebound, and I don’t know what he hit, might’ve been a defenseman’s skate. I don’t think the goalie saw it.”

U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 41 of 42 shots, his best may have been an out-of-position stick save to thwart Toews, who was in point-blank range in the third period.

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“The save Hellebuyck made on Toews is crazy,” Cavanaugh said. “That’s a save that probably happens one out of a hundred.”

The 1980 U.S. team set the gold standard for Olympic hockey drama. Then, it was a bunch of U.S. college kids upsetting the Soviet Union, a team full of NHL-caliber players not allowed to defect during the Cold War, and it came at a time when the U.S. needed a morale boost. That was a major boost for the sport and this game — no miracle, just sensational hockey — coupled with the U.S. women’s team gold medal triumph on Thursday, also in OT vs. Canada, will likely provide a fresh kickstart to interest in America.

“It’s way better than an NHL All-Star Game, and it’s way better than a Stanley Cup Game 7,” Cavanaugh said, “because it’s a Stanley Cup Game 7 with the best players in the world. When you’re playing for a gold medal, everyone is willing to sacrifice, plays don’t really care so much about their stats or their ice time, because the game means so much. You know, the guys who played one or two minutes are going to feel the same way as Jack Hughes.”

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