All eyes were glued to the TVs at a pizzeria in Evergreen Park on Thursday as fans cheered on hometown Olympian Abbey Murphy and Team USA in a thrilling overtime win in the gold medal game against Canada in women’s hockey.<\/p>\n
Next to an ice rink in Milan, Barraco’s Pizza in Evergreen Park might be the best place to watch women’s Olympic hockey. Murphy is an Evergreen Park native who grew up just blocks away from Barraco’s.<\/p>\n
She was already a silver medalist after the 2022 Winter Olympics, so it was no surprise some of her biggest fans got together at Barraco’s on Thursday to cheer her on.<\/p>\n
Dave Reardon and Jerry Kruzich hung up their skates a while ago, but they still talk like hockey coaches. They and the rest of the crowd at Barraco’s watched Team USA defeat Canada in the gold medal game.<\/p>\n
“It’s a big game. A big game,” Reardon said.<\/p>\n
They were rooting for one player in particular, forward and Mother McAuley High School alum Abbey Murphy.<\/p>\n
Before she skated for Team USA, she was a little girl on an all-boys team \u2013 the St. Jude Knights \u2013 coached by Kruzich and Reardon.<\/p>\n
“Boy, she showed us something completely different and went out there and skated circles around the guys, and was one of our best players on the team,” Reardon said.<\/p>\n
“There were times that she did things on the ice, and we just looked at each other and say, ‘She’s going to be there at the next level,'” Kruzich said.<\/p>\n
The 2026 Winter Olympics were her 2nd Olympic Games, keeping her old coaches on edge.<\/p>\n
Down a goal until the final seconds of the third period, Team USA struck back to tie the game at 1-1.<\/p>\n
Overtime was short and oh so sweet, as Megan Keller scored the game winner to give Team USA the gold, prompting a roar so loud inside Barracos, the team might have heard it in Milan.<\/p>\n
Murphy isn’t the only member of Team USA from the Chicago area. <\/p>\n
Kendall Coyne Schofield is from Palos Heights, and is a Sandburg High School alum.<\/p>\n
The gold medal win wouldn’t be possible without a goal from a player from Lake Forest. <\/p>\n
Team captain Hilary Knight scored the game-tying goal. She’s playing in her fifth and final Olympics, and has become the top Olympic scorer in U.S. women’s hockey history.<\/p>\n
Knight scored the 15th goal of her Olympic career and broke the American women’s record for career goals previously held by Natalie Darwitz and Katie King. In the process, she also broke the record for most career Olympic points in U.S. women’s hockey history. Now at 33 points, she broke the record previously held by Jenny Potter (32 points — 11 goals, 21 assists). Knight entered the final with 14 goals and 18 assists.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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