Back in March, USA hockey and the women’s national team reached an agreement that ended a pay dispute and avoided a boycott of the World Championships.
Days after the battle for equitable support ended, team USA won their 4th consecutive women’s World Championship in Plymouth, Michigan.
“I think when you, as a group, come together united, and you see what that does, and the progress you can make when you are a group of strong women that stand together about something you’re passionate about…we made some serious positive change,” team captain Meghan Duggan said.
And while the the players admit they’re happy with their new, more lucrative deal, they’ve moved on.
“Right now, this is about this team and this group and what we can do together,” Duggan said. “And that’s (pay dispute) in the past.”
Although the team is focused on Pyeongchang, Team USA’s Kendall Coyne said their loss to Team Canada in Sochi in the Gold medal game still hurts.
“As an elite athlete and an Olympic team, you have to learn from your mistakes,” Coyne said. “Obviously you can dwell on them, but we really did learn from it.”
Team USA fell 3-2 in overtime against their northern rivals at the Sochi Olympics. As a rematch potentially looms in Pyeongchang, the women are ready.
“We’re going after the gold, no question,” Duggan said. “It’s no secret.”Team USA Captain describes the team in this web extra