MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — The U.S. Men’s Hockey Team headed to Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning, a day after celebrating their Olympic gold medal win in Miami.
Sky 10 was above Miami International Airport shortly after 9:30 a.m. as the team boarded a U.S. Air Force 757 aircraft.
“We’re back to reality tomorrow, so one more day,” USA player and Florida Panther Matthew Tkachuk said. “Take advantage of it, have some fun, and make some memories.”
The team will attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, a day after receiving a warm welcome in South Florida Monday after a hard-fought 2-1 overtime win over Canada.
“We wanna, you know, leave USA Hockey in a better place than it was when we first got here,” Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal, said.
The team was supposed to land in New York Monday, but the powerful northeast blizzard forced a change of plans, rerouting the champs to Miami instead.
As their plane pulled in to MIA, water cannons arched overhead — a traditional salute fit for gold medalists.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” one hockey fan at the airport told Local 10 News.
Fans packed the airport, hoping to get a glimpse of the players as they stepped off their plane.
“It’s a great moment for America and for USA Hockey, and to inspire future generations,” one hockey fan said.
Outside, supporters lined up for autographs and photos while deputies escorted the team through the crowd.
After greeting fans, the team boarded buses and headed to 1 Hotel South Beach.
Later in the evening, the team boarded an open-air, double decker bus and went on a little tour of the area, stopping for a team photo with the Miami skyline behind them and enjoying a police escort the entire way to their dinner destination.
For supper, the team went to Cote, a Korean steakhouse in Miami’s Design District.
From there, they ended the day’s celebrations with a big party at downtown Miami nightclub E11ven.
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