FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich – One of the feel-good stories of the last Winter Olympics was the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team winning gold over rival Canada.
Many members from that team are headed back to the Olympic games to try to repeat as champions. One of them is Farmington Hills native Megan Keller.
Who can forget the moment when a shootout win over rival Canada led Keller and the U.S.A. Women’s Hockey Team to the gold medal stand.
“Putting the gold medal around your neck, watching your flag raised, and hearing the national anthem with your teammates is one of my top moments,” Keller said.
Keller says as soon as that moment ended, she knew she had to work hard to get back to Olympic ice; but first, she graduated from Boston College in 2019.
“After that, continued to train and live in Boston and play with the PWHPA and really find any way to stay fit and ready for any opportunity to compete with the national team,” Keller said.
And she did in the World Championships, where Team U.S.A. won silver in 2021. Now, the focus shifts to the Olympics. Keller was officially named to the team during the N.H.L. Winter Classic.
This year, the National Team will have familiar faces like four-time Olympian Hilary Knight and brand-new faces like first-timer Abby Roque from Sault S.T.E. Marie Michigan.
Keller is looked at as one of the team’s veterans that players look up to.
“I’m somewhere in the middle grounds still,” Keller said. "
This time around, things are very different, thanks to the pandemic. Keller says she and her teammates are taking every precaution possible.
“We’re doing everything we can to stay safe and healthy,” Keller said. There are things bigger than sport and hockey, and you want everybody to be safe. We’ve been testing pretty regularly. At home base in Minnesota, we’re in a bubble where traveling to doing everything we can.”
Keller says getting back this magic from the 2018 gold medal game is the ultimate goal.
The U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team will begin its quest for back-to-back gold medals on Feb. 3 against Finland. You better believe all of these little hockey players from Metro Detroit will have their eyes glued to the T.V. and Keller.
