Marco Sturm doesn't know who was responsible, but someone got "The Star-Spangled Banner" to play over the PA system at Warrior Ice Arena as the Boston Bruins hit the ice for Sunday's practice.
The reason was obvious. The United States men's hockey team had just won Olympic gold for the first time in 46 years, beating Canada 2-1 in overtime in Milan.
The culprit… well, there were more than a few candidates. The Bruins had eight American players on the ice for Sunday's practice. They usually have 10. The other two – Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman – were busy celebrating in Italy with their new gold medals in hand.
The rest of the Bruins, the ones who aren't American, could do nothing but take their medicine.
"It made a lot of guys upset," Bruins coach Marco Sturm joked. "No, it's great. I mean, again, you see a guy like Fraser Minten, such a young kid, rooting for Canada, he was devastated. So, hopefully he's gonna be in one soon. On the other side, Americans, so proud, standing outside like this, national anthem. It's great. End of the day for me, a guy from Europe, no relation to both of them, I was just rooting for our guys. So, that's good. It's a special tournament."
As for those Americans, yeah, it was a good day for them. In addition to current teammates McAvoy and Swayman, many have overlapped with other members of Team USA at one point or another.
Andrew Peeke and Casey Mittelstadt both played on the 2017-18 U.S. World Junior team that also included Swayman, Jake Oettinger, Quinn Hughes and Brady Tkachuk. Peeke, Swayman, Mason Lohrei and Mikey Eyssimont all played on the U.S. team that won the IIHF World Championship last year, alongside new Olympic gold medalists Tage Thompson, Clayton Keller, Zach Werenski and Jackson LaCombe.
Like the rest of us, Peeke was simply a nervous fan on the edge of his seat Sunday morning as he watched with Bruins teammates before practice.
"It was unbelievable," Peeke said. "That was pretty special. I mean, hockey players, fans across the world, that was pretty special to watch. Was super nerve-racking though, to be honest with you. Happy for Charlie and Sway. That's obviously some of the highest of highs that you can have right there."
Connor Hellebuyck was unquestionably the star of the game for the U.S., stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced Sunday in a performance that, given the stakes, will go down as one of the best by any goalie in hockey history. But in one moment in the third period where he needed a little help, it was McAvoy who lended a hand by jumping behind him in the crease and saving a goal as Tom Wilson flipped a shot past Hellebuyck.
"Hellebuyck, holy moly, that's one of the best I've seen goalie-wise," Sturm said. "And if he was not there, Charlie was there. I'm just so happy, especially with Sway and Charlie, the things they went through the past year, two years, this year, and now coming home with gold. That, for me, makes me happy."
McAvoy played the second-most minutes for the U.S. Sunday (22:45) and the second-most all tournament (19:29 per game), trailing only Quinn Hughes in both cases. That he was such a big part of Team USA's success was not a surprise in the Bruins dressing room.
"Not really surprised at how big a part of that team he was, because of what he means to our team in this locker here," said Haverhill native Jordan Harris, who represented the U.S. internationally at the 2019-20 World Junior Championship. "Leading the way for them is fantastic, so really, really happy for him."
Mittelstadt believes this win was a clear announcement to the rest of the world that the U.S. has arrived as a hockey superpower.
"It's awesome," Mittelstadt said. "I think they've kind of changed the narrative. I know obviously it's been a long time since they won a gold medal, but to win one last year at World Championships and then here at the Olympics, we've kind of flipped the scales. Obviously, I think this time, especially, it was much less of an upset than it's ever been in the past. So yeah, I think the better team won, in my opinion, so it was fun to watch."
Peeke and Harris were also happy to see that Johnny Gaudreau's family continues to be such a big part of this U.S. team. Gaudreau may very well have been on this team had he and his brother Matthew not been killed by a drunk driver in August 2024. Peeke played parts of two seasons with Gaudreau in Columbus, while Harris was part of the Blue Jackets team last year that came together in the wake of that shocking tragedy just before the season.
The Gaudreaus were well represented in Milan, with Johnny's parents, wife Meredith, and his three children in the arena. Werenski, Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews carried Gaudreau's USA jersey around the ice postgame, and Gaudreau's kids were part of the team photo.
"I just saw a couple pictures of the kids hopping in the picture. That's special," Peeke said. "They're an unbelievable family. Meredith is such a trooper. To be able to hold his honor and continue on his legacy, it speaks towards the hockey community and USA Hockey in general. So, that was really special."
Harris also made sure to shout out the U.S. women's team, which also beat Canada in overtime to win gold. He might have even more connections to that team given that his fiancee, Codie Cross, played with several of them at Northeastern – namely goalies Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Phillips and forward Hayley Scamurra, not to mention Swiss hero and Boston Fleet forward Alina Muller, who scored the overtime winner in the bronze medal game.
"Obviously for USA Hockey, both the men and the women is really, really special," Harris said. "I'm good friends with a lot of the women on the team. We train at the same gym, skated with a bunch of them. So, it's amazing to see and follow."
Harris said he still skates with Frankel, who had a ridiculous .980 save percentage in the Olympics, in the summer.
"She's a stud. She's a stud," he said. "I got to watch a lot of Aerin Frankel in college, all those girls. Just to see what they did, it's not really a surprise, just because I've seen the work they put in over the years. Like I've skated with Aerin a bunch in the summer. She's a tough cookie. She skates with like all the men's group in the summer and gives them all headaches. No one can score on her. So, she was a beast."