SALT LAKE CITY — Fans gathered Sunday morning outside the Salt Lake City Public Library to watch the Team USA men's hockey defeat Canada and claim its first gold medal since 1980.
"That was an incredible, amazing game," Evan Curry, a local resident who attended the watch party, said while waving an American flag.
More than 40 people sat in lawn chairs in front of a screen, ringing bells and waving American flags. Sunday's victory carried special meaning for locals because the Utah Mammoth's captain, Clayton Keller, helped secure the gold for Team USA.
Our Captain is an Olympic Gold Medalist!!! 🥇🦅🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ijtrPcDy2C
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) February 22, 2026
Support for Team USA's win spread online from fans across Utah all the way to the White House.
With the Olympic flame set to return to Utah in 2034, Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith posted on X: "My goodness...Olympic Hockey in the Delta Center is going to be wild." And fans are just as fired up.
“I was like, 'Oh my goodness, it’s so epic,'" Curry said.
For Daniel Gentri, who lives in Sandy, the win and the upcoming games hit close to home.
"Hence the hat [a 2034 Olympics hat], we're privileged to have the games twice my life. I'm very happy with that," Gentri said.
Mother and daughter Denise and Lily Black of Park City said the moment captured something bigger than the sport itself.
"It's such a powerful experience, and it just brings out all of the good in people," Denise said. "For two weeks, we get to be on the same team."
