MIAMI — Fresh off winning the gold medal in Milan, the USA men's hockey team is back on U.S. soil.
The team's flight touched down at Miami International Airport on Monday, receiving a celebratory water cannon salute from fire crews.
Plenty of fans were on hand to welcome the team home after men's hockey won gold for the first time since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" in Lake Placid.
Center Auston Matthews said the whole experience is still sinking in.
"It still feels pretty surreal. I don't think you really realize the magnitude of just everything that's going to happen in the last 24 hours, just because you're just in it, you're living right in it. You know, getting back here, seeing all the support from back home. It's just incredible what this team was able to accomplish. It's an honor. So we're ecstatic, and we're excited to be back home celebrating," Matthews said.
Team USA forward and Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk said the win is significant to the whole country.
"It's almost more meaningful to everybody else, in the sense it's a way to unite the whole country," Tkachuk said. "When it comes to bringing together Americans, whether they like hockey or not, the Olympics and an Olympic hockey player at that stage against Canada, that's as high as it's gonna get."
Jack Hughes, who scored the winning goal in overtime, lost a few teeth after a high stick to the mouth earlier in the game, but said there was no way it would put him out of action.
"In hockey, if you lose your teeth, it's not even a question of coming back and playing. That's like an automatic," Hughes said. "I was disappointed I lost my teeth. ... I'm gonna fix these things. I want my good smile back."
The players won't have much time to relax and enjoy the win. The NHL season starts back up on Wednesday with eight games.
Tkachuk and the Panthers take on Matthews' Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Thursday.