2018 Olympic Gold Medalist Hilary Knight Makes Palo Alto Proud

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA — A South Bay-born athlete helped the United States win its first medal in women's hockey since 1998, defeating Canada 3-2 Thursday in a shootout final. Hilary Knight, originally from Palo Alto according to her player profile page, is now an Olympic gold medalist. The win for 28-year-old Knight and her teammates breaks a gold medal game losing streak which saw them drop the final to Canada at three of the last four Winter Olympics.

After the game, Knight — who grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois and now calls Sun Valley, Idaho home — skated across the ice with fellow forward Kendall Coyne while holding an American flag overhead.

The 2018 Olympic victory is a storybook ending for this team. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, and no one scored in the 20-minute overtime period. A penalty shootout also ended in a tie, sending the game to a sudden-death shootout where Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, a three-time Olympian, slid the puck past the Canadian goalie with a dazzling move. Then, U.S. goalie Maddie Rooney shut down the Canadian shot to end the game.

"They should make a movie on it," Knight said. "We had all the drama and everything. It's sort of a storybook ending to an incredible series of accomplishments."

Main story image: GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 22: Gold medal winner Hilary Knight #21 of the United States celebrates after defeating Canada in a shootout in the Women's Gold Medal Game on day thirteen of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Hockey Centre on February 22, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)