NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
With the weight of the entire nation on her shoulders midway through overtime in the Winter Olympics gold medal game against Canada, American Taylor Heise passed the puck to Megan Keller then headed straight to the bench.
Heise said she didn’t see what happened next.
“I passed the puck and I skated as fast as I could to the bench and by the time she already scored, I was almost there and everyone started jumping and that’s when I knew she scored. So, I turned around,” Heise recalled in an interview with PK Press Club Digital on Saturday. “After watching it about 10 times, it’s amazing that she did that and such a brave play to make in overtime, but she’s someone who is so talented and can absolutely do it with grace every time.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Taylor Heise #27 of Team USA Laila Edwards #10 of Team USA celebrates victory after the women’s ice hockey gold medal game between the United States and Canada (2-1 OT) on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (EyesWideOpen/Getty Images)
From there it was joy and triumph.
Team USA rushed to Keller to celebrate as Team USA won its first gold medal in women’s ice hockey since 2018 and only the third overall in the team’s Olympic history.
“It was definitely a relief,” Heise said of the moment she was able to throw her gloves in the air and hit the ice in celebration. “I think when I was able to put my gloves on and do all that and be able to celebrate with the girls, I just think relief in the best way, not relief that we didn’t believe we could do it, but relief that we were done and we finally finished the job and climbed Mount Everest and did what we needed to do.
“It’s just an amazing feeling and it’s been super fun to savor it. And I think now is the first day where I can just like relax and take a second to really enjoy the glory that we’ve made for ourselves here and I’m super excited to live here and these are definitely moments that I’ll have for life.”
One moment that Heise said stood out for her was getting to hear “The Star-Spangled Banner” played after the team received the gold medal.
She mentioned the importance of it during her postgame media availability with reporters Thursday and spoke about it again with PK Press Club Digital.
Grace Zumwinkle, left, and Taylor Heise of the United States celebrate the victory ceremony for women’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
ALYSA LIU BREAKS TEAM USA’S 24-YEAR-OLD OLYMPIC GOLD IN WOMEN’S FIGURE SKATING
“Playing for your country and the pride of the place you live in is pretty incredible and to wear that emblem of the United States on your chest every day, it’s something you don’t want to take for granted every day,” she said. “I think sometimes things can get repetitive. We’ve been here 22 days and sometimes you have to remind yourself why you do what you do and remember that hockey is child’s play and it’s just a fun sport to participate in, and to represent your country at the highest level there is, it’s pretty incredible.
“And having the full support of everyone at home, that’s probably my favorite part. The messages we’ve gotten from alumni and people who played on the team and just people in the United States, it’s definitely one of my favorite moments because they clearly see the talent and the joy that we played with.”
Heise will enjoy this unforgettable moment in the coming days, but his season is far from over.
She will return to the ice for the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). She is one of six Frost players who were part of the U.S. team. The team returns to action on March 1 against the Victoire de Montréal.
As millions watched the gold medal game, Heise suggested she was confident the PWHL had attracted new fans.
Grace Zumwinkle of the United States, left, and Taylor Heise (27) celebrate after winning the women’s ice hockey gold medal game against Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, February 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
“I would take a week off in Mexico but I understand that’s not possible,” Heise joked. “But yeah, we’re all excited to come back and start again with the PWHL. It’s definitely a league that has given us a platform to play on and kind of look back at the WNBA and how it started. It’s constant work and it’s not just about getting from here to here in two days.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
“With our expansions and everything, it’s definitely been a difficult process for a lot of people, moving teams and stuff, but I just think, you know, 7.7 million people watched that gold medal game, which is incredible by the way, I just think it’s pretty special because I think we gained a lot of new fans. It doesn’t matter if you’re just a women’s hockey fan or if you watched the Olympics and now realize we’re playing in a professional league. “It’s pretty special and I expect a few more fans to show up to our games and decide they want to be PWHL fans in the future.”
