MILAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Hilary Knight had the perfect ending to her fifth and final Olympics, with the U.S. captain scoring the late goal that sent the championship game to overtime before her side beat Canada to take the women's ice hockey gold medal on Thursday.
Knight is the first U.S. ice hockey player to compete in five Olympic Games and has now won a second gold to add to her three silver medals. Her crucial goal also made her the all-time U.S. women's record scorer at Winter Olympics with 15 tallies.
"Legends do legendary things, and she deserves every little bit of that," teammate Abbey Murphy said.
"She shines in big moments, and what she's done for this team, however many years ago she joined the USA Women's Hockey programme, which is insane.
"The leader she is on and off the ice, and her actions, she's the best. You guys have no idea what she does for us," Murphy added.
The U.S. had dominated at Milan, thumping Canada 5-0 in the group stage, but found themselves trailing going into the final minutes, when Knight was there at the net to redirect a shot from Leila Edwards, the rookie and the veteran combining perfectly.
"We had a lot of traffic there, so I just moved to the net, and Hilary's there, and she'll take care of it," Edwards said. "I'm so honoured, and to learn from her every day. It's just been a blessing."
Knight never had any doubts that her chance would come even at that late stage.
"There was no way we were losing this game, simple as that," Knight said. "We had some awesome heavy hitters on the ice. I knew we were going to get possession, so I just had to find a place in front of the net."
THE PERFECT SCRIPT
Hayley Scamurra played alongside Knight when they lost to Canada in the 2022 final, but four years later she believes this game was almost scripted.
"I think you could have called that from the start, for sure," Scamurra said.
"I knew she was going to have a big game today, and she was absolutely incredible. I think having her score that goal really motivated our team to kind of keep going."
It has been a special couple of days for Knight. On the eve of the final she announced her engagement to American speedskater Brittany Bowe, who is also appearing at her final Olympics.
Long after the final buzzer and the medal ceremony, Knight was one of the last to leave the ice. Skating slowly around the rink, the Stars and Stripes draped over her shoulder, the 36-year-old appeared to want to drink in every last moment.
"I've said this is my last Games and I've had a heck of a week personally. So it's been an incredible ride," Knight said.
"I love this group. It's so special to be able to play at this level. I feel a lot of gratitude. It's such a magical moment and I'm just trying to soak it all in."
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Additional reporting by Janina Nuno Rios and Giulio Piovaccari in Milan; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
