Charlie Mcavoy reflects on U.S. women’s gold and readies for Slovakia semifinal
charlie mcavoy has been chronicling his Olympic experience from Milan, mixing admiration for the U. S. women's gold-medal win with a clear focus on Team USA's upcoming semifinal against Slovakia.
Milan village: a women’s final that energized the men’s team
McAvoy described watching the U. S. women beat Canada and receive gold as a galvanizing moment for Team USA. He said teammates first saw the game on their phones while at dinner, then reconvened at the team space on the third floor of the Olympic Village, where Megan Keller’s sensational goal produced “a lot of jumps, a lot of happy yells and a lot of goosebumps. ” The win and the national anthem ceremony left him and his teammates visibly inspired as they turn their attention to a semifinal matchup with Slovakia in Milan.
Charlie McAvoy’s family ties and Long Island pep rally
Around the same time, a pep rally at Kramer Lane Elementary honored McAvoy as the only athlete from Long Island competing in Milan. Jennifer McAvoy, a second-grade teacher, took part in a slideshow and a question-and-answer session with students who wore red, white and blue and waved flags. The event celebrated charlie mcavoy’s journey from Long Beach—where he began playing hockey at age three—to the Olympic stage, and highlighted how family ties run through his Olympic stay: his sister Heather connected him to five members of the U. S. women’s team—Ava McNaughton, Haley Winn, Kirsten Simms, Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards—and he spoke often with Caroline and Laila in the Village.
On-ice role, experience and long-held Canada dream
McAvoy, a top-pair defenseman who plays to the right of Quinn Hughes, is 28 and in his ninth full NHL season. He is one of Auston Matthews’ two alternate captains for the Olympic team, alongside Matthew Tkachuk. He told reporters that the matchup with Canada has lived in his imagination for a long time: when asked the day before the gold medal game against Canada if he had been thinking about that matchup for months, he replied, “Since you were a kid, ” adding, “Since the first time you watched Miracle. ”
He also noted how unique this Games is for many competitors: aside from Sidney Crosby, most players on these rosters had not previously played at the Olympics, and the presence of NHL players in international competition has not occurred since 2014.
At home, McAvoy’s family and community have tracked his path from youth hockey to the NHL. He spent two years at the National Team Development Program in Michigan during high school, was called up to the NHL at 19, and has been a mainstay for the Boston Bruins, serving as a defenseman and assistant captain over nine years in the league.
Beyond the classroom tribute and Village conversations, McAvoy framed the women’s victory as both inspiration and a reminder of what’s at stake: the Americans now know the kind of finish a gold-medal game can produce, and that experience has sharpened their focus ahead of Slovakia.
Team USA’s next confirmed on-ice event is the Olympic semifinal against Slovakia in Milan. McAvoy and his teammates leave the Village now for that game, carrying the boost from the women’s title and the long-standing desire to compete at the highest level — including matchups with rivals such as Canada — as they seek a path forward in the tournament.
