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Times: ‘Team USA? More like Team Minnesota'

Minnesota is winning at the Winter Olympics and the nation is taking note.
Madeline Rooney #35 of the United States looks on during the game against Canada during the Women's Gold Medal Game on February 22, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea - Minnesota has been representing at the 2018 Winter Olympic games. But what happened this week was so special, even national papers like the New York Times are taking note.

A headline on Friday read, 'Team U.S.A.? More Like Team Minnesota.' With good reason.

It began with Lindsey Vonn taking bronze in the women’s downhill.

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Then came Jessie Diggins winning gold in the cross-country women's team sprint. It was without a doubt the best moment for Team USA and one of the best event finishes of the games. Diggins will serve as Team USA's flag bearer during the closing ceremony on Sunday.

Gold medalists Kikkan Randall and Jessica Diggins of the United States celebrate during the medal ceremony on February 22, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

Hours later, at least a dozen women with Minnesota ties took to the ice for Team USA Women's Hockey and, for the first time in 20 years, beat rival Canada, 3-2 in a shootout. Maddie Rooney, GiGi Marvin, Sidney Morin, Hannah Brandt, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, Dani Cameranesi and more are coming home with a gold medal.

(L-R) Members of the United States Women's Ice Hockey team Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight, Monique Lamoureux-Morando, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Maddie Rooney show their gold medals. (Credit: Ker Robertson/Getty Images)

Then there's Team Shuster and the U.S. Men's Curling squad. The boys, three of the five from the Duluth area, will play for gold early Saturday morning, after an unforgettable victory versus Canada.

“Nobody brags on their own the way Minnesotans do,” Andover Hockey coach Mark Manney told the Times. Manney coached Rooney when she played on the boy's hockey team her senior year.

“If you go to other places, somebody famous might live down the street, and they never get talked about. Not here. We all know Jessie Diggins today,” he added.

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