x
Breaking News
More () »

Plymouth welcomes home two gold medalists from U.S. Women's Hockey team

Two teammates thanked their community for the support as they helped lead Team USA to gold at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

PLYMOUTH, Minn. - The Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang are over, but the celebrations are not done yet.

In Plymouth on Saturday, the city welcomed home two athletes from the U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey team, Dani Cameranesi and Kelly Pannek. Both helped lead the team to a gold medal after a thrilling shootout, beating Canada 3-2. It's the first time the team has won gold in 20 years.

"It was the most amazing experience of my life. I don't even know how to put it into words," said Cameranesi.

The city held a celebration at the Plymouth Ice Center and a long line formed along the rink as families waited to get autographs and pictures with the star athletes.

One sixth-grader, Sarah Humphrey, couldn't wait to meet them.

"I have a bunch of USA gear at home and I love watching them play," she said.

Cameranesi and Pannek say they're glad to be home and the most important thing to them is to share their success with the community. They also want to inspire the next generation of girls wanting to put on skates.

"That's just our hope is that people look for our sport, see it and then these young girls know that they can be this one day," said Pannek.

Up next for the athletes is some rest and relaxation. Pannek has one more year left at the University of Minnesota. She and Cameranesi will go back into training and are thinking of trying to make the U.S. Women's Olympic team for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Before You Leave, Check This Out