The most exciting moment of the Winter Olympics came when Team USA and Team Canada faced off for the gold medal hockey game on Feb. 28. Though the USA had just defeated Canada in a qualifying game a week prior, there was no sense of arrogance or over-confidence when they found out it would be a rematch.

Canadians live for ice hockey. Hockey is to Canada what football means to the United States, or what soccer means to every country in Europe. It is the sport they pride themselves on.

There was something about this particular game that brought out pride in even the most unbelieving of sports fans—especially those of Chicago. The gold-medal game looked more like a battle of our Chicago Blackhawks. As Patrick Kane and the U.S. faced Canadian teammates Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, the Blackhawks shined bright on the world stage and proved they are as good as any team.

However, the United States team proved  they too should be taken seriously on the ice. In one of the most-watched hockey broadcasts, 27.6 million watched as Team USA battled for gold, and though they fell short, they did not go out without a fight, forcing the game into overtime, eventually losing 3-2.

In what sportscaster Bob Costas called one of the greatest sporting events he’d ever seen, Team USA walked away with a silver medal, but nothing to be sad about.

They were not favored to win a medal at all in the games, but instead fell just shy of gold. Team USA represented our country well and ignited a true patriotism in us all as we cheered them on. Even more impressive were our Blackhawks who, as a team, are well on their way to winning the Stanley Cup this season.

As for the Olympics, Team USA will be back and we will beat Canada at their own game.

I think Blackhawks right wing Adam Burish summed it up best:

“I told [Patrick Sharp] I look at Canada as kind of like America’s little sister,” he told reporters. “And so the Americans kind of messed with them a little bit, like, ‘Hey Canada, we’re going to take your hockey, this little toy, away from you.’ We took them to overtime, we scared our little sister enough, just so she knows now if we want to come and take hockey from you, we’ll come and take it from you, if you’re not careful. So we took them to overtime, scared them and gave them their toy back.”