Others making homecomings included United States defensemen Haley Winn and Laila Edwards, who were teammates in Rochester at Bishop Tierney High School.
"I think it's everyone's dream to obviously be a role model,” Winn said. “Not only on the world stage, but especially in your community. I feel like that's so important. I saw a lot of Rochester Americans jerseys in the stands which is super cool to see because that was who I grew up playing with. And it's awesome to see them on girls teams, because I didn't always have the opportunity to play for an all-girls team growing up. So, it was awesome to see so many faces with that jersey on.”
Added Edwards, who scored the third Team USA goal: “Buffalo always shows up for women's hockey.”
Hilary Knight – one of the most decorated players of all time, now preparing for her fifth and final Olympics – scored a hat trick. Her late empty-net goal prompted a youthful chant “U-S-A” while hats fluttered to the ice.
“Whenever we can play in the United States, it's really special, we don't get to play at home very home very often,” Knight said. “I was curious what the crowd would be like, we're close to the border a little bit, but our fans always show up, and it's super special to be able to play in front of them. They don't get to see us in the Olympic tournaments or the World Championship. And so, to have a rivalry game, an exhibition in their hometown is really special, not one that we take lightly.”
Samantha Philp was one of those in the crowd rooting for Canada, having made the drive to Buffalo from her hometown London, Ontario with her friend, Keiran Nealon.
While the result didn’t go their way, the game was a win for them, too.
“I was saying on our way here, growing up we didn't have women's hockey, it wasn't very big,” Philp said. “Seeing these girls that came together and made this league and encourage other young girls from all around that they can do the same thing is really inspiring to me.”
