Irish Breakdown

Former Notre Dame Hockey Star Wins Gold as USA Women’s Coach

A pair of former Notre Dame hockey standouts are headed home from Italy with an Olympic gold medal
Nick Shepkowski|
Feb 13, 2026; Milan, Italy; United States head coach John Wroblewski during the match against Italy in a women's ice hockey quarterfinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
Feb 13, 2026; Milan, Italy; United States head coach John Wroblewski during the match against Italy in a women's ice hockey quarterfinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame has had its fair share of Olympic athletes in the summer games historically, but it's rather rare that former Fighting Irish are a part of the winter games.

That wasn't the case this time around though as, although not playing, two former Notre Dame hockey standouts helped guide the United States Women's Hockey team to a Gold Medal. That came after a thrilling comeback victory in overtime to beat Canada 2-1 on Thursday.

John Wroblewski ('03) served as Team USA's head coach while Josh Sciba ('07) served as an assistant on the squad.

Wroblewski scored 27 goals over his final two seasons at Notre Dame before spending four seasons in the ECHL with the Fresno Falcons.

United States Women Win Thriller Over Canada for Gold

The United States started group play in the Olympics by dominating Canada, 5-0. Those two teams marched through the rest of the competition and straight to the Gold Medal game on Thursday.

Kristen O'Neill started the scoring for Canada, getting them on top 1-0 in the first period. The good news from there was that United States goaltender Aerin Franklin was outstanding. For the game, she stopped 30 of 31 shots and kept Team USA within striking distance.

With just 2:04 left in regulation and Franklin pulled, Team USA great Hilary Knight came through with a game-saving goal, finding the back of the net and tying the game at one. Team USA then forced overtime, and Megan Keller, who assisted on Knight's goal, clinched gold.

In my personal opinion, there is very little better in sports than Olympic hockey. While most turn their heads towards the men's tournament, the rivalry the United States has with Canada in the women's division is nothing short of insane.

Women's hockey has now been held in the Winter Olympics eight times, and in seven of those the United States and Canada have met in the Gold Medal round.

With the United States winning on an overtime goal by Megan Keller, it clinched the third gold medal in team history. The United States also won gold in both the 1998 and 2018.

Wroblewski was shown moments shedding a tear just moments after the game-winning goal was scored.

Notre Dame doesn't have any connections quite like Wroblewski or Sciba for the men's team, but here's to hoping that the men's team can follow suit and win gold itself over the next few days.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

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