From left, Emily Clark, Jocelyne Larocque and Ann-Renee Desbiens of Canada all struggled to process their overtime loss in Thursday's gold medal match against the U.S.Mike Segar/Reuters
If there is a single player on Team Canada who embodies the pain the team feels when losing to the United States in women’s hockey, it’s Jocelyne Larocque.
Canada’s defeat at the hands of the Americans at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday is not the first time they have had to accept a silver medal in place of gold.
Of the seven times these two countries have met in the Olympic final, Canada has won four. Now the U.S. has three. Though the Canadians still technically have the upper hand, every one of those losses stings.
It was Larocque who famously couldn’t bear to put the silver medal around her neck at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics after Canada lost that final in a shootout.
More an act of defiance than one of unsportsmanship, the game mattered so much to her that, as she stood crying on the ice in 2018, Larocque was unable to bring herself to wear the silver.
Canada's women's hockey team almost pulled off its elaborate rope-a-dope against the U.S.
If you need a reminder of how much these hockey games mean to the players on either side of this rivalry, it’s her in that moment.
It also caused a minor international incident.
After leaving the ice, Larocque was still in tears when an official from the International Ice Hockey Federation, the sport’s governing body, intervened. A man pulled her aside and informed her that, under Olympic rules, she had to wear the silver. Otherwise there would be trouble, though it was never stated what.
Standing in her equipment after another heartbreaking overtime loss to the U.S. Thursday, Larocque once again was overcome with emotion. At 37, this may be the last Olympics for the defender from Ste. Anne, Man.
After refusing to wear her silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Larocque said she plays hockey for the highs and the lows that come with the game.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
“It’s devastating,” Larocque said. “It stings right now, but I’m proud of this group. We didn’t come out with the medal that we wanted and it hurts, but I have memories that I’ll cherish forever.”
She said games like the final in Milan, painful as they may be, are why she plays hockey. It’s not only for the victories.
“It was just a great hockey game, like back and forth, and it was fun to be a part of. And that’s why I love this game and that’s why I love playing on this team, is for these games,” Larocque said.
This was her fourth Olympics; she now has two gold and two silver medals.
And this time Larocque wore her silver medal. She remembers the controversy from 2018.
“Yeah, no, no, no, no, no,” she said. “I will keep this medal on.”