🏒 Golden Goal. Golden Welcome. and Then the Boos.
What happened
Jack Hughes came home an Olympic hero after scoring the overtime winner that gave Team USA its first men’s hockey gold since 1980.
American flags everywhere.
“U-S-A” chants shaking the building.
Tribute cards on every seat reading: Made in Jersey.
Hughes took a ceremonial lap before puck drop as the crowd roared.
For a moment, it felt bigger than hockey.
Then the game started.
The Devils fell 2–1 to the Buffalo Sabres in a tight matchup. Buffalo’s Tage Thompson — Hughes’ Team USA teammate — scored in the second period and added an assist. The Devils were held scoreless through two before finally breaking through in the third, but it wasn’t enough.
Final: Sabres 2, Devils 1.
And then came the political moment.
When Governor Mikie Sherrill stepped onto the ice to present Hughes with a New Jersey state flag, a noticeable wave of boos rolled through the arena. The reaction was brief — but loud — before the focus shifted back to hockey.
Loss on the scoreboard.
But the night belonged to Hughes.
Jersey showed up for its own.
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