The United States is three wins shy of sweeping ice hockey gold at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, three wins from becoming just the second country to win hockey gold on the men’s and women’s side in the same Olympiad.
America is in the position, in part, because of the Kessel family. Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel is starring for the men and his sister, Amanda, a two-time national champion at the University of Minnesota, is leading the women.
It has been a memorable Winter Olympics already for the brother and sister from Madison, Wis., Phil with six goals and two assists in four games and Amanda tallying three goals and three assists in four games.
“I saw my brother score a hat trick in the 5-1 win against Slovenia — and that was awesome,” Amanda said after scoring in her team’s 6-1 semifinal win over Sweden that set up Thursday’s gold-medal showdown with Canada. “It was an inspiration to me. He’s my favorite player.
“There is definitely room for two gold medals in the family. I guess we would have to keep them in a safe somewhere if we both win gold.”
A testicular cancer survivor, Phil, 26, became the first American male hockey player to notch an Olympic hat trick since John LeClair did it in 2002. He added a power-play goal in Wednesday’s 5-2 quarterfinal win over the Czech Republic.
Amanda, meanwhile, has been a consistent offensive force for the U.S. women, despite hip surgery in the fall.
Gordon Stafford, father of Sabres forward Drew Stafford, first saw Amanda, 22, playing in a boys’ league, where she was one of her team’s leading scorers, and then again in a girls’ tournament in Toronto. Her coach at Minnesota prep powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary’s was immediately sold.
“She was just so far ahead of everybody else,” Stafford said in a phone interview with The Post, “as far as thinking the game and handling the puck and her skating, it was not even funny.”
One moment in particular stands out. It was Amanda’s freshman year at Minnesota. She got smoked into the boards, her shoulder going in first. Hunched over, she slowly skated back to the bench, crossing the blue line, when she noticed a turnover, and stayed on the ice, received a breakaway pass and scored. After the game, it was revealed she had a third-degree shoulder separation and would be out six weeks.
“Who does that?” Stafford recalled with a laugh. “That’s her in a nutshell.”
Stafford said that toughness comes from her father, Phil Sr., who was a quarterback drafted by the Washington Redskins, and who played in the Canadian Football League. Another brother Blake, 24, plays defense for the East Coast Hockey League’s Orlando Solar Bears. Amanda has said Phil is her “idol,” the person she has always looked up to.
“They created in her the competitive drive,” Stafford said. “I imagine if you’re a younger girl competing against your brothers, and they’re very competitive, that drive carries over. She’s as competitive a girl as I’ve ever had.”
Amanda, a junior who is not playing with the Gophers this season, has led Minnesota to a pair of NCAA titles. Last year, she scored an NCAA-best 101 points, becoming the fourth player to ever reach the century mark. She won the 2013 Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the top women’s player in the country, and had four points in the Gophers 6-3 victory over Boston University in the national title game, capping Minnesota’s perfect 41-0-0 season. Playing for the women’s national team, Kessel scored the golden goal against Canada at the 2013 World Championships.
Stafford even thinks Amanda is a better all-around player than her NHL star brother.
“Phil would even admit this, Amanda is more of a complete player,” Stafford said. “She can kill penalties, be on the power play, she can play defense, play wing, play forward.”
Said Minnesota women’s coach Brad Frost, “I won’t be surprised when she plays tremendous [on Thursday]. When the bright lights go on, Amanda usually plays her best.”
— with AP