About 24 hours ago, I was sitting rink side photographing the men's gold medal game against the Canadians. As I mentioned in the last blog post, there was a lot of stress going into that game. Mostly for the athletes and coaching staff of course, and a little for me to make sure I got good photos for the team.
I knew that, for this game, it was not about the action on the ice, it was about the reaction after it was over. It was either going to be photos showing disappointment or celebration. But little did I know at the time, that we were in for another overtime game that will be remembered for a really long time.
Now I will take you through the game from my perspective (looking through a camera eyepiece).
Team USA was listed as the visiting team, which meant that they were coming out of a different tunnel from the past games. This was good because I liked the backdrop better. As I waited for the team to enter, I moved my focal point slightly to the right, so that I could focus on the goalie in the front position but also have the other players behind him. I framed this shot to include some of the Milano Cortina 2026 banner, the athletes, and the USA fans with the flag.
As always, I looked for good action shots.
I saw Matt Boldy take the puck and break away from the defender. I tracked him and fired the
Canon R1 at full 40 frames per second.
He scored the first goal of the game...
...and thankfully he turned to the right and came right by me with this awesome reaction! This was my favorite photo from the game (so far).
Both teams had really good scoring chances.
Connor Hellebuyck deflected this puck and it bounced off of the post. Phew - that was close!
During the second period, the Canadians were playing strong and dominated our team. I did not have a good feeling at that point. I saw Connor McDavid get a breakaway and it was one on one. Connor against Connor.
When a goalie is playing really well, we say that the goalie is really "standing on his head." And let me tell you, Hellebuyck was doing just that!
He stopped shot after shot!
During one of the breaks, I was looking into the camera to see what I had captured in the last couple of minutes of play. When zooming in, I noticed that the puck actually said "GOLD MEDAL" on it. That is so cool!
I had to do a tight crop of one of that image to show you this.
The Canadians scored a goal in the third period and everything was tied up at one goal a piece. Oh no - another overtime nail biter!
At this point, I knew that the game was going to end with a TON of emotion. One team was going to go crazy and the other would feel the weight of the defeat. But which team would feel what?
The overtime started and I braced myself for either scenario.
And then it happened...Jack Hughes got a great pass from across the ice and scored the game winning goal. I only caught the tail end of his shot and honestly had no idea that the puck had gone into the net, until I heard the crowd go crazy! I also saw his reaction and did my best to keep focus on him as he went wild.
After a couple of seconds, I turned my camera to my left and fired off a bunch of shots of the team going nuts.
It was mayhem, but in the best way for Team USA.
I took as many photos as I could from behind the plexiglass and waited for them to let a select few of us through the penalty box and onto the ice.
I saw the guys grab the Johnnie Gaudreau jersey from the bench and start to skate around with it. For those of you who do not know the story, "Johnnie Hockey" was a great American hockey player who was tragically killed with his brother two years ago. A drunk driver hit and killed both of them while they were bike riding right before their sister's wedding. It was horrific on all levels.
I saw Connor Hellebuyck skate around with the flag and was happy to catch this moment. He was nothing short of amazing yesterday.
I know that all these guys play for the NHL, but you could tell that this was a special moment for them.
They were enjoying every second of it.
I was going back and forth between tight shots...
...and wide shots.
After the medal ceremony, it was time for the team photo. That was awesome as always.
After taking some photos, I saw a couple of the guys skate away from the group and go through the penalty box towards their families. I thought that this was a strange time to break away from everyone.
Then they came back with Johnnie Gaudreau's two kids, and wanted another group shot. I got teary-eyed when I was shooting. What an amazing gesture by the boys!
Here is a tighter shot of them.
Just following those shots, we took a group shot including all the staff from USA Hockey.
A bunch of the guys then left the ice and went to celebrate with their families. I stood on one of the photographer's benches to get this shot...
...and this shot of Charlie McAvoy jumping up onto the railing to share this moment with his father.
There was a lot more celebrating after this, with amazing moments between the guys off the ice and at the team party. But as usual, those photos are private and not to be shared. Suffice it to say, they enjoyed this evening to the fullest!
Please excuse any typos. Normally I try to proofread everything before I post, but here at the Olympics, time is a commodity. I definitely miss some things. :)
__________________________________________________________
• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.
• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
_________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment