Many of the older players on the national ice hockey team saw their last chance for Olympic gold vanish when U.S. player Quinn Hughes scored the winning goal, 2–1, in overtime.
The disappointment was palpable.
The great goalkeeper Jacob Markström, the oldest member of the Swedish squad at 36, said he had a hard time seeing himself at another Olympics.
"I'll be sitting in a rocking chair when the next Olympics are played, so this is the last one - that sucks. I'm thinking about 'Vigge' (Victor Hedman) too, who tries and tries and so wants to be out there on the ice," says Markström about the star defenseman who had to withdraw after being injured in the warm-up - but then sat in the booth during the game and cheered on his teammates.
A total of twelve players on Tre Kronor's men's team at the Milan Olympics are 30 or older.
The next Olympics on the Riviera
The next Olympics in 2030 will be held in France and the ice hockey tournament will be played in Nice.
Hedman is the same age as Erik Karlsson. But Karlsson, the Pittsburgh star, says he didn't think of it as his last chance at the Olympics.
"No, those thoughts haven't come yet and I hope they don't. It's not something I've thought about. It's very sad that we couldn't get more out of ourselves and each other during this tournament," says Karlsson, who played in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Jacob Markström remained on the ice for a long time after the American winning goal.
"So sad. There was so much faith in this and I don't think anyone was surprised when we tied the game 1-1. It's so hard to process a loss when you're so sure you're going to turn it around and win," he says.
“It sucks”
Erik Karlsson had a similar feeling:
It sucks. I think we gave ourselves a chance today, we were in it until the end, so of course it's very disappointing that it didn't go all the way. It's just disappointing — I think we deserved more, but it wasn't our day.
Most disappointed of all, however, was Mika Zibanejad, who tied the game for Tre Kronor with just 1:31 left in the third period. He could barely answer any questions and apologized for it.
"Sorry, it's just hard to answer so many questions. It just feels so empty and sad," says the 32-year-old.
