Saskatoon's Emily Clark fulfils childhood dream of winning Olympic hockey gold

Emily Clark is coming home with Olympic gold.   The 26-year-old from Saskatoon helped Canada's women's hockey team beat the U.S. 3-2 in the final of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.  "I can't put words to it just yet, but 'incredible' if I had to pick one," Clark told Saskatoon Morning's Heather Morrison the following day.  "The whole day, the whole game, felt like a dream. I've never felt that way in a championship game. It kind of felt like the stars aligned."

Clark said that early in the tournament, the team's mental skills coach told her to rock on her skates, and feel where her feet are, so she can stay in the moment.  "I was doing a lot of rocking on my skates," Clark said. 

LISTEN | Emily Clark speaks about winning the gold:

The road to the podium was a culmination of tireless and concentrated effort from the women's team.

At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, they suffered a shootout loss in the final to the U.S. It was the first time since 1998, Canadian women went home without a gold medal.  "I have a few photos from that day on the blue line with the silver medal, but the childhood dream was to get gold," Clark said.  "I've kept a few of those photos close to me for motivation."

Despite COVID-19 challenges before and during the Beijing Olympics, the Canadian women's team remained dedicated to its commitment to win gold.  Clark herself was sidelined for one game, after an inconclusive COVID-19 test following the masked contest against the Russian Olympic Committee.  "I didn't want to miss a shift, let alone a game, especially for something that is out of your control," she said.  "But I was confident with our medical staff ... thankfully it was a pretty short stint."

The team won all seven games in Beijing,