Sullivan led Team USA to its first Olympic hockey gold since 1980 after a dramatic 2-1 overtime win against Canada on Sunday.
A veteran NHL coach, Sullivan helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 before being appointed as head coach for Team USA in May 2024.
His son Matt Sullivan ’17 played in ninety-eight games for the Polar Bear men's ice hockey team during his career. #GoUBears
Mike Sullivan is not the only member of the Bowdoin community to hit the headlines at the winter games.
Here are some other fun Polar Bear connections:
Jack Hughes, who scored Team USA’s winning goal against Canada, and his brother Quinn, who was also on the team, are connected to Bowdoin through their uncle Adam Weinberg ’87, who is president of Denison College.
Haley and her brothers. Ryan Winn ’21 is on the left. https://www.instagram.com/p/DU9ilWbEdwZ/
Staying on the ice, another gold medal winner, Haley Winn of the USA Women’s team, is linked to the College through her brother Ryan Winn ’21.
Haley’s three brothers, Ryan, Tommy, and Casey, became something of a media sensation themselves in Milan for the enthusiastic and colorful support they offered to their sister and her teammates, as they too secured a dramatic overtime win against Canada.
The brothers’ social media videos have gone viral, helped, no doubt, by the skills of Ryan, who founded his own video production and design agency, Winning Productions USA, in 2023.
Celebrating in Italy with the women’s hockey team was former College athlete, attorney, and Bowdoin trustee Dee Spagnuolo ’96, who has served as long-time pro bono counsel to the players for pay equity and related issues.
Spagnuolo, who was inducted into the Bowdoin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023, represented the US Women’s National Hockey Team in 2017, as they protested inequitable wages and lack of programming for women and girls, ultimately negotiating a favorable deal with USA Hockey.
Spagnuolo (center) celebrates with the USA Women's hockey team in Milan. https://www.instagram.com/p/DU_jCvODsWF/
With the Winter Olympics over, attention now shifts to Winter Paralympic Games, which get underway in Milan on March 6. Polar Bears will be cheering on Nordic skier and multiple medal winner Jake Adicoff ’18, in his fourth consecutive winter games.
