Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson (L) and Monique Lamoureux-Morando celebrate after defeating Canada in a shootout in the women's ice hockey gold-medal game at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on Feb. 22, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.
Where would the U.S. women’s ice hockey team be without star twin sisters Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson?
Maybe not wearing an Olympic gold medal around their necks.
After all, it was Monique who scored the clutch game-tying goal against Canada in the gold-medal game of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. Then it was Jocelyne who scored the shootout goal that made Olympic champions of Team USA for the first time since 1998.
And yet, the Olympic gold medal was just one of the highlights this year for the North Dakota natives, who have now won three Olympic medals and six world championships playing together for Team USA.
“After we won — we don’t normally hug a whole lot — we embraced and gave each other a big hug,” Monique told the Seattle Times in October. “Our goal was always to be Olympic champions, and to be able to accomplish that together, and being a part of that journey together — it always made it unique in that aspect — that was always the dream.”
As if winning a gold medal wasn’t enough, the twins and the rest of Team USA got a hero’s welcome when they returned home, including making appearances on “Ellen” and “The Tonight Show.” They also got to share their gold medals with hockey fans around the country at numerous NHL games. And speaking of the NHL, Monique began working with the NHL Network in March as a studio analyst.
Off the ice, the twins followed each other again, this time with babies instead of hockey goals. After Monique announced her pregnancy in May, the Lamoureux family got more exciting news in July as it turned out Jocelyne was pregnant, too. Monique and husband Anthony welcomed baby Mickey earlier this month, while Jocelyne and Brent are due in January.
The pregnancies kept the twins off the ice for the Four Nations Cup, which the U.S. won in dominating fashion, and also for the 2018-19 National Women’s Hockey League season. Both sisters, who turned 29 in July, play for the expansion Minnesota Whitecaps. In the meantime, they’ve been traveling the country as corporate ambassadors and speaking out about issues close to them, such as gender equality in the sport.
But needless to say, the twins have had a full 2018 both professionally and personally. A gold medal and a baby, what could be a better year than that?
Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
