More than 4,000 miles away, American Jack Hughes scored the “golden goal,” lifting the United States men’s hockey team to a 2-1 overtime victory over Canada in the gold medal final at the Milano Cortina Olympics.

The Olympic Center, the site of the last time the U.S. had won Olympic gold in 1980, was filled with cheers and chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” both from those young players, parents and even fans visiting from afar.

The state Olympic Regional Development Authority set up a watch party at the Roamers Cafe and Bar area. As spectators packed the area, watching the NBC broadcast of the game.

Hughes’ goal immediately sent the crowd on its feet.

The Colby family poses with Roni Raccoon. Pictured are Jared, Natalie, Jared and Declan during the Olympic gold medal game watch party in Lake Placid on Sunday. (Provided photo — Alicia Brandes)

“It was loud. There was a bunch of kids, too, with hockey jerseys and they were just roaring and hugging,” said ORDA Communications Director Darcy Norfolk Rowe, who helped set up the event. “Then some people were crying. We had Roni the Raccoon out in costume, and he was a part of the celebration, too. There wasn’t a person who wasn’t jumping up and down and clapping and roaring and screaming.”

Norfolk Rowe doesn’t know exactly how many people were watching the game at the venues, but added that it was definitely in the hundreds.

“We kept pulling chairs out of the conference center,” she said. “We were trying to get as many people in the space as possible, facing the TVs.”

The Roamers Cafe and Bar was opened, following Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul’s suspension of the alcohol service hours law in anticipation of the gold medal game.

“As of Saturday evening, we had a coffee bar, we sold out of egg sandwiches,” Norfolk Rowe said. “It was a crowd that was in anticipation, nervous, excited.”

A young fan smiles with Roni Raccoon during the Olympic gold medal game watch party in Lake Placid on Sunday. (Provided photo — Alicia Brandes)

During portions of the Olympic gold medal game, live footage of the Lake Placid watch party was shown on NBC’s national broadcast. It was something that NBC had done throughout the Olympics — often in smaller capacities — but became more prevalent ahead of the men’s game.

After talking with NBC, Norfolk Rowe said that on Saturday, around noon, was when ORDA staff started to work on going public with the watch party.

“So we started to push it, and then obviously put the team together to ensure that there was a good experience there,” she said. “The people came, and it was a pretty special place to be during that moment.”

While a lot of people at the watch party were there for the youth hockey tournament, Norfolk Rowe said there were some who traveled from out of town.

“We actually had people there that were just planning to be there because it was a watch location and they were like, ‘Well, if there’s anywhere I want to watch this game, it’s going to be where the last time that it was where they won gold, and where ‘Miracle on Ice’ happened,” she said.

Norfolk Rowe said NBC told her that this might have been the best viewing location that they could see.

“We really think that probably our legacy energy had a little bit to do with that,” she said.

Hockey has always been a part of Lake Placid. The U.S. women’s national team trains here ever year in August and even some of the men’s hockey players, like Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel and Dylan Larkin, took part in a U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in this village in 2014.

Norfolk Rowe said there have been discussions to honor not only the men’s team, but all the Olympians.

“It’s just, what is the right time and place to do something that isn’t already happening with another partner or governing body,” she said. “Then what we can do that can be unique and different to celebrate that too.”