Norwood in the Olympics

Hockey on the horizon

While U.S. Olympic Figure Skater and Norwood resident Maxim Naumov did not bring home any medals in this year’s competition, that did not dampen his spirit.

“It’s been very difficult getting here to this moment,” he said. “I’m proud of all the decisions to keep going and all those roadblocks and things in my way and the willingness and desire to continue. All of those decisions – whether they were big or small – all led me to being here, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Naumov’s journey has garnered a lot of media attention after the death of his parents at the beginning of 2025 in the Potomac River mid-air collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Naumov, when asked about his parents, said he has felt them throughout his journey to the Olympics.

“Their presence, the way I felt it, was just a sense of calmness, stillness, ease,” he said. “Usually I go out and I’m kind of jittery, nervous and anxious. But I went out there and I was totally calm. The distractions were completely wiped out and I could focus on what I needed to do. I let my body take over, and that was it.”

Naumov also gave words of encouragement for those dealing with loss.

“We’re so much more capable than we give ourselves credit for, and than we even know,” he said. “In moments of uncertainty and worry, your whole life and world can flip upside down at any moment. It can happen to all of us. One of my biggest takeaways is just be in the moment, because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. And if at the most difficult times in your life you choose to take action and choose to do the thing that is hard, then that is the way you’re going to get through. The only way out is through.”

Naumov placed 20th in the figure skating men’s free skate and short program, with a combined score of 137.71. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov won gold, followed by Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato, both of Japan.

Moving on to hockey, in the three preliminary games, the U.S. Hockey Team is doing well and has won all three. The first game against Latvia saw a score of 5-1, the second against Denmark saw the U.S. win 6-3, and the last with Germany saw a score of 5-1 with the U.S. taking the win as well.

Norwood’s Noah Hanifin scored one of those 16 goals and assisted in another. He had a plus/minus score of +2, which means basically he was a net asset for the team when a powerplay was taking place against the team. He had a time on ice per games played ratio of 11:09, with a shot percentage of 33 percent. He had 14 shifts in the first two games against Latvia and Denmark, respectively, and 15 minutes against Germany.

Hanifin had no penalty minutes, nor any shorthanded goals or powerplay goals. He managed, as a defenseman, to have three shots in three games total.

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In the NBC coverage of the Denmark game where Hanifin scored his goal against Denmark, Hanifin’s post goal celebration with his teammates is the still shown before the video would play – https://tinyurl.com/ms4mnz63

Hanifin’s goal was a quick-fired shot where he picked up the puck at mid-ice and sped towards the Denmark goal. After taking his first shot to a Denmark defender’s leg, he caught the rebound and shot it right through both the legs of the defender and the goalie for the point.

After the win against Germany, the team is headed for the quarterfinal on Feb. 18 at 3:10 p.m. Eastern, after The Record’s deadline. Head Coach Mike Sullivan – no relation – was quoted on the U.S.A. Hockey website as saying he felt the team was really coming together.

“I thought it was our most complete game of the tournament,” said Sullivan. “That was certainly an important win for us, and we’ll take tomorrow off to recover and get ready for our quarterfinal game.”