Minnesota State's Olympic Trio

Former Minnesota State captain David Backes has a word with
a linesman during a Team USA game vs. Slovakia at the 2014
Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia

Looking back on the 2010 Winter Olympics, it all seems so easy now.
A pair of former Maverick hockey players returned from Vancouver with hardware with David Backes and his Team USA teammates earning silver and Nina Tikkinen a bronze as she helped Finland to a win over Sweden in the women's third-place game.  One of Tikkinen's MSU teammates, Emilia Andersson, was a member of the Swedish team that finished fourth.

This time around, in Sochi, things ended up a little different.  The U.S. men fell to Canada in a 1-0 semi-final game before losing to Finland in the bronze medal game.  For the second Olympics in a row Andersson and Team Sweden played for a bronze medal in the women's tournament.  But in 2014 the opponent was Switzerland and this time around it was the Swiss that went home with medals around their necks.

In all Backes played in six games in Sochi and had three goals and an assist for four points.  Andersson played in six games while recording one assist and was +2. Tikkinen played in six games and did not record a point while putting three shots on goal.

The trio share something rare in that they are the only Mavericks to have pariticpated in an Olympic Games, winter or summer.  And all three have done it twice.  

And while Backes may not have returned home with a medal this time, he did return home with something else. 

It's great to be a Maverick.