Members of Team USA’s men’s and women’s teams joined “Heated Rivalry” star Connor Storrie, but the crowd was clearly taking sides.

SNL audience loses it for U.S. women’s hockey Olympians following Trump controversy with men’s team

Members of Team USA's men's and women's teams joined "Heated Rivalry" star Connor Storrie, but the crowd was clearly taking sides.

By Jillian Sederholm

Jillian Sederholm

Jillian Sederholm is news director at *. *She has worked at EW for more than eight years. Jillian has previously worked as a reporter, social media editor, and homepage producer at NBC News, Digital First Media, Newsday, and *Random Lengths News.*

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March 1, 2026 12:11 a.m. ET

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Quinn Hughes, Megan Keller, host Connor Storrie, Hilary Knight, and Jack Hughes on 'Saturday Night Live' on Feb. 28. Credit:

*Saturday Night Live*'s studio audience had a BIG reaction to a couple of guest stars on this week's episode.

The sketch show kicked off its first new installment since the 2026 Winter Olympic Games with first-time host Connor Storrie. Fittingly, the *Heated Rivalry* hockey star was joined by real members of Team USA's gold-winning men's and women's ice hockey teams. Representing the women were Hilary Knight and Megan Keller, and for the men's team, brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes.

Though the live studio audience gave the men a warm reception, when the women came out on stage, the crowd went wild, giving around 30 seconds of sustained cheers before the stars could speak. And each time the two female players did, they were met with even more cheers, a clear nod to recent controversy following several members of the men's team — including the brothers — coming under fire for their response to a sexist joke made by President Donald Trump during a call after their gold-winning game.

After the men's triumph — the team's first top prize since the iconic 1980 "Miracle on Ice" — they got a call from the president that quickly veered into some "locker room talk" he's been known for in the past. In a viral video of the speaker-phone call, Trump invited the beaming and beer-chugging players to the White House and the State of the Union address — both of which they accepted — and then warned "we’re going to have to bring the women’s team" while chuckling. Trump added that he "probably would be impeached" if he didn't invite their female counterparts.

Several of the male players laughed along with the president's comment, which quickly sparked criticism from supporters of the women's team, who, like the men, took home gold for the U.S. in an overtime victory against Canada at the recent games.

*SNL* did not shy away from referencing the controversy during Saturday's monologue, with Knight joking of the two women, "It was gonna be just us, but we thought we'd invite the guys, too."

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Following the controversy, a few of the men apologized, while Jack Hughes, who scored the winning goal, complained that things were "so political" these days and insisted the men's and women's ice hockey teams were "so tight" with one another. "We're all just proud Americans, and we're happy we both swept the Olympics," he told the media of the two teams.

Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes after winning gold at the 2026 Olympics.

Gregory Shamus/Getty

Notably, Jack and Quinn's mother, Ellen Hughes, works as a player development consultant for the U.S. women's team. She later went on *Today* to defend her sons and their team, saying, "If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing dorm rooms and halls... and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women, that's what it's all about."

*Saturday Night Live* airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.

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Source: “EW SNL”