The Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team taped an appearance on “Ellen” and was honored at the Los Angeles Kings-Vegas Golden Knights game at Staples Center.

The team’s appearance on the syndicated afternoon talk show will air Tuesday.

The team took to the ice at Staples Center Monday after highlights of their play in the Olympics was shown on the arena’s scoreboard.

Team captain Meghan Duggan dropped the puck for a ceremonial faceoff between Kings center Anze Kopitar and Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt, the team captains.

The team will also visit Tampa, Florida — where it trained in the months leading up to the Olympics — Washington, D.C., and New York City for media opportunities and appearances between Wednesday and March 6.

Players will begin returning to their hometowns to continue the celebration March 7, according to Andrea Mazzarelli, the communications manager for USA Hockey.

The team includes 19-year-old defenseman Cayla Barnes from Eastvale in northwestern Riverside County. She was the youngest U.S. hockey player in the Pyeongchang Games and the shortest at 5 feet 1.

The U.S. did not allow a goal when Barnes was on the ice in its five games in the Olympics, which concluded with a 3-2 shootout victory over Canada Thursday for its first gold medal in women’s hockey since the inaugural 1998 competition.

U.S. coach Robb Stauber played 56 games as a goaltender for the Kings over four seasons in the early 1990s.

Barnes was added to the 2017-18 U.S. women’s national team roster Oct. 28, more than a month after it began practice in the Tampa suburb of Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Barnes had played the first five games of her college career for Boston College when she was added to the national team’s roster. She withdrew from Boston College and will return in August to re-start her freshman year, both academically and athletically.

Barnes played for the Los Angeles Junior Kings and Lady Ducks before attending New Hampton School, a boarding school located in New Hampton, New Hampshire. She helped lead the Huskies to the first New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Division I championship in 2017.

Barnes is the only player to win three gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s Under-18 World Championships, helping lead the U.S. to the 2015, 2016 and 2017 titles.

Barnes was the team’s captain in 2017 and received the Directorate Award as best defenseman in both 2016 and 2017.

—City News Service

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