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(Updated)

Celebrations continue tonight as local Olympians return from Sochi. Earlier this evening — the womens hockey team along with Ancaster’s Laura Fortino were greeted with cheers at Pearson Airport.

Laura Fortino finally gets to see her family after a long flight. “It feels amazing to come through those doors and see all of the support we have, and see my family here.”

Team Canada women received a heroes welcome Tuesday afternoon. Hundreds of fans and media came for a chance to see the team who’s overtime win was arguable the most exciting moment of the games. a goal that laura set up. “I think on the bench everyone was yelling for me to shoot, but I saw poul out of the corner of my eye and she had a wide open net. I think she put it in and I think I just jumped, jumped for joy.”

Her mother Ivana was there in Sochi, but nerves prevented her from seeing the play. “I had my head between my legs, I was praying to god, come on, and I was just asking the guy beside me, ‘where’s the puck’ in the us end or the Canada end let me know because I can’t look.”

But Team Canada great Hayley Wickenheiser was impressed with what she saw. “She just made a really nice composed play, and I was yelling at her to move it because I saw Poulin open on the back side, so she was telling me after, ‘you were just screaming at me’. But you know she just really good job for a young rook, player she’s got a great future ahead of her.”

At the time of the golden goal, CHCH was at Laura Fortino’s former high school — Bishop Tonnos — where a viewing party, turned into a massive celebration as Laura became the first Hamiltonian to win Olympic gold. Back at their home in Ancaster, the Fortino family got a chance to celebrate the win, and remember the advice from Laura’s father Ignazio before the game. “I said Laura, you’ve been at this for 20 years. Be special today, and God bless her I think she was.”

Golden in fact, the only problem is what do you do next? “I don’t think anything will top this. I was talking to one of my assistant coaches today and she was like, you know I kinda feel sorry for you because I don’t know how any other Olympics is gonna top what you did.”

Fortino says that she hopes to play in the next Olympics but, in the meantime, she will pursue a masters degree and play in the Women’s Professional Hockey League.