The U.S. women’s hockey team has secured the top seed in the upcoming quarterfinals at the Olympic Games in Italy and four players on the team have Pittsburgh ties.

With a 5-0 shutout win against Canada on Tuesday, the United States earned the top seed in the quarterfinals.

The United States is off to a hot start at at the Olympics, sweeping all four of their preliminary round games by an overall score of 20-1.

During the preliminary round, the United States made history with a 5-0 shutout against Canada.

Hillary Knight tied Jenny Potter for the most all-time points in U.S. women’s hockey history and Laila Edwards, the first Black woman to ever compete on the U.S. Olympic team scored a goal in her debut.

Two more of those goals were scored by Hannah Bilka.

Edwards and Bilka along with goaltenders Ava McNaughton and Gwyneth Phillips are the four players that once played for Pens Elite, the premiere youth hockey league in Cranberry Township. All four are first-time Olympians.

Kathy Pippy, vice president of girls hockey operations for Premier Ice Prospects, is in Italy with the team and has been watching the games alongside the players’ families.

“To have both Gwyneth and Ava, two goalies on the team that both played for Pens Elite, they shared the net for the game against Switzerland and it was a combined shutout,” Pippy said. “Laila, I know has been interviewed so many times here being the first Black woman to play for Team USA. Then last night she scored her goal so first Back woman to score a goal.”

Tuesday night’s game was the final contest of the preliminary round and this team is already inspiring the next generation of women hockey players.

“I’ve been speaking back to the staff in Pittsburgh and Cranberry and they’ve been having watch parties and things like that,” Pippy said. “So it’s really great for the young players to see. I feel like this team is really close together to each other and the parents. Everyone is supportive of one another and I speak on behalf of everyone at Pens Elite. We’re certainly proud of the 4 players and that they’re each contributing to the success of the team.”

Team USA will be back on the ice Friday when they face Italy at 3:10 p.m. ET. 

Wednesday morning, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor traded the suit and tie for a safety vest and a little stop sign, all so the city could honor one of its longest-serving crossing guards. 

The chilly morning was nothing unfamiliar to Bobbi Valentine, who has been in the same spot in Carrick for 37 years. 

“I like the kids, the kids are the main thing,” she said. 

Valentine said she doesn’t want the spotlight, but if you’ve ever driven through or walked through the neighborhood, chances are you’ve seen her, and chances are your child has too. 

“You develop the skill along the way,” she said. “You learn along with everybody else, but I like it.” 

Valentine is just one of the crossing guards across the city, making sure that students and families can safely make it to the classroom, because without them, there are certainly dangers. 

“They face a lot of challenges daily with distracted drivers, people speeding through school zones, people going through bus lights, so my people are basically the first line of defense for school safety,” said Donna McManus, Supervisor of School Crossing Guards for the City of Pittsburgh. 

Those challenges are exactly why Mayor O’Connor spent the morning at the intersection of Biscayne and Brownsville. 

“Talking to crossing guards, people who see kids every day, and understanding what intersections need, and [giving them] as much support as possible,” O’Connor said. 

While the city has already put traffic-calming measures in place around some schools, that work began under the previous administration. 

Those efforts continue and are far from over. 

“We have to look at everything,” O’Connor said. “It’s going to be easy to fix, but at least our administration is paying attention to it, and when you want families raised in Pittsburgh, these are the conversations you have to have.” 

While those talks continue at the city level, in the meantime, Valentine will be in the same place she’s been for nearly four decades. 

“Make sure you listen to the crossing guards,” McManus said. “I don’t want anybody making rude gestures or screaming out the windows and calling [them] nasty things, or calling them nasty, because that’s not it.”