Once they received round to enjoying the Canadian nationwide anthem for the second time, there have been no American followers left within the area to boo.
As a substitute, the Canadian workforce stood on the blue line, arm in arm, participant and coach and workers carrying their championship hats, whereas the maple leaf flag was lowered behind the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy. The followers who remained, lots of them within the of their purple Group Canada jerseys, sang alongside.
Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of extra time to offer Canada a 3-2 victory over the USA on Thursday night time because the North American rivals turned what had been a tune-up for the 2026 Olympics into an geopolitical brawl over anthems and annexation as a lot as worldwide hockey supremacy.
Or, to place it one other means: It was the 51st U.S. state 3, Canada’s eleventh province 2.
“Just to see the reaction. Just to know what it means to us. I know it’s just a quick tournament, and it’s not an Olympic gold medal or anything like that, but it means the world to our group, as you can see,” McDavid mentioned.
“I hope (the new fans) love it,” he mentioned. “It’s a great game, it’s a great sport and I hope we put on a good show these last couple days and gained some fans, ultimately. You can’t ask for a better show than that.”
Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Bennett additionally scored for Canada. Jordan Binnington made 25 saves in regulation and 6 extra within the further interval on the identical ice the place he helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup as a rookie 5 years in the past.
Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson scored for the People, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 pictures in regulation and three extra in OT.
The already ripe rivalry took on an added depth with the cross-border animosity following President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and speak of creating Canada the 51st U.S. state. Trump known as the American workforce Thursday morning to want it nicely, then turned to Fact Social to poke Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau with extra annexation chatter.
The political backdrop mixed with the standard of the round-robin sport, which the USA gained 3-1 on Saturday, to convey the ambiance of a Stanley Cup Closing or Olympic gold medal sport to the TD Backyard.
Followers of their workforce jerseys waved flags, shouted for his or her countrymen and continued the ritual booing of the opposing nationwide anthem that has grow to be an nightly undercard for what most agree has been probably the greatest worldwide hockey competitions in many years.
The American followers chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” to spur on the house workforce; within the third interval, a cheer of “Johnny Hockey! Johnny Hockey!” reminded the gamers that they have been enjoying for the reminiscence of former Boston School and Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed by a drunk driver whereas bicycling in New Jersey at his sister’s marriage ceremony final summer season.
“Miracle on Ice” Olympic hero and honorary U.S. captain Mike Eruzione wore a Gaudreau jersey throughout a pregame ceremonial puck drop with Canadian counterpart Wayne Gretzky.
It was 2-2 after 40 minutes and it stayed that means within the third interval and the primary eight minutes of extra time. After a flurry of saves by Binnington, the Canadians gained a faceoff within the U.S. zone and Mitch Marner received the puck alongside the boards earlier than popping it into the middle for McDavid.
“I was not very good all night,” McDavid mentioned. “All that was going through my mind was, ‘Keep going.’ I struggled all night, but these guys played great and we just found a way.”
