Things got ugly between the United States and Canada in Montreal last night at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
First, there was a sighting of a gentleman wearing a Team Canada custom jersey with “TRUMP” on the name bar and the number “51” on it.
Then fans at the Bell Centre booed heartily as the “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed prior to the game.
Within seconds of the opening puck drop, former Fort Saskatchewan Ranger Brandon Hagel answered the bell for Canada when challenged by Matthew Tkachuk. This was followed by Canada’s Sam Bennett pairing up with Matthew’s brother Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller of the United States knocking his own helmet off with his own punch against Colton Parayko.
Once the line brawling settled down, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers opened the scoring with Canada’s only goal. Dylan Larkin opened the scoring for the United States with Jake Guentzel adding a pair to lift the United States to a 3-1 final.
Notables in attendance included:
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
- Leader of the Official Opposition Pierre Poilievre
- MMA legend Georges St-Pierre
- Canadian women’s hockey star Marie-Philip Poulin
- Former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price
- and 4 members of the 1972 Summit Series version of Team Canada; Paul Henderson, Ken Dryden, Serge Savard and Yvan Cournoyer
The round-robin showcase shifts to TD Garden in Boston for a pair of games Monday — Canada versus Finland, Sweden versus the U.S. — before Thursday’s final between the two teams with the best records.
Despite the loss to the United States, a regulation win against Finland will qualify Canada for the championship final.
