With so much on the line, Canadian hockey fans erupted in jubilation after another night to remember on Thursday.
Canada 鈥� after losing to the United States earlier in the tournament 鈥� triumphed over the Americans in the hotly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off final in Boston.
Against a politically charged backdrop, superstar centre Connor McDavid scored the winner in a spectacular 3-2 overtime finish against the country鈥檚 fierce North American rival.
鈥淭his game was about way more than hockey,鈥� said Vincent Pilon in Montreal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the pride of being Canadian. It鈥檚 our sport.鈥�
Hundreds of fans exploded out of their seats at Greta Bar YVR in Vancouver, hugging each other and shouting 鈥淐anada! Canada! Canada!鈥� after McDavid beat U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck with a winning shot over his left shoulder.
At Peel Pub in downtown Montreal, rowdy celebrations in the jam-packed bar led to beer glasses smashing all over the floor.
Fans in Calgary hung around at Last Best Brewing & Distilling to sing 鈥淥 Canada鈥� one last time.
Wearing a Canadian hockey jersey and the flag hanging around his shoulders, Ryan Badr said he was thrilled to see Canada take the win.
鈥淵ou get the best player in the world who, as Calgarians, we hate to play against him 鈥� but McDavid alone in the slot is all you need,鈥� Badr said of the Edmonton Oilers captain. 鈥淚t鈥檚 reminiscent of Sidney Crosby 15 years ago.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 enough that the one-off men鈥檚 hockey tournament marked the return of top NHL stars after nearly a decade away from high-level international play.
The Canada-U.S. matchups ramped up in historical significance when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened severe tariffs against Canada and mused about making the nation the 51st state.
Trump stoked the fire Thursday morning, using that rhetoric yet again in a social media post supporting the American team.
Jack, another Calgarian watching downtown, said the current political climate made the win particularly sweet.
鈥淭he USA, we love them, but they鈥檙e not necessarily loving us back right now 鈥� at least from their leadership 鈥� and that鈥檚 a little bit hurtful for us,鈥� he said, minutes after the bar erupted into a frenzy.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to say, as best we can, (that) we鈥檝e been your best friends and neighbours forever and we鈥檙e going to push back 鈥� this is a demonstration that we can hit back in cultural and symbolic ways.鈥�
Boston fans booed 鈥淥 Canada鈥� before the puck dropped Thursday in an apparent response to the recent jeers that have echoed in Canadian NHL arenas, including Saturday鈥檚 chaotic Canada-U.S. round-robin matchup at Montreal鈥檚 Bell Centre.
Canadian nationalism was on full display again in Montreal. Fans stood on guard and belted out the national anthem with pride before mercilessly booing 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner.鈥�
In Calgary and Vancouver, meanwhile, fans held back their jeers for the U.S. anthem. But Adrian Kiss in Vancouver called the result a 鈥渉uge win鈥� for Canada.
鈥淲e needed this one,鈥� Kiss said, adding he blacked out for a second during celebrations. 鈥淚t was probably gonna be pretty ugly if we lost it. Social media is pretty ruthless right now.
鈥淭his brings all Canadians together.鈥�
American fans who braved the pro-Canadian bars in Montreal and Vancouver heard their fair share of boos throughout the night.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been big, but now, especially because I鈥檓 here, and the geopolitical tensions right now, it feels like (the rivalry is) at the peak,鈥� said Naim Temlock, a former McGill University student from Chicago, in Montreal.
The first Canada-U.S. encounter on Saturday 鈥� a 3-1 U.S. win where tensions boiled over onto the ice with three fights in the opening nine seconds 鈥� drew 10.1 million viewers across North America.
Canadian fan Jean Levesque, who drove from Montreal to Boston to catch the final, said he鈥檚 never seen the Canada-U.S. rivalry reach this level.
鈥淭his is different,鈥� he said outside TD Garden. 鈥淟ast week in Montreal, they were saying that if ever you shut the power from Hydro-Qu茅bec that powers all the electricity in the province, and plug a wire into the Bell Centre, you鈥檇 light up the whole province.鈥�
In Vancouver, people at a watch party couldn鈥檛 contain their excitement, jumping up and down and waving Canadian flags when Nathan MacKinnon scored to put Canada up 1-0.
The mood shifted from joy to disbelief when the U.S. took a 2-1 lead, as fans held their heads in their hands.
But Sam Bennett eventually equalized for Canada, leading to more hugs and high fives, before McDavid鈥檚 golden goal allowed a nation to exhale.
The United States has long played second-fiddle to Canada in men鈥檚 international hockey. Canada also triumphed on U.S. soil with a 5-2 gold-medal win over the Americans at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Crosby鈥檚 golden goal famously lifted Canada past the U.S. at the 2010 Olympic final in Vancouver.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 much of a rivalry up until 2010 鈥� Crosby got us,鈥� said U.S. fan Chris Leduc, who attended the game in Boston with his son Chase.
Leduc, wearing the U.S. jersey of 1980 Olympic and 鈥淢iracle On Ice鈥� hero Mike Eruzione, called Thursday鈥檚 final 鈥渢he most anticipated, the most watched and the most talked about hockey game in the last 15 years.鈥�
The 4 Nations 鈥� the closest men鈥檚 hockey has seen to best-on-best since the 2016 World Cup 鈥� is considered an appetizer for the NHL鈥檚 return to the Olympics in 2026.
NHL players participated in five Olympics between 1998 and 2014, before missing the 2018 and 2022 Games.
鈥� With files from Joshua Clipperton in Boston, Nono Shen in Vancouver and Matthew Scace in Calgary.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
