The China Mail - Fist-fights, anthem boos in stormy US, Canada ice hockey clash

An emotionally charged showdown between the star-studded line-ups of the North American rivals -- which comes against a backdrop of political tension between the two neighboring countries -- erupted into violence from the opening puck drop at Montreal's Bell Centre.

The US squad clinched a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final Thursday at Boston with a 3-1 victory, but the result was almost a footnote to the mayhem that marked the start of a game played before a fiercely partisan Canadian crowd.

With Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the crowd, home fans booed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the game, catcalls that have become a regular feature at NHL and NBA games in Canada since US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods crossing into US borders.

Then came three fights in nine seconds.

"I just think it's very indicative of what this means to the players," USA coach Mike Sullivan said. "There's two teams out there that are very competitive, that have a ton of pride for their respective teams and their countries.

"For me, when you have an investment in trying to win like the way that it occurred -– I think that's an indication of it. What an incredible hockey game."

Canada coach Jon Cooper, the two-time Stanley Cup champion coach for Tampa Bay who will guide the Canadian 2026 Olympic team, said the melee in the first moments was not pre-arranged.

"It wasn't planned," Cooper said. "That wasn't two coaches throwing guys over and saying 'This is happening' – none of that happened. That was as organic as it gets."

At the opening puck drop, the gloves came off for real on the ice as Canada's Brandon Hagel and Matthew Tkachuk of the United States began swinging punches as the crowd went wild and teammates skated back to give the brawlers a clear stage at center ice.

Referees restored order, sent the combatants to the penalty box and tried to restart the game, only for Canada's Sam Bennett and Brady Tkachuk of the Americans to drop their gloves and trade punches until officials could break them apart, Tkachuk following his brother into the penalty box.

The game was restarted but only got to nine seconds before American J.T. Miller and Canada's Colton Parayko began the third and final fight in the mayhem.

- 'Jacked up' -

Asked about US players having agreed on the fight-filled start beforehand on a group chat, Sullivan said he was unaware of such a move.

"These guys care very much about winning," he said. "Brady and Matthew, they play the game with so much emotion -– and they’re leaders in so many ways.

"It's just an indication of how much these guys care and how bad they want to win. I was not aware of it. Obviously, there's a lot of energy around this game. I knew we were going to be jacked up to play."

Top NHL players from the USA and Canada had not faced off against each other for their home nations since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the league's best traditionally skipping the world championships and the NHL having chosen not to send its players to the 2018 PyeongChang or 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

"It was probably I guess 10 years of no international hockey exhaled in a minute and a half," Cooper said.

The intense drama continued once the game began in earnest with Canada going ahead on Connor McDavid's goal 5:31 into the first period.

But the Americans equalized on Jake Guentzel's goal at 10:15 of the first period and the USA went ahead to stay on Dylan Larkin's tally at 13:33 of the second period. The Americans sealed the triumph on Guentzel's empty-net goal with 1:19 remaining in the third period.

P.Deng--ThChM