Canadian hockey fans continued the trend of booing the American national anthem, which prompted Team USA to throw hands with the home team three times in just the first nine seconds of their game.
First off, you’d think the fans booing during the anthem would have already figured out this doesn’t work well in their favor. They tried to rattle Team USA in a previous matchup with Finland.
The building’s public address announcer asked fans to respect both the United States and Finland ahead of their game at the 4 Nations Face-Off. They didn’t listen.
America promptly trounced Finland 6-1. Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk clearly didn’t appreciate the lack of respect, scoring two goals and an assist in the game.
“I didn’t like it, and that’s all I got,” Tkachuk said.
If he didn’t like it then, he certainly didn’t like it when the Canadian fans pulled the stunt again.
Team USA Hockey Dominates The 51st State
Canadian fans are booing the national anthem at the 4 Nations Face-Off presumably because President Donald Trump has teased that the maple syrup-loving country could become the 51st state.
Whatever the reason, the American hockey players are sick of it. It took them all of nine seconds to show just how annoyed they were with their neighbors to the North.
THREE FIGHTS IN NINE SECONDS
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 16, 2025
YOU COULDN’T SCRIPT A MORE ELECTRIC START FOR USA vs. CANADA @spittinchiclets
pic.twitter.com/p7BD2CNSaU
Team USA easily dispatched Canada on the ice as well, winning 3-1 and clinching a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.
U.S. forward Dylan Larkin was pretty pumped.
“That was one of the best experiences of my life,” Larkin said. “Just an unbelievable hockey game.”
RELATED: This Is The Way: Arm-In-Arm USA Hockey Team Belts Out National Anthem After Winning Gold
Team USA Had Fun Rubbing It In
Team USA was clearly happy with their win but also took some joy in the fact that they tangled with the Canadian players and forced the crowd in Montreal to shut their mouths.
“I think the message we wanted to send is ‘It’s our time,'” Tkachuk said. “We’re in a hostile environment, and we wanted to show that we’re not backing down.”
“They’ve had so much success over so many years over there. They’re some of the best players in the world. We felt in this environment, it was a good time to do it. It was a lot of fun.”
Now, Canada will be forced to defeat Finland on Monday in order to advance to the championship game.
Can you imagine if these two clubs head to a rematch? Sparks will be flying, for sure.
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