A bad-tempered ice hockey game between the United States and Canada on Saturday kicked off with three fights in the first nine seconds.
Even before the 4 Nations Face-Off match started in Montreal, there were tensions among the crowd of more than 21,000 fans at Bell Centre.
Canadian fans showed their displeasure with Team USA, booing during “The Star-Spangled Banner” and as the American players were introduced.
Recent remarks from Donald Trump, that Canada should become a US state along with threats of tariffs, have angered many Canadians.
Fans across Canada have booed the US anthem at NHL and NBA games since the president’s comments.
Canadian fans cheered enthusiastically when fights broke out
In the end, it was the Americans who came out on top, securing a 3-1 victory over Canada and a spot in the tournament final.
Who fought who?
Just after the puck dropped, and two seconds into the game, Matthew Tkachuk of the US squad and Brandon Hagel of Team Canada dropped their gloves and struck out.
Then Brady Tkachuk, brother of Matthew, and Canada’s Sam Bennett, a forward who plays for the Florida Panthers, took aim at each other.
In the third brawl, New York Rangers forward J T Miller and Colton Parayko, a Canadian who’s an alternate captain for the St Louis Blues, exchanged blows.
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Before the elite game, warrant officer David Grenon of the Royal Canadian Air Force Band was booed as he started singing “The Star-Spangled Banner”. It lasted the entire length of the song.
Canadian fans in Montreal loudly booed the US national anthem sung by warrant officer David Grenon
US players have been trying to tune out the noise. After beating Finland 6-1 on Thursday, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck said he “paid no attention to” the booing.
Meanwhile, US defenceman Zach Werenski said: “We knew it was going to happen.”
“It happened the last game, it’s been happening in the NHL before this and we knew tonight was going to be the same way. We obviously don’t like it.”
But Werenski said it provided some fuel for the US: “We used it as motivation the best we could and found a way to get a win.”
