Four countries in the US and Canada quickly became slugfests on Saturday night as they dropped their gloves following a booing during the “Starspangle Banner.”
The Americans beat Canada 3-1 at Bell Center in Montreal, but US defenders of Zach Welensky were unhappy with the boos during the national anthem. In the NHL, boo was heard during the song after Trump announced tariffs in Canada. The president also bullied Canada with the idea that Canada would become the “51st state.”
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Team USA forward Matthew Tokachuk celebrates his goal with defensive man Zach Welensky during a Team Finland match at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec on February 13, 2025. (Imaginary of David Kirouac-Imagan)
Still, I heard a boo.
“We knew it was going to happen,” Welensky said. “It happened in the last game, it happened in the NHL before this, and we knew it would be the same tonight. We obviously wouldn't like it. .”
The US later won 6-1 ahead of their match against Finland.
“What is that,” Welensky said. “We had an idea. We used it as the best motivation we could and found a way to win. But that wasn't a surprise. But.”
Saturday's match saw three fights occur in the first nine seconds.
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The US Canada's Brandon Hagel and Matthew Kachuk will face off in the four-country showdown game held in Montreal on Saturday, February 15th, 2025. (Canadian media via Christinne Muschi/AP)
Matthew Tokachuk fought Brandon Hagel from the opening faceoff, while his older brother Brady fought Sam Bennett and JT Miller against Colton Pareco. Brady Tkachuk told ESPN that his brother's fight “occurred quite organically.”
“Matthew said he wanted to go first, it just happened, and now it was over,” he said. “It was exactly what Matthew found the starting lineup, he said he wanted a part of him (Hagel).
Hagel added that he thought “a long time would come.”
Conor McDavid started scoring for Canada, but the US responded with a goal from Jake Guanzel. Dylan Larkin scored in the second term and took the lead. Guentzel then put in an empty netter.
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Canada's Brandon Hagel will face US Matthew Tokachuk in Montreal on Saturday, February 15th, 2025. (Graham Hughes // Canadian media via the AP)
“It's incredibly incredible to play on this stage in Canada. It was pretty cool for all of us,” added Guentzel. “There's a lot of excitement just to see our team coming out for a warm-up and how packed it is. It was pretty special.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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