A hockey match between rivals the United States and Canada descended into chaos from the moment the puck was dropped as three fights broke out in the first nine seconds.
“We needed to send a message,” said American Matthew Tkachuk, who found Canada’s Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff. “The message we wanted to send is ‘It’s our time.'”
The 4 Nations Face-off game unfolded against the backdrop of uneasy tensions between the North American neighbors and longtime allies, with many fans in the sellout crowd of 21,105 at Bell Centre loudly booing throughout the pregame rendition of the U.S. anthem. It all spilled onto the ice with Tkahuck asking Hagel to drop the gloves and the fourth-line Canada winger engaging in the fight two seconds in.
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Tkachuk’s younger brother Brady did the same thing and tussled with Canada’s Sam Bennet the next time the puck was dropped, three seconds in. J.T. Miller dropped gloves with Colton Parayko after a cross-check, and the two went at it to make the trio of bouts in the early going.
The Americans followed the fisticuffs with a 3-1 victory over their biggest rivals.
“That was one of the best experiences of my life — just an unbelievable hockey game,” said Dylan Larkin, who scored the go-ahead goal in the second period. “The Tkachuk brothers and Millsy, what a start, and credit to those guys for answering the bell. And the crowd, just a great night for our sport and a great night for this rivalry.”
Playing at a blistering pace and with physicality throughout, the U.S. showed it could keep up with Canada’s speed, skill, and talent in the NHL’s first international tournament with its best players in nearly a decade.
“What an incredible hockey game,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said.
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Apparently, the idea of the early-game fisticuffs came from a group chat involving the Tkachuk brothers and Miller. Matthew Tkachuk said it had nothing to do with the anthem booing. If anything, players felt it added to the fun of the night.
“It’s just unbelievable, the atmosphere, to play on this stage in Canada, that was pretty cool for all of us I think,” said winger Jake Guentzel, who scored twice, including the empty-netter that sealed it. “There’s a lot of excitement from our team coming out for warmups and just seeing how packed it was. That was pretty special.”
Canada coach Jon Cooper called the first minute purely “mayhem.”
“It was, I guess, 10 years of no international hockey exhaled in a minute and a half,” Cooper said.
With the 3-1 win, the U.S. confirmed their spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final. They will play Sweden in the final pool stage game on Monday, while Canada will face off against Finland.
