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Saskatchewan hockey fans are fired up ahead of Thursday night’s championship game between Canada and the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“I’m very excited for it,” said John Mapletoft, who was out for a skate at the Cosmo Arena on Wednesday ahead of the big game.
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“Obviously, I hope Canada wins. I think it has the potential to be a very close game, maybe a coin toss, but that’s what makes it exciting.”
Alan Davies was also out skating with his two sons at Merlis Belsher Place on Wednesday morning. Davies said the tournament has been a lot of fun to watch, especially with his kids.
“It seems like it’s replaced the all-star game for that mentality, and it’s starting to set the tempo for what all-star games and international competition should be like,” he said.
“It’s very exciting for me.”
Davies admitted he didn’t think he’d see the high level of hockey that’s been on display at the tournament.
“I thought it was going to be kind of a glorified all-star game. I didn’t think we’d see guys fight for their flag the way they are,” Davies said.
Many in the hockey world are comparing the game on Thursday night to the 2010 Olympic gold medal game in Vancouver, when Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in overtime following Sidney Crosby’s famous “golden goal.”
Because of the political climate, some are also comparing the tournament to the 1972 Summit Series, which saw Canada come form behind and beat the USSR in an eight-game exhibition.
With U.S. President Donald Trump threatening Canada with tariffs and referring to the country as the 51st U.S. state, some of the people 650 CKOM spoke with felt this game had a little more meaning because of the current tensions.
“I think for Canadians it does (mean more). I’m not sure if it does for Americans,” said Mapletoft.
“With President Trump doing what he’s doing, calling Canada the 51st state, that’s probably rubbing a lot of Canadians the wrong way,” said John Noon. “I know the game is going to showcase that kind of tension.”
“I’ll be upset if they lose, but I don’t necessarily think it’s any more upset than the best-on-best tournaments we’ve had in the past decades,” Mapletoft added. “Of course, the tariffs and the annexation of Canada maybe make it a little spicier than usual.”
“I think it’s a good introduction back to international competition,” said Davies. “I don’t think we’re at the point where we can be sad about a loss yet. We haven’t seen the true competition long enough to be worried, but it’s a great start to come back to it. It will make Olympics exciting for next year.”
Canada jerseys hard to come by
The unexpected excitement for the 4 Nations Face-Off has made finding Team Canada jerseys tough to come by.
“We’re actually completely sold-out of our adult sized 4 Nations Team Canada jerseys,” said Drew Vipond, an assistant manager at Olympia Sports in Saskatoon.
“Within the first week we were completely sold out,” she said.
Vipond said interest in the jerseys picked up after Canada played its first game against Sweden last week. Vipond said she ordered 24 jerseys for the tournament, with the hopes of having some left over, but now she’s looking for more.
“We were not expecting this many people to be watching the tournament,” she said.
“People are asking for them. We’re going to see if we can get more. It’s kind of unlikely, but we’ll see what we can do.”
Vipond said kids jerseys are still available, and noted that a lot of people are trying to get their jerseys crested. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby are the most popular names people want on the backs of their jerseys.
Other jersey stores throughout Saskatoon said they are also seeing lots of demand for the Canada jerseys. An employee at Jersey City in Saskatoon’s Midtown mall said the store has been sold out of the jerseys since last Friday.
Canada faces the United States tonight at 7 p.m. local time.
