Canada and the U.S. are set to compete in the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament final amid escalating political tensions between the two countries.
It’s the biggest men’s international hockey game between the rivals since the 2010 Olympic final, but there’s a lot more on the line tonight than just hockey: U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods and continues to suggest Canada should become its 51st state.
It’s in this backdrop that tonight’s face-off is galvanizing nationalism, reminiscent of when politics and sports collided at the historic 1972 Cold War-era Summit Series. There, Canada won a dramatic eight-game series against the Soviet Union, with Paul Henderson scoring the game-winning goal.
“Without those 3,000 Canadian fans that were there, we wouldn’t have won,” Henderson told Vassy Kapelos in an interview with CTV’s Power Play Thursday. “They went crazy. They sang the national anthem, and I had goosebumps on my hand.”
When asked if the heightened national pride tonight will provide additional motivation for Canadian players, as it was in Game 8 of the Summit Series 53 years ago, Henderson said “definitely.”
“I was at the game in Montreal the other night, and that place was just electric. You could feel it. Everybody could feel it,” he said, referring to the tournament’s preliminary round where the U.S. beat Canada 3-1 following a tense start that saw three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
For tonight’s match-up, Henderson is giving advice for the players competing.
“Every one of them deserves to be there, and that’s on both sides of the rink,” he said. “Just go out there and have fun. Don’t try to do anything more than you should.”
His prediction for Canada?
“I really think they’re going to win.”
You can watch CTV Power Play’s full interview with Canadian hockey legend Paul Henderson at the top of this article.
