Team USA “would love it” if U.S. President Donald Trump attended Thursday night’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship game against Canada.
In a FOX News interview on Monday, before the final was decided, General Manager Bill Guerin issued the informal invitation after America’s Newsroom co-host Bill Hemmer said he thinks the newly-elected president should be in Boston on Thursday night.
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“We would love it if President Trump was in attendance,” the 22-year NHL veteran and Hall-of-Famer said.
“We have a room full of proud American players and coaches and staff. And listen, we’re just trying to represent our country the best way we can.”
There’s nothing on Trump’s public-facing itinerary beyond Wednesday, but the National Post has contacted the White House to see if the highly-anticipated hockey game might fit into his schedule.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among the more than 20,000 at the Bell Centre in Montreal for the teams’ first meeting on Saturday. The National Post contacted his office to find out if he will make the trip across the border for the rematch.
During the brief chat with Guerin, which included co-host Dana Perino, he was probed about the fights that kicked off that game, one he felt “might have been the highest level of hockey ever played.”
“The fights were just the thing that started it off. The level of play was absolutely incredible. Both teams put it all out there and that’s good for our game “
Asked if the trio of fisticuffs in the first nine seconds were a result of the nations’ longstanding hockey rivalry, the loud booing of the U.S. anthem ahead of the game or the current political tensions between Canada and the U.S., Guerin opined they were all factors.
“I think there was a little bit of a political flair to it. It’s just the time that we’re in and I think our guys used that as inspiration.”
As for why the mitts were dropped before any real in-game tension percolated, Guerin said it was all about setting the tone early.
“It shows everybody that that we mean business and we’re not backing down.”
As reported by the Washington Post, Team USA brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk later admitted that the tilts were pre-planned earlier in the day in order “to send a message.”
During his playing days, Guerin himself had a semi-infamous scrap on international ice when he and Canada’s Keith Primeau tangled in the teams’ Round 1 game of the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The U.S. ended up beating Canada 2-1 in the best-of-three tournament final.
That same game featured a fight between Canada’s Brendan Shanahan and American forward Keith Tkachuk, father of the two recent antagonists for Team USA.
Puck drop in the winner-takes-all rematch is 8 p.m. EST in Canada.
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