--- description: Here’s what to know about the politically-charge game. title: U.S. and Canada Face Off in 4 Nations Hockey Final image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e19c315b90b2113/6998c4117323af223a2bc411/ice-hockey.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [hockey](/tag/hockey/) ## hockey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. and Canada Face Off in Politically-Charged 4 Nations Hockey Final  by [Miranda Jeyaretnam](/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/)  ## Miranda Jeyaretnam Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 7:26 PM CUTPublished: Feb 19, 2025 9:15 AM CUT  Matthew Tkachuk of Team USA, left, and Brandon Hagel of Team Canada, right, fight during a 4 Nations Face-Off match at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on Feb. 15, 2025. Matthew Tkachuk of Team USA, left, and Brandon Hagel of Team Canada, right, fight during a 4 Nations Face-Off match at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on Feb. 15, 2025.Minas Panagiotakis—Getty Images  by [Miranda Jeyaretnam](/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/)  ## Miranda Jeyaretnam Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 7:26 PM CUTPublished: Feb 19, 2025 9:15 AM CUT Geopolitics has found a new battleground: on ice. The U.S. and Canada men’s ice hockey teams, set to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament final on Thursday night, have come to represent more than just their athletic skill. On both sides of the border, the rivalry in the rink has been seen by some as an extension of the political tensions between the once-friendly allies. As President Donald Trump has [incensed Canadians](https://financialpost.com/opinion/william-watson-net-export-hockey-players-us-tariffs "undefined") with [tariff threats](https://time.com/7212166/what-are-tariffs-trump-imposing-import-taxes/ "undefined") and talk of the nation becoming the [“51st” U.S. state](https://time.com/7207723/trump-canada/ "undefined"), fans at a previous game between the neighbors on Saturday in Montreal booed during the playing of the U.S. national anthem, which has become an [emerging trend](https://apnews.com/article/fans-boo-national-anthem-tariffs-canada-2c7210574c0373348870a94445814407 "undefined"). “We’re not booing your hockey players. We’re not booing your country. We’re not even booing you,” a Canadian fan [posted on X](https://x.com/MorganLaidler/status/1891180301725921745 "undefined"). “We’re booing \[Trump\] who keeps threatening our sovereignty for zero reason. Once he leaves us alone it’ll stop.” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in attendance, also [posted](https://x.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1890953276486451601 "undefined") a clip of the crowd standing and boisterously singing the Canadian national anthem, captioning the post, which some saw as a [dig at his American counterpart](https://www.the-sun.com/sport/13560054/justin-trudeau-donald-trump-message-nhl-usa-national-anthem/ "undefined"), with the anthem’s closing words, “We stand on guard for thee.” The antagonism wasn’t kept to just the stands: players [scuffled three times](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUa6c7DNmQY "undefined") within the first nine seconds of playing time in the game, which ended in a 3-1 victory for the U.S. The U.S. players involved in the brawls [said](https://apnews.com/article/us-canada-4-nations-score-1aad2277f10e7ec0797b0f61051fffbf "undefined") they simply wanted to send a message—“It’s our time”—to their sporting rivals. But both the violence and triumph were [celebrated](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/justin-trudeau-says-hes-damn-proud-canada-fans-boo-us-national-anthem-faces-online-ridicule "undefined") by Trump supporters online. “AMERICA IS BACK,” [proclaimed](https://x.com/VoteHarrisOut/status/1891139909466866088 "undefined") pro-Trump social media influencer Philip Anderson. “Mr. President, we are still not sick and tired of winning!” [posted](https://x.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1890974726501114230 "undefined") author Nick Adams. Bill Guerin, general manager of the U.S. team, [said Tuesday on Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/team-usas-4-nations-gm-talks-political-flare-fight-game-vs-canada-sends-message-trump "undefined") about the Saturday game: “I think there was a little bit of a political flare to it. It’s just the time that we’re in. I think our guys used that as inspiration.” He added that he would welcome Trump to attend the championship game on Thursday. “We’re just trying to represent our country the best way we can,” Guerin said. Trump responded [on Truth Social](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114036421460956478 "undefined") on Thursday, saying he wouldn’t be able to make it to the game but that he’d call the U.S. team “to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.” Saturday’s game was the most-viewed non-Stanley Cup final telecast since 2019, [ESPN said](https://x.com/ESPNPR/status/1891273087049425290 "undefined"), and Thursday’s final is certain to crank up the intensity. The 4 Nations Face-Off is a new best-on-best tournament—featuring top National Hockey League players representing the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland—replacing this year’s NHL annual All-Star game. Historically, Canada has won the past three—and nine of all 13—best-on-best tournaments, [according to the NHL](https://www.nhl.com/news/united-states-canada-gearing-up-for-intense-rematch-in-4-nations-face-off-final "undefined"), while the U.S. has won once by defeating Canada at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The tournament’s round-robin games, which began on Feb. 12, have been played in Montreal and Boston. Canada and the U.S., who each won twice and lost once, will go head-to-head again, this time in Boston, for the final on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN and streaming on Disney+. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7259208/usa-canada-hockey-4-nations-face-off-final-trump-politics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7259208/usa-canada-hockey-4-nations-face-off-final-trump-politics/"},"headline":"U.S. and Canada Face Off in Politically-Charged 4 Nations Hockey Final","datePublished":"2025-02-19T09:15:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T19:26:14.000Z","description":"Here’s what to know about the game.","url":"https://time.com/7259208/usa-canada-hockey-4-nations-face-off-final-trump-politics/","keywords":["hockey","Donald Trump","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e19c315b90b2113/6998c4117323af223a2bc411/ice-hockey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Miranda Jeyaretnam","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e19c315b90b2113/6998c4117323af223a2bc411/ice-hockey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off - United States v Canada","caption":"Matthew Tkachuk #19 of Team U.S.A and Brandon Hagel #38 of Team Canada fight in the first period during the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on Feb. 15, 2025.","creditText":"Minas Panagiotakis—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hockey/","name":"hockey"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7259208/usa-canada-hockey-4-nations-face-off-final-trump-politics/","name":"U.S. and Canada Face Off in Politically-Charged 4 Nations Hockey Final"}}]}] ```