BOSTON — The Americans said it was their time, but the Canadian’s reminded them it was their game.

An advertisement for Team Canada circulated back in Montreal,“Notre équipe. Notre sport,” which translates to “Our team. Our game.”

The Canadians showcased their determination in a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory against the United States, securing their place at the top of best-on-best champions for a remarkable 15 years. This triumph also saw them claim the inaugural 4 Nations Face-off trophy, a valuable addition to their already impressive collection.

The last of the four nations standing, thanks to Connor McDavid’s OT winner.

With an impressive track record of winning five out of the last six best-on-best international hockey tournaments and dominating nine out of 13 competitions involving NHL players since the 1976 Canada Cup, Canada’s excellence in the sport is undeniable.

They’ve won many times, won many gold medals and trophies, but something else was on the line for Canada Thursday night. 

Despite both teams claiming that political tensions between their respective nations did not impact the game, Canadian supporters couldn’t help but root for their team to outshine the United States. The backdrop of political rhetoric, including President Donald Trump’s labeling of Canadians as the 51st state, added an extra layer of intensity to the match.

“I’m a hockey coach. Am I aware of what’s going on around the world? I am,” Canada head coach Jon Cooper said before the final. “I think when you’re in the position we’re in to make a country proud, to make a country be able to stick its chest out a little bit farther, that’s rewarding. And we understand that. But—and I’m probably going to speak for the U.S. team—before that puck drops, I don’t think anybody will be thinking outside of this hockey game other than winning that game. 

“Do we all know what it means? We do. But that hasn’t entered into our locker room. These guys are just all in it for each other and knowing that there’s an outcome we want but there’s a process we need to go through to get that outcome. And when it’s all said and done, if we pull this off, we’ll know what this will have meant for everybody at home and we’re very cognizant of that.”