Boston’s TD Garden was the place to be on Thursday night, and a blast from the past got the 4 Nations final crowd even more jacked up than it already was.
The USA and Canadian hockey teams are back on the ice for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship, five days after three fights in the first nine seconds occurred in their first game in best-on-best format since 2016.
The two teams were the top point-getters in round-robin play (Canada owned the tiebreaker over Sweden), and are meeting again in Boston.
Before the game, two greats of the sport were celebrated. Wayne Gretzky and Mike Eruzione served as honorary captains for their respective countries.
Eruzione’s presence alone gets any American crowd going, as he was the captain of the 1980 Miracle on Ice team. But he gave the crowd something extra to cheer about.
Eruzione came onto the ice rocking the jersey of Johnny Gaudreau, the late NHL All-Star who, along with his younger brother, were killed by an alleged drunk driver in August.
‘MIRACLE ON ICE’ HERO MIKE ERUZIONE ON NATIONAL ANTHEM BOOS AT 4 NATIONS: ‘I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED’
Gaudreau played for the United States in the World Juniors in 2013, winning the gold medal that year. He also participated in the Ice Hockey World Championships five times.
Gaudreau’s presence has been felt among this year’s 4 Nations club, as a USA jersey bearing his name and No. 13 has often been hung in the locker room.
Unlike Saturday, there were no fights at the puck drop. But, similarly to that contest, Canada got out to a 1-0 lead.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
