USA vs Canada- Heated rivalry at the Scottish Ice Hockey Cup
- evemrileyauthor
- May 1
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
As a Scot, I am no stranger to fierce sporting rivalries (whether that's a football derby or vehemently supporting whichever country is playing England) – but I had never been up close and personal with USA vs Canada. Until last week, that is, when I went to the first in a three-part series of USA v Canada hockey games as part of the Scottish Ice Hockey Cup. Read on for my beginner's guide to spectating (hint: wear. more. clothes.!)
A Very Scottish Affair
The lineup for both teams included former NHL players alongside local legends. Some of the players, like Mathieu Perreault, had never set foot in Scotland. Others have made the move permanently (like one Fife Flyer's player who once received a nine-match ban for throwing a trash can at match officials!). No such drama here; the play was positively polite (although in the following games things really heated up!) The whole event had a distinctly Scottish touch. Both teams had tartan strips sponsored by a local brewery, and the national anthems were played on the bagpipes (an instrument of war, perhaps fitting for a sport whose aggressiveness I hadn't yet appreciated).
A Newbie's first impression
This was my first off-page foray into the ice hockey world, and honestly? there was a lot I wasn't prepared for. The party atmosphere was an unexpected delight – I'm talking mascots, searchlights, sound decks, dressing up, and a fair few beer pitchers (I was huddled over my brew, wishing I had put on more layers!). It also took me a while to acclimatise to the sheer speed of play. I found myself losing track of the puck when possession changed hands (sticks?), and also being visibly confused when one player disappeared onto the benches and another materialised in his place.
The speed and clinical precision of the skating was breathtaking – and the puck shooting back and forth across the ice combined with the clacking of sticks and switching of skates changing direction... the whole thing felt like a dream.
The Game
In terms of the match, Canada was fairly dominant. While centre Mathieu Perreault was man of the match (he scored a hat trick, to be fair), it was Canadian netminder Michael Hutchinson who really captivated me. Never have I seen such grace and fluidity from a brick wall. He flipped, he dived, he pretty much did the splits; and despite many shots on target, the USA score lagged behind Canada's for the entirety of the match.
Team USA had some brilliant play as well – like some really astute passing leading to a lethal top-corner shot in the final period, scored by Lee Goren:
For a much better match rundown click here!
My Top Moments:
Bonding across the red line (Shane and Ilya is that you?)
The cutest tartan strips!
The flexibility...
Claudio Braga spotted taking a break before the football derby with a different sporting rivalry...
A Bookgirl's Guide to Ice Hockey
For those thinking of making the transition from heated rivalry to ice-cold spectating, here's what I learned:
THE PITCH:
The red line in the centre divides the ice in half. The blue lines split the ice into thirds (zones). The centre zone is neutral, the others are the attacking zone (where the opponents goal is) and the defending zone.
The semicircle around the goal is the crease – players inside it aren't allowed to score.
There are also red circles that look like targets – these are face-off circles – more on that later!
SOME KEY RULES
DOS:
Each game has three 20-minute periods, with 15-minute breaks in between. They use a nifty stop-clock system to time, so that when play stops, so does the clock. None of that pesky extra time business!
There are 6 players on each side, swapping in every few minutes
Play starts again with a face-off - where centres square off at the face-off dot, and the other players stay outside the circle.
A goal is scored when the whole puck crosses the goal line (behind the crease).
Contact is allowed between players contesting for the puck, as long as they aren't risking injury.
DONT'S:
Offside: this is when any of the attacking teams players go into the defending teams' attacking third before the puck does
Icing: when a player hits the puck across the centre line and past the goal line and no one touches it. It isn't icing if they're killing a penalty, or if it comes off an attacker/ the defending teams' goalie.
THE PLAYERS
A BRIEF LOOK AT PENALTIES...
Penalties can be either 2 or 5 minutes. If someone is penalised, their team needs to play on while being a man down – the other team gets what is called a "power play". If a team is more than two men down they don't have to play on; everyone just waits out the penalty time. 10-minute penalties are given for misconduct, but a substitute is allowed there, as the idea is to penalise the individual and not the team. There are also penalty shots given if someone is illegally stopped from shooting.
And there you have it, my ice hockey brain dump! Has romance ever opened doors to a new interest for you? Let me know below...
Love, Eve xx
P.S. If you love romance, don't forget to sign up to my mailing list!
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