The war of fist and shoulders exploded between the US and Canada in Montreal on Saturday night. Three days later, the war of words continues.
The beginning of the three fights in the first nine seconds of the game involved Brandon Hagel of Canada.
However, the short end of his fight and the fact that Team Canada lost the game 3-1 discourages The Scrappy Canuck as they feel Canadians have an advantage over the Americans I haven't let it go. They play for the flag.
“I think we're playing for the flag, not for the camera,” Hagel said when asked about the physicality of matching team USA in Thursday night's championship game. “It's part of Canada we have there. There's no need to start anything. There's no group chat. We play the game and then give it everything, for our country You're doing it to. You don't have to start everything. We're going to play as hard as we can and do it for the flag of our chest.”
Hagel's “Group Chat” reference comes from a revelation by Brady Tkachuk of Team USA. This is what the Americans planned to set the tempo of the game in a series of early battles after the first pack drop.
“Yeah, there was a bit of debate during the day,” Tkachuk said. “There was a group chat going on today. They were still sleeping like babies. We've reaffirmed that we're going to do that.”
The meaning of Hegel that Americans are attracting media attention and not taking pride in the flag will undoubtedly blow the fires of Team Canada's rivals south. In fact, you wouldn't be surprised if you found out that Hagel was on scrap early in the championship game.
The 4 Nations Face Off Championship Game will be held Thursday night in Boston at 8pm ET.
