On Sunday morning, the Sandtrap Pub and Grill opened early for a watch party where patrons eating eggs with their pint watched Canada lose 2-1 in overtime to the United States in the Olympic men’s hockey final in Milan.
Canada fell behind early, and reactions inside the bar shifted with each swing of the game. The crowd exploded when Canada tied the game in the third. As Team Canada fought to win the game, the Sandtrap gasped at every near chance goal and shared chants of “Canada” in the final minutes of regulation. The room then went quiet after the United States scored the winning goal in overtime.
“Heartbreaker. Can’t even absorb it right now,” said Mark Shoniker, watch party attendee, after the goal. “Lots of chances. We didn’t make the most of our chances.”
More than a decade after NHL players last appeared in an Olympic men’s final, residents in Niagara-on-the-Lake gathered for a pre-dawn watch party that co-owner Matt Dietsch said echoed the 2014 Winter Olympics.
“There was a couple of families with young kids, like little babes in arms, and now they’re all grown up playing hockey,” said Dietsch.
The Sandtrap was packed, without an empty seat in the house, full of red jerseys and patrons sporting Canadian merchandise.
After Canada tied the game in the third, the tension in the Sandtrap tightened as hope crept back in. One patron in the crowd said, “I feel like I’m dying. My heart’s going crazy,” and others repeatedly called out, “Let’s go, Canada!”
“We need to settle the score from our women’s hockey, so hopefully the boys can get it done,” said Dietsch.
The crowd included visitors, such as a Finnish family touring the region that stopped in for the game, according to Dietsch. He expected a larger turnout, regadless of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada, so long as Canada was to compete for the gold medal.
“We would have been full regardless, but it’s a classic rivalry,” he said.
For many in the room, the appeal went beyond watching Canada chase another gold, it was a chance to spend a rare Sunday morning in a familiar place with neighbours, friends and family.
“Friends and the game,” said Jessica Friesen. “Where else would you want to be? This is how to watch a gold medal hockey game.”
Outside, snow started during the game. Paramedics responded at the Sandtrap after an older woman slipped near the pub but it was not considered a minor injury.
