The United States defeated Canada 3-1 Saturday night in Montreal to clinch a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.
The U.S. still has to play Sweden in round-robin action Monday, but its six points puts it through to the final as the only undefeated team after two games.
The highly anticipated clash between North American rivals started with plenty of fireworks as three fights broke out in the opening 9 seconds. Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Canada’s Brandon Hagel immediately after the opening faceoff, then Brady Tkachuk scrapped Sam Bennett. U.S. forward J.T. Miller and Canada defenseman Colton Parayko went at it 6 seconds later.