The semifinal matchup between Canada and the United States is one that will grab the attention of the hockey world, but all eyes might be on Chicago Blackhawks teammates who will square off against each other.
Team Canada center Jonathan Toews says Canada-U.S. is now the preeminent rivalry and as Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune shares, he says it’s not exactly a peaceful battle between the two.
“It has become even a bigger rivalry than Canada-Russia. There’s a lot of animosity, a lot of feelings like there’s something to prove between both teams,” said Toews. “It’s for the chance to go and play for a gold medal. It doesn’t get any better than that, playing for your country and going against the United States. There are millions of kids that grow up dreaming of this.”
Toews’ comments come after there was a very minor dust-up of opinions from Team USA’s Patrick Kane who gushed about the play of Phil Kessel.
Patrick Kane calls Phil Kessel "probably the best guy I've ever played with. He's unbelievable."
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) February 17, 2014
As Tim Wharnsby at CBC Sports shares, Toews had a bit of fun with that statement himself.
All the talk goes away at Noon ET on NBCSN when the two sides square off for a spot in the gold medal game.