The post followed Canada’s thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off final against its American rivals.

Canadian forward Brandon Hagel said the animosity at the start of the game wasn't just for showmanship. When the Americans and Canadians met on Saturday night, a 3-1 win for the U.S., there were three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.

Hagel, of course, had a starring role in the first Canada-USA game Saturday in Montreal, dropping the gloves with Matthew Tkachuk off the opening faceoff and riling up the crowd afterward by throwing both hands in the air.

Brandon Hagel was on the ice for the opening face-off when Team USA and Team Canada battled on Saturday. Within seconds, his gloves were off and he was exchanging a flurry of punches with United States alternate captain,

Hagel's comments came in response to Team USA’s pre-planned approach to their round-robin matchup, which featured three fights in the first nine seconds — starting with one featuring Hagel and Matthew Tkachuk — with the Americans plotting the bouts in advance through a group chat.

Team Canada's Brandon Hagel said fighting Team USA's Matthew Tkachuk was "for the flag," not "for the cameras," on Saturday in their 4 Nations Face-Off game.

Team Canada forward Brandon Hagel dropped a fiery comment on his fight with USA's Matthew Tkachuk during Canada's 3-1 loss.

It appears that the feeling was mutual between Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel. Immediately following puck drop on Saturday’s 4 Nations Face-Off match between USA and Canada, won 3-1 by the Americans, Tkachuk and Hagel threw their gloves to the ground and sparred with each other.

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Brandon Hagel let his patriotism shine after Canada’s 3-2 overtime win over Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday while making a dig at the Americans and their recent antics.

Will the sequel live up to the hype? The United States beat Canada by a score of 3-1 on Saturday in Montreal after boos rained down during the Star Spangled Banner and three fights broke out in the first nine seconds of play.