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By Rory Carroll
(Reuters) -Canada beat fierce rivals the United States 3-2 in overtime to win a riveting 4 Nations Face-Off final in Boston on Thursday and close out an ice hockey tournament high on political tension.
Connor McDavid scored the winner after much-maligned Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington had delivered some clutch saves.
The taut action on the ice mirrored the geopolitical tensions bubbling in North America since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last month.
Trump, who has spoken openly about his desire to absorb America's northern neighbor as its "51st state" and has threatened huge tariffs on Canadian imports, called the U.S. team to offer his support ahead of the contest.
Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau bit back after the game.
"You can't take our country - and you can't take our game," he posted on social media.
Despite the public address announcer requesting respect for both team's national anthems, many U.S. fans booed during the pre-game rendition of "O Canada" at TD Garden.
Canadian fans had jeered the U.S. national anthem at last week's game in Montreal, which the Americans won 3-1.
While Saturday's emotionally charged match-up saw three fights break out in the opening nine seconds, there were fewer skirmishes on Thursday but no shortage of pressure.
"Just to see the reaction, to know what it means to us," McDavid said on the ice when asked what the most gratifying thing about the win was.
"I know it's just a quick tournament and it's not an Olympic gold medal or anything like that, but it means the world to our group as you can see. Everybody battled so hard all week.
"It was special."
The inaugural edition of the tournament also featured Finland and Sweden.
Canada drew first blood when Nathan MacKinnon scored through traffic before Auston Matthews wrapped around goal and Brady Tkachuk jammed home the puck to make it 1-1.
The U.S. took the lead in the second period through Jake Sanderson before Canada's Sam Bennett leveled and a scoreless third period set up a furious five-on-five overtime, where McDavid emerged the hero for Canada.
The tournament, which the NHL presented in lieu of its traditional All-Star game, has been hugely successful with Saturday's game between the U.S. and Canada drawing 10.1 million viewers, according to the NHL.
Thursday's numbers are expected to be even higher, both in terms of viewership and sports betting.
((Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford))
