Fans dressed in the red and white of Canada swarmed the 14,000-seat Santa Giulia Arena in Milan on Sunday as their men’s national team prepared to square off in ice hockey against the United States, playing for the most cherished gold medal in Canadian sports.
Against the backdrop of growing political animosity between the Trump administration and Canada’s government, the game meant even more than usual to many Canadian fans who had flown in for one of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics. Magda Palczynska, who was raised in Wolfsville, Nova Scotia, took a large gulp of air as she considered the significance of Sunday’s encounter.