When Connor McDavid’s shot hit the back of the net to end Thursday’s showdown between the USA and Canada, he sent an entire nation into delirium and put an end to the most thrilling week of hockey in many,

Just 15 years after Sidney Crosby’s “golden goal” for Team Canada in the Olympics, Connor McDavid’s game-winner at the 8:08 mark of overtime in the championship game of the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off to deliver a 3-2 win over Team USA seemed to serve as something of a passing of the torch on the biggest “best-on-best” stage in nearly a decade.

The U.S. and Canada men’s ice hockey teams, set to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament final on Thursday night, have come to represent more than just their athletic skill. On both sides of the border, the rivalry in the rink has been seen by some as an extension of the political tensions between the once-friendly allies.