KIRKLAND – In one neighbourhood in Kirkland, watching Canada’s gold medal victory half a world away was something that happened outside a garage.
Resident Jeff Ware decided this weekend to host a hockey party. But rather than do it in his den, he decided to do it Canadian style – outside. He even set up a hockey rink on the driveway so that kids could play during intermission.
“It was spur of the moment, bring the neighbours together, have a great time and celebrate Canada winning a gold,” he said.
Team Canada obliged, blanking the Swedes 3-0 in the last event of the Winter Olympics, setting off celebrations all over the country.
READ MORE: Team Canada wins gold, beating Sweden 3-0 in men’s Olympic hockey
On the island of Montreal, no one would ever believe this was Sunday morning. At McLean’s Pub on Peel Street, for instance, a single waitress turned in $500 worth of sales during the game – an astonishing figure given that bars can’t sell alcohol in Quebec until 8 a.m., a full hour after the puck dropped.
“It’s comparable to like St. Patrick’s Day, that sort of thing. It’s an incredible, incredible thing,” said Stuart Ashton, the manager of McLean’s.
An additional motivator for Montrealers was the performance of Habs netminder Carey Price, who was stellar in the Olympics.
“As a Habs fan and as a Montrealer,” said David Stein, a patron at McLean’s, “it was so great to see him come through on the biggest stage in the world.”
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