'There's a lot of dislike:' Canada, U.S. finally meet for Paralympic hockey gold

Whether it is men’s, women’s or para ice hockey, Canada and the United States don’t like each other. The historic rivalry will be renewed once again Saturday in the Paralympic gold medal game in PyeongChang.

“We see the USA a ton, we play against them a lot, so the rivalry is strong,” said Team Canada captain Greg Westlake. “There’s a lot of dislike, and the thing that makes this game interesting is that both teams believe in their hearts that they deserve to be gold medallists.”

For Westlake, this gold medal game is nothing new. The four-time Paralympian was a member of Canada’s only para ice hockey gold medal team at the 2006 Games in Turin. For newer members of the team like Dominic Cozzolino, however, the gold medal game marks unchartered territory.

“I try to prepare the same every game, so nothing too much will change for me,” Cozzolino said of his first Paralympic final. “This has been a great experience, and it is something I don’t take lightly. I’m really looking forward to getting in the gold medal game.”

Unlike Canada, the U.S. has become quite familiar with gold at the Paralympics. Over the course of the past two para ice hockey tournaments, the U.S. has two gold medals while Canada only has one bronze to show for their efforts.

In their first-ever gold medal matchup on Saturday, Canada will have an opportunity to dethrone the back-to-back champions.