A young Maritime man made his debut in net for Team Canada against the country’s biggest hockey rival on Saturday.
Mason McDonald, 19, is a six-foot-three Calgary Flames draft pick born and raised in Halifax. He currently plays for the Charlottetown Islanders in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Darryl Eisan grew up with McDonald’s father and has known the all-star goalie his whole life.
"Mason's a great goaltender,” said Eisan. “His record speaks for itself."
Eisan says McDonald’s family was quietly confident heading into Sunday’s highly anticipated contest.
“I was texting with [McDonald’s father] this morning, wishing him good luck,” he said. “He was talking about one or two of the American players. He said they’re quite large and quite big, and he said everyone's got their fingers crossed."
But luck wasn’t enough during Team Canada’s debut as they dropped the contest 4-2 to the United States.
"It was an experience of a lifetime,” said McDonald after the game “It's too bad the result didn’t end up in our favour - but it was fun."
McDonald's supporters say watching their friend play on the world stage is a proud moment.
"It's pretty crazy, but I always kind of thought he was going to do it,” said McDonald’s friend Brian Huyghue. “That guy loves hockey more than anybody I know."
Despite the loss, bar managers are anticipating a busy week ahead.
Team Canada’s next game is against Denmark Monday at 2 p.m.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Suzette Belliveau.
