4 Nations Face-Off is the latest in a long line of memorable international hockey competitions

The 4 Nations Face-Off has already delivered an instant classic international hockey game with the fight-filled preliminary round matchup between the United States and Canada last week in Montreal.

The U.S.-Canada rematch on Thursday night in Boston could be another memorable country vs. country showdown for a sport with deep roots in international competition.

With the Cold War raging and the Soviet Union challenging Canada’s dominance in hockey, their Summit Series was tied 3-all with one tie going into the decisive Game 8. The Soviets led 5-3 after two periods before Phil Esposito and Yvan Cournoyer evened it and Paul Henderson scored the most important goal in the country’s history to give Canada a 6-5 victory.

Made up of college players who seemed no match for the heavily favored, professional Soviet Union, the U.S. rallied from 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 deficits with Mark Johnson and Mike Eruzione scoring to win 4-3 and produce the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid, New York. The Americans then beat Finland to take home Olympic gold.

Two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Jon Cooper still considers the final between Canada and the Soviet Union the best three-game stretch of hockey ever played, with every game decided 6-5 and the first two going to at least one overtime. The culmination is referred to simply as “Gretzky to Lemieux” as Wayne Gretzky passed the puck to Mario Lemieux for the winning goal in the final game.

A rough start to the tournament on home ice in Vancouver ramped up the pressure for Canada, which led the U.S. until Zach Parise’s tying goal with 24 seconds left in regulation. Sidney Crosby beat Ryan Miller off a pass from Jarome Iginla to score the “Golden Goal” in overtime and keep Canada atop the hockey world.

NHL players did not participate on the men’s side, but the women’s tournament ended with an epic showdown between the U.S. and Canada in the final. Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored the shootout winner to end the U.S. Olympic gold medal drought in women’s hockey at 20 years.

Dominik Hasek and the Czech Republic beat Canada in a shootout on the way to gold in Nagano in 1998 in the debut of NHL players at the Olympics … Nicklas Lidstrom scored and Henrik Lundqvist made a late save to deliver gold for Sweden against rival Finland in the final of the 2006 Turin Games … The U.S., with T.J. Oshie as the star, beating Russia in an eight-round shootout with Vladimir Putin in attendance at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

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