Calgary Team Canada fans share their heartbreak with the rest of the nation in devastating overtime loss

Calgarians got up early Sunday to watch the gold medal game between Canada and the U.S. It didn't end how we hoped. Tyler Barrow reports.

Calgary early birds didn’t get their worm Sunday when Canada suffered a crushing 2-1 overtime defeat to the United States in the men’s hockey final.

At Trolley 5 on 17th Avenue S.W., a full house of passionate Canada fans suffered in silence after Jack Hughes ripped in a wrister less than two minutes into extra time, giving the U.S. their first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since their 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”

“It was pretty quiet,” said Canada fan -- and Trolley 5 bar manager -- Terry Law. “The whole room was really into the game. You know, everyone was hoping for an overtime goal.

“We got some close chances, but just didn’t make it happen,” Law added. “We had multiple chances in the third period with a wide-open net. But, you know, best team wins and it sucks.”

Law said fans started lining up outside the restaurant around 5 a.m., and by 5:30 a.m., it was filled with over 350 people inside.

“Some of the staff worked last night and then basically didn’t sleep and came back to work in about an hour or two (later),” he said. “And you know, it’s greatly appreciated.”

“You know when an Olympic happens when it’s five o’clock in the morning, but, yeah, without that, it wouldn’t happen without them -- and it’s amazing to see all the Calgarians come out at 530 in the morning.”

Self-professed die-hard Canada fan Arthur Gallant was devastated by the outcome.

“I’m feeling really disappointed, in shock, but also a little worried with all the rhetoric that is happening south of the border, I’m really little concerned that Canada’s loss today could become political. So I’m just a little on edge right now, just waiting to see what’s going to come out of that,” Gallant said.

Gallant said that while the defeat was crushing, the way it unified Canadians to wake up across the country was inspiring in and of itself.

“The one thing that we can all seem to agree on, regardless of where we live in this country, is that we love to play for the maple leaf on the front of that jersey,” he said. “And that’s really important.”

With files from CTV Calgary’s Tyler Barrow