Players with the London Nationals gathered in their dressing room in London, Ont., and broke into a fan-driven rallying cry aimed at boosting Canada’s Olympic hopes ahead of today’s men’s Olympic semi-final in Italy.
Members of the Nationals sang “We Shoot, We Score!”, a hockey anthem set to the tune of O Canada. The song was written by London veteran Bruce Stock, who grew up in hockey-mad Timmins, Ont., and said he’s long believed Canada needed a unifying hockey anthem.
“It’s always bothered me that we don’t have a song to celebrate our game,” Stock said. “This is about the skill, the speed, the flame, and what makes us love hockey in the first place.”
The London Nationals, who compete in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, recorded their version inside their dressing room Thursday after practice and are sharing it in support of Team Canada as it prepares to take the ice against Finland in the semi-final.
“We’re honoured to have this opportunity to wish the guys a great chance at the gold medal,” said Dean Pomerleau. “I think they had fun, and it’s a good opportunity.”
Stock said his dream is for the song to be sung in rinks across the country at the start of the third period.
“There are 2,860 indoor arenas in Canada,” he said. “Imagine fans in all of them standing up and singing together. That would be a national first.”
For the Nationals, today’s message was simple: from one rink to another, Canada is cheering.
