BUFFALO — Twelve months later, Dominique Ducharme still hasn’t been able to rewatch the gold medal game.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

“I watched part of it,” said the Team Canada head coach. “I just pause it and stop it when I get to the shootout.”

Most Canadians probably feel the same way. Depending on your country of origin, last year’s 5-4 overtime shootout win by U.S. against Canada in the world junior hockey championship final was either heartbreaking or heartwarming. But everyone can agree that it was unforgettable.

For the first three periods, the teams traded goals and chances in a fast-paced, hard-checking game that featured everything we love about junior hockey: highlight-reel goals, bonus-footage bloopers and more momentum swings than a fight featuring Rocky Balboa.

Canada jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, only to have the U.S. tie things up with two straight goals in the second. Canada once again took a two-goal lead in the third period. But once again, the U.S. struck back with two goals. Overtime settled nothing, so a game that probably could have — and should have — gone on forever went to a deciding shootout, where American forward Troy Terry channelled T.J. Oshie (or Jonathan Toews) and scored twice for a dramatic win.

“I hate to be that guy, but I probably watched that in a lot of my classes,” said American captain Joey Anderson, a University of Minnesota Duluth forward and one of seven returning players from last year’s team. “I’d just throw it on YouTube and sit there and watch it on my computer. It’s pretty fun to look back on that. Hopefully we can do it again.”

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We will have to wait to see whether Canada and the U.S., who have played for gold in four previous tournaments, will meet again in this year’s final. Until then, Friday’s outdoor game at New Era Field — the home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills — is a pretty good warm-up.

The stakes are obviously not quite as high this time around. And yet, with first place in Group A likely on the line, don’t expect anyone to take it easy.

“This is different,” said Team USA head coach Bob Motzko. “Usually it’s a regular season game (in the NHL for an outdoor game), but this is one that could have major implications in seeding. So this means something big. But if you look at the history of these games, they’re low-scoring. So you got to get ready to play hard and play heavy and not make a lot of mistakes in a game like that. I think the excitement will get over quickly, and then it’s survival.”

Then again, whether it’s played indoors or outdoors or with miniature figures underneath a bubbled tabletop, Canada versus the U.S. has become appointment viewing. Every game matters. Every game is memorable.

Like two siblings fighting over the last spoonful of turkey stuffing at Christmas dinner, it’s a clash that comes with a backstory. There might not be hatred between the two countries, but there is a history that has made it hockey’s biggest rivalry. Think back to Jonathan Toews going three-for-three in the semifinal shootout of the 2007 world juniors or Sidney Crosby’s golden goal at the 2010 Olympics or Marie-Philip Poulin scoring twice in an unbelievable comeback win in the 2014 Olympics.

By now, no other country even comes close.

The days when Russia was Canada’s main hockey rival appear to be stuck in the Cold War era. Sweden and Finland? With all due respect, they might as well be Team Europe. When it comes to bragging rights, it’s all about Canada versus the United States. Period.

“We know we’re rivals and that rivalry is right there and intense, so we know every time it’s going to be a tight game,” said Ducharme, who has seven returning players from last year’s team on his roster. “So we expect the same. Last year was a tight game, a shootout game, so we’re going to keep going at it again.”

Part of the reason Canada’s games against the U.S. have become so intense is familiarity. While Canada has played Russia in eight of the last 19 world junior finals, the Canadians usually have to go through the U.S. to get there.

The two countries have been lumped together in the same group in eight of the last 10 years, where they almost always play one other in the final game of the preliminary round on New Year’s Eve. But that’s not all. Whether it’s under-18, under-17 or a Five Nations tournament, Canada and the U.S. are well-acquainted dance partners. The players on either team have grown up playing against each other, but also with each other, either in major junior leagues in Canada or in the NCAA in the United States.

“Obviously, you’re always battling with Canada,” said American forward Max Jones, a forward with the London Knights. “They’re right over the border. But it’s a playful rivalry. We’re all hockey players and I play with a couple of guys on that team and am good buddies with some of them. But it’s completely different now. We’re obviously trying to win the game, so there’s no friends out there, but at the end of the day we’re still teammates. It’s going to be a competitive game.”

“It’s probably the biggest (rivalry) in hockey,” said Canadian defenceman Victor Mete, who was Jones’ teammate last year in London.

“I think it’s kind of every level,” said Mete. “The rivalry between the two is just crazy. Canada wants to beat USA, and USA wants to beat Canada, so every age group — U-17, U-18, U-20, Olympics — is pretty crazy.”

Mete, who was one of the final cuts from last year’s team, watched the 2017 gold medal final at Jones’ house. It was a bit awkward. As a team, they were all cheering for Knights goalie Tyler Parsons, who was playing for the U.S., to have a strong tournament. But as the game went on, national allegiances undoubtedly came out.

“It was kind of a team thing, because we had Parsons playing for Team USA, so we were kind of just watching the game,” said Mete. “It was crazy. They were cheering for the U.S. and we were cheering for Canada, so it was a little battle going on.”

“Obviously, Parsons was there, so we were cheering him on,” said Jones. “It kind of worked out against them (Canada). Parsons played well, but he was also the reason (the U.S.) won.

“Now we’re all a part of it.”

Five memorable Canada-U.S. games

Golden goal

Forget Paul Henderson and the Summit Series. For any Canadian born after 1972, Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal in the gold medal final of the 2010 Olympics was the most iconic moment in the country’s hockey history.

It’s tough to argue otherwise. After U.S. forward Zach Parise forced overtime by scoring a tying goal with 24 seconds remaining in the third period, the stage was set for a hero to emerge. Crosby, who was only 22 years old but already the best player in the world, was the obvious choice. Shouting to Jarome Iginla to pass him the puck — “Iggy!” — Crosby sifted a shot through the legs of Ryan Miller in what has become a “where were you when…” type of moment.

World Cup of fighting

To get a feel for the animosity between the two countries at the 1996 World Cup, Keith Tkachuk broke Claude Lemieux’s nose in an on-ice brawl — there were two other fights at the time — just 20 seconds into their preliminary round game.

As the tournament went on, things didn’t necessarily simmer down. Canada and the U.S. faced each other in a best-of-three championship final, with the U.S. losing the first game but fighting back with 5-2 wins in Games 2 and 3. A large part of the success was American goalie Mike Richter, who was named the tournament’s MVP.

Shootout spectacular

It wasn’t for gold. But the 2007 semi-final between Canada and the United States was the best game of the world junior tournament. And a now-hated gimmick was the reason.

Looking back at Canada’s 2-1 win, it’s hard to remember who else scored in the shootout. Heck, most hockey fans probably couldn’t tell you what happened to get to the shootout. All anyone remembers is that Jonathan Toews went 3-for-3 on American goalie Jeff Frazee and that all three goals were incredible.

One for the ages

When it comes to women’s hockey, it’s Canada and the United States and not much else. The two countries almost always face each other in championship games. And each and every time, it’s something to behold.

The 2014 Olympics was no different. With four minutes left and the U.S. leading 2-0, the gold seemed to be theirs. But Canada mounted an improbable comeback on goals from Brianne Jenner and Marie-Philip Poulin. In overtime, Poulin earned the nickname “the women’s Sidney Crosby” by scoring the 3-2 winner to give Canada its fourth straight Olympic gold medal.

End of an era

A year after Jordan Eberle was the hero against Russia, the Canadian forward nearly did the same in the 2010 world junior final against the U.S. With Canada trailing 5-3 in the third period, Eberle scored twice in the final three minutes to force overtime.

Unfortunately for Canada, which had defeated the U.S. in overtime during the preliminary round, American defenceman John Carlson beat goalie Martin Jones to snap Canada’s chase of six straight gold medals.

• Email: mtraikos@postmedia.com | Twitter: @michael_traikos