The crowd gave number 87 far away the loudest cheer when he was given his medal. To the community, Crosby is clearly the national hero.

Young and old, the crowd was steadfast in Canada’s corner, even if the older generation might not know too much about the inner working of a left-wing lock.

There was a deep longing from many in the community to show their support for their country.

“Part of our faith is to respect and love our homeland. Canada is our homeland,” Vaughan resident Sufyan Ahmad said.

While the community gathers for prayers before dawn every morning, a big event such as the one at the gold medal game isn’t too common.

For Mr. Goraya, a Ryerson Univeristy student and alumni of Maple High School, it shows how popular hockey is among his generation of Muslims.

“I’m not into cricket. I’m into hockey and basketball,” he said.

He was lucky to have the opportunity to play hockey in house leagues around Vaughan growing up. For many families at the mosque who are relatively new immigrants, Mr. Goraya said playing hockey is only a dream for the children.

“It’s too expensive,” he said.

Visible minority hockey players such as Nazem Kadri and P.K. Subban are heroes for many of the young people in the community, Mr. Goraya said.

“We really look up to them,” he said. “We are always playing road hockey or hockey in the gym.”

Having been born and raised in Canada, Mr. Goraya has been indoctrinated into the country’s hockey culture.

“Canada is a mosaic of different nationalities but we love hockey,” he said.

As the seconds ticked down on Canada’s 3-0 gold medal victory, the hall erupted. Everybody had smiles draped on their faces and flags draped on their body. The young people started chanting, “long live Canada” in a foreign tongue. Now that’s truly a Canadian gold medal celebration.