Two former Olympic hockey team captains watched the 2018 gold medal game on the TV in their Montreal home, with their baby girl, Liv, sleeping soundly beside them. Julie Chu, the American, and Caroline Ouellette, the Canadian, had battled each other for that medal before, but not now.



Now, there was not even a trace of partisan paraphernalia in the room.



“That relationship is pretty magical to me because it survived some pretty deep-rooted rivalry stuff,” said retired Canadian star Cassie Campbell-Pascall. “If their love can survive the Canada-USA rivalry, then it’s the best example of love.”



From the first women’s world championship tournament in 1990, to the first Olympic gold medal game in 1998, love has rarely been a word associated with what the Canadians and Americans have on the ice. Sometimes, the word hate did not seem strong enough — to the point where rival players refused to speak to each...