Hockey Crowd in Pittsburgh Sings Along to 'O Canada' Following Shooting

NHL game between the Penguins and Flyers featured tribute.

ByABC News
October 23, 2014, 3:35 AM
"O Canada" is performed before the start of a NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, Oct. 22, 2014.
"O Canada" is performed before the start of a NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, Oct. 22, 2014.
Penguins/Twitter

— -- A singer at a U.S.-based NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers performed "O Canada" Wednesday evening in sympathy and support for America's neighbor to the north following the fatal shooting near Canada's parliament in Ottawa.

Jeff Jimerson sang “O Canada,” with fans at Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center joining him. The Canadian national anthem isn’t normally performed in games between two United States teams.

The shooting -- which left a Canadian soldier dead -- led to the cancellation of Wednesday’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators in Ottawa.

The song struck a chord for Penguins and Flyers players and coaches, many of whom grew up in Canada.

“I thought it was a special tribute tonight," said Penguins coach Mike Johnston, who was born in Nova Scotia and has coached throughout Canada. "Certainly, when those events happen, they strike everybody."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.