CALGARY — Hockey fans in Buffalo stepped up and sang the Canadian national anthem on Tuesday night ahead of Game 5 of the Sabres’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series after singer Cami Clune’s microphone malfunctioned.Clune, a Buffalo native and a former finalist on the television show The Voice, appeared to have technical issues a few seconds into her rendition of O Canada before the Sabres’ game against the Boston Bruins, which the visitors ended up winning 2-1..Not missing a beat, the sold-out crowd quickly took over and sang the rest of the anthem as Clune’s mic cut in and out.The singer was then given a new mic to sing The Star-Spangled Banner before puck drop..“Well, that was interesting,” Clune later posted on X.“Thank you all for singing along with me. We have the best fans ever!”David Alter, a reporter for The Hockey News, called the viral moment an “amazing scene.”.“Beautiful,” National Post columnist Terry Newman wrote on X.Buffalo is unique in the NHL as it always plays both the Canadian and American national anthems before every home game, regardless of opponent, due to the city’s close proximity to the Canadian border, with Sabres games being well attended by Canadian fans.The situation was reversed in March 2023, when Toronto Maple Leafs fans jumped in to sing The Star-Spangled Banner in Toronto before a game against the Sabres when singer Natalie Morris’s microphone cut out.However, Tuesday’s roaring rendition of O Canada comes after some recent controversial cross-border national anthem incidents have occurred amid political and economic tensions between Ottawa and Washington.Sports fans in Canada have occasionally booed the US national anthem at NHL and NBA games in the past, as well as at other sporting events.At a WWE Elimination Chamber event in Toronto last year, fans also booed The Star-Spangled Banner in response to President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods and his comments about turning Canada into the “51st state.”American fans have taken their shots at Canada as well.In February 2025, O Canada was booed at the 4 Nations Face-Off after Montreal fans had trashed the US national anthem a week prior.
