Harper wins 48 beer from Obama on hockey bet

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is betting American President Barack Obama one case of beer on each game. (Sean Kilpatrick/AP)

As Canada and the United States were set to face-off in two crucial Olympic hockey games, there was more than medals and national pride on the line.

There was also beer.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper bet American President Barack Obama one case of golden goodness on each game.

“We are going to have both the men’s hockey teams and the women’s hockey teams battling it out,” Obama said early this week. “So for a very brief period of time I won’t feel as warm towards Canadians as I normally do.”

Harper claimed the first case Thursday when the Canadian women’s team fought back from a 2-0 deficit late in the third period to defeat USA 3-2 in overtime and secure the gold medal. He then doubled up his winnings when the Canadian men blanked Team USA 1-0 Friday in the semifinal.

Obama was trying to claim some bottles back from 2010, as the two leaders made a similar bet four years ago.

After Team Canada defeated the Americans and claimed hockey gold in Vancouver 2010, U.S. ambassador David Jacobsen dropped off a 2-4 of Molson Canadian to 24 Sussex Drive so that Harper could guzzle the spoils of his country’s victory.

“To show there’s no hard feelings, the President also threw in a case of Yuengling [Obama’s American beer of choice] on top of the Molsons,” Jacobson told the Prime Minister in 2010.

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