The Great White North was ready for a party as its national hockey team faced off with its American rival on Olympic ice Sunday.

Alas, the Americans came through with an unlikely victory — and much of Canada watched it unfold before its eyes.

CTV says 10.6 million Canadians watched the contest, making it the most watched sports event in Canadian television history. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100222/entertainment/oly_tv_ratings

Here’s a little perspective for Americans, who may be thinking about the fact that 106 million people watched the Super Bowl a few weeks ago: Canada only had about 33 million people. That means about one-third of the nation was watching a qualifying round hockey game.

But what a disappointment it turned out to be.

The Canadians will have to work for another shot at the Stars & Stripes as they’ll now need to win a qualification match to get into the tournament bracket.