Canadian country singer Brett Kissel came out to sing the U.S. national anthem decked out in an Oilers jersey and guitar prior to Game 3 of Edmonton's Western Conference semifinal game against the Anaheim Ducks.
But as he began to sing it, the microphone wouldn't work.
After two tries, Kissel threw his hands in the air to conduct the crowd, who obliged bellowing out "Oh, say can you see . . "
"Brett knew the mic was gone. As an American, for a Canadian to sing the national anthem was pretty special to me," Oilers forward Patrick Maroon said Monday. "Certainly got me going. That was pretty cool."
Oilers anthem singer Robert Clark then gestured with his microphone for the crowd to continue their a capella performance with O Canada.
"I didn't realize, to be quite honest, that it was a mic problem," Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said.
"I thought it was a 'hey, let's get everybody involved' and as it turns out, a glitch can produce a great moment. The people of Edmonton showed their respect to our neighbours down south."
The gesture drew praise on social media as Kissel's name began trending on Twitter.
"Mic didn't work for the anthems tonight @RogersPlace. But no worries. The best singers & fans are in #OilCountry! @EdmontonOilers!," Kissel later tweeted.
The glow the anthems produced was short-lived at Rogers Place, however. The Ducks scored 25 seconds after the opening faceoff en route to a 6-3 victory.
Edmonton still leads the best-of-seven series two games to one, with Game 4 at Rogers Place on Wednesday.
