From the vault: Canada and Russia's 1994 Olympic hockey teams face off in small town Sask.

It’s not likely that a small Canadian town will host the winter Olympics anytime soon, but the community of Unity, Saskatchewan has hosted some events with an Olympic flavour.

At CTV in Saskatoon, we found rare footage from 1994 of Team Canada’s hockey squad taking on Team Russia in Unity, Saskatchewan.

A Beta Tape that has not seen the light of day in 30 years shows Petr Nedved, Paul Kariya and the ’94 Canadian National Hockey team playing an exhibition game against Russia at the Unity Community Centre just weeks before the winter Olympic games.

And it appeared to be just as cold inside the building as it was outside, with spectators (and TV reporters) able to see their breath inside.

It’s rare to have video of a national team playing in such cozy confines.

• Get the CTV News app for Saskatchewan breaking news alerts and top stories 

Players, along with coach Tom Renney, gave interviews on the latest involving the national team at the time — discussing Paul Kariya who had just been drafted a year earlier. And Petr Nedved, who joined the national team after leaving the Vancouver Canucks over a contract dispute.

“We’re having a lot of fun out there every time we play. If you notice, when we come off the ice, we always have smiles on our faces,” Kariya said in an interview with reporter Craig Wilson.

“And when we play with great players it helps a lot. I love to pass and they love to score and it’s a great combination there.”

Canada won 6-2 over the touring Russian national team that day in Unity — one that brought international hockey to small town Saskatchewan, where many big careers have begun.