How ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Crave’s ‘spicy, gay hockey show,’ became a global TV player

TORONTO – Could “Heated Rivalry” be the raciest Canadian TV show ever made? Writer-director Jacob Tierney is willing to drop the mitts on it.

“Our big competition is that episode of ‘Degrassi’ where Spike gets pregnant, so if we can get this right, then I think there’s a big future for us,” the “Letterkenny” co-creator quips.

Based on a novel by Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid, the six-episode Crave series follows two duelling male hockey players who fall into a secret, years-long romance.

Hudson Williams’ clean-cut Canadian forward Shane, and Connor Storrie’s cocky Russian sniper Ilya meet at an international youth tournament and quickly become nemeses. But by the time they reach the major leagues, that tension sparks something more off the ice.

In the first two episodes premiering Fri