A transport truck fire along a major Toronto-area highway caused headaches for hockey fans with tickets to a once-in-a-lifetime game.

Ontario Provincial Police Const. Rob Visconti told The Canadian Press a truck carrying more than 4,000 kilograms of plastic bottles caught fire along the Queen Elizabeth Way in Grimsby, Ont., around 9:30 a.m. Friday.

Visconti said the driver was able to escape without injury, but the incident forced Fort Erie-bound lanes to be shut down until about 1:30 p.m.

Fans with tickets to the IIHF World Junior Championship game between Canada and the United States at New Era Field in Buffalo, N.Y., were stuck in traffic for hours as they tried to make their way to the stadium in time for the 3 p.m. puck drop.

鈥淭his sucks. We just want to get to the game,鈥� said one of the more than 40,000 hockey fans who had tickets to Friday鈥檚 game. 鈥淎ll the fan base for Canada is stuck on the highway right now.鈥�

Friday鈥檚 game marked the first time a World Junior game was played outdoors. Canada ended up losing in a shootout, 4-3.

With a report from CTV Toronto and with files from The Canadian Press