1972 CANADA VS. USSR

‘HENDERSON SCORES…’

INvoHicIeS DmAYo,reTHEpRrEomwiansento, tohrromugohroeutwCiadnealyda,htehaarnd tinhathoeffFooresftreornHt eawsitrta.dHioe rwoases ifnirsptohpouclkareiytyg, abmroeadinca1s9ti2n3g. hHies wthietnh abneocathmeer cslooosne-ltyo-idbenCtiafnieaditthsefiTrostrfdeoiwanntyoienMasratsiptolueftiLeoxeniasfatsel.snocein–

Hewitt had been the master of cMeraepmleonLiesafatGathrdeenospenNionvg. o1v2e, r1se9e3n1,thaendcohnasdtrupcetriosonnoafllya cgeontdeorla,icloec, atferdom54 wfeheetraebohve twehvoeural-rdgernobawrowianadglclsa.ustdigeanmceesbetyoonadn

For the next four decades, mHeiewrithtowckaesytphleayc-obuyn-ptrlayy’svporiceeon SCaatunradaiaynninghatsio.nBarloardacdaisot, Hewitt and the Maple Leafs attained a cross-country appeal nbecvaemr ebeffaomreousseefno,rahnids uHneiwquitet phrases, most notably “He sihgono-tosn, haet tshceorbeesg!”inansiwngelolfaesahcihs ahbnroodcakNdeeycawfsaftno, su“niHndetllahlone,dUC.”naintead aS,tatneds

Hewitt logged his final Leafs radio broadcast in 1968, and fToofhufiarcteysreaaomrfsetlhayeteeaOrrrhhdeewrcaaosmfmCeaonduaetdaoanf. Svuismiomn itbSreoraidecsa. st of the 1972

So it was only fitting that the voice of hockey for generations of Canadians was there Sept. 28, 1972, at the Luzhniki Ice tPhaelacpelayi-nbyM-polasycofwo,r pthroevimdionsgt itphaetecldimgamx oefina hmoocnktehythiastatonrtyic, hdoacykseyhafodrelveedr. tTowtehnetcyh-asnegvedn decisive Game 8, and in the moments before the puck dropped it was Hewitt, in his inimitable oanf dCasntyaldei,asnpseaktinhgomtoem. Ailsvlioincse always, he set the scene with a“Sos imf ypoleu, hcaldasbseicendwesrictriinpgtitohne. shcarvieptp,”roHdeuwcietdt saamido, r“eitdcroaumldanti’ct and exciting final.”

PART ONE: THE SERIES

The premise of what would become known as the Summit Series was to create a true beston-best series between the two leading hockey countries in the world. On one side, you had Canada, the longtime dominant power, versus the upstart Soviet Union, who had usurped the Canadians’ superiority in international matches over the previous two decades. But this time Canada was being represented by NHL players, not amateurs.

I was a month shy DENNIS KANE: (hockey fan from

of my 22nd birthday. I’m origiSudbury, Ont.)

nally from Orillia, but I was ilinvginags ianbSaurdtebnudryera. nAdlowt orfkm- y shifts were at night, so I had twoadsotoaulgoht obfescwauitscehIinwga, swthiech inenewdthuegpusyew.raBietucsthaIisndtgihdaelmyl tahhnaeapgpaeemntoeds, alone in my room at the local Hanodli-dwahyiItnen1,0o-ninachsmtealellvbislaiocnk-. I fsrhoomultdhaedadntehnant am, ysosiigtnwaal scna’mt e exactly hi-def. I think I was like most Canadians: I thought the Rafutessrialnl,sthaedy saegeomoeddtetoamwi–n all the time – but we all thought, “Wait until they play the NHL.” I know I had been waiting for that to happen for a long time.

I was 15 and IGOR KUPERMAN: (hockey

haigdhjuscsht osotalrttheadt stpuedcyiainligzeind a historian from Moscow)

in English-language subjects when the Summit Series took spclahcoeo.lI whaos thoeuognhlyt Coanneaadtathe

would win the series eight sgpamenetsmtoanyondea.yOsfscinocuersIew, Iashad 1fi0ndreaabdoiuntgtahneyNthHinLg. BIaccokutldhen, tipnhegeorapenlewyieanrttetehnne’ttSimonavniteoyt poUtrnhoieohrnocpkaeyy-. wAseeakmlyapttaepreorfcfalclte,dthere was a (“Football-Hockey”)

FutbolHokkei

athnadt twhoerueldwcaasrrsyoma efeewxtsrtaories,

sceorviersa,gbeubt ethfoartewtahseasbtaoruttoift.the

The schedule called for an eight-game series, with the first four games in Canada and the final four in Moscow. From the Canadian perspective, the series was widely expected to be a rout. In a poll of writers taken by The Hockey News, not a single scribe predicted as much as a single victory for the Soviets in the eight games. At best, some legendary Canadian sportswriters such as Milt Dunnell, Jim Coleman and Claude Larochelle allowed the Soviets might win a game. PAUL HENDERSON: (Team

think it wouldHboenmesutclyh, oI fdaidn’t

Canada left winger)

wseorrields.wTehreebferostmpClaayneardsain, wthee aRNluol stbsteihlaianetvswewdeetdrheiadntn’,t’mtatnehyingckolouthdde.eBdu. t we had just so much firepower on that team, I really thought that we’d be too much for them. How could we lose?

We were obviously all

BRAD PARK: (Team Canada defenseman)

aware that the Russians had

been beating our amateurs, but in the back of my mind that meant nothing. We were professionals, and we had the best players in the world.

I had never seen the Russians

PHIL ESPOSITO: (Team Canada play. I hadn’t even heard

center)

of any of them.

I told Frank Mahov

YVAN COURNOYER: (Team Canada

lich before the first game that I

right winger)

was scared. I didn’t know anything about the Russians. Even a video would have helped. The donidlyn’rtehpaovret awgeohoaddgwo alsiet.hey them. That’sWtheeuknidsesroefsdtiemaathte. d

ESPOSITO:

The 7-3 win by the Soviets in Game 1 at the Montreal Forum came as a shock to not only the Canadian hockey establishment but to the country at large. To the visiting Soviets, it was their biggest win ever, a victory that birthed the modern game.

I still get goosebumps

VLADISLAV TRETIAK: (Soviet Union

tfehlilniknitnogpalabcoeutfoirt.uEsvethraythniingght,

goaltender)

we won handily, and we did it with speed, skill and grace.

But what people witnessed on TV that night went far beyond the confines of the hockey world.

When the series

LUDMILLA ZORKINA: (hockey happened, I was 20 and ad

fan from Baku, Azerbaijan)

mittedly not much of a hockey fan. I watched the games with my mother and grandmother. Gfarnananddmalswoatshtehreinbgiglegaedster. fSrhiengdast,hfearmedilyuasnadll ntoegigehthbeor,s, twoaws antochontheeognatmhe s.tTreheetrse. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing, the Montreal Forum htheelmCeatnsa, dwiasnspolabyeearust,iwfuilt,hanod toheuisr.lAonftgerhtahire, igtawmaeswalalsnoevwer, tehve rnyeoxntedcaeyl,eitbwraatesda.llAtthwatork everybody was talking about. We were all so happy.

The sport and the impressions of two distinct countries were being changed, and while that

could all be reflected in time, there was still a series to play. And despite Canada squaring the series two nights later with a 4-1 win, a tie in the third game and a loss in the fourth game left Canada at a 1-2-1 disadvantage heading into the second half of the series – in Moscow.

We were soundly outplayed in Game

HENDERSON:

b4o, aoned ebvyeonuwr orwsne,fwanesw(ienre wVgaamnscehooaurnvrdeirbr)li.egT.hhteoyffbtohoeeidceu.sItall

I was picked aCsanthaedas,tawrhoifchthme eganmteI fwoor uld

ESPOSITO:

wdoitthhJeophonsnty-gEasmawe .inI tweravsiseow raenmgreymthbaetr Ihsistiqlludeosnti’tonev. en

Bursting with emotion and before a national TV audience, Esposito passionately responded to the negative reaction festering throughout the country, a surge of disappointment based on the unfulfilled expectations of Team Canada’s dominance.

To trhiedp,ewopelgeaavceroitsos uCrabneasdta, ,awnde

ESPOSITO: (on Sept. 8, 1972) to the people that boo us, geez, I’m really, all of us guys are really disheartened and we’re disillusioned, and we’re disappointed at some of the people. We cannot believe the bad press we’ve got, the booing we’ve gotten in our own buildings. If the Russians boo their tphlaeyirerpsl,atyheersf…anSso…mReuossf itahnesCbao-o onfadthiaenmf,asnosm, Ie’mofntohtesmaybionogeadll aups,otlhoegnizIe’ltlocoemacehboancekoafntdheI’ll Cthaenyadwiialnl. sI,’mburteIadlloy,nr’et athlliyn..k.I’m really disappointed. I am completely disappointed. I cannot believe it. Some of our guys are really, really down in the dumps, we know, we’re trying like hell. I mean, we’re doing the best we can, and they got a good team, and let’s face facts. But it doesn’t mean that we’re bneoctaguivsienwg eitcoeurrta1i5n0lypaerrec. eInt, musegauny, sth, 3e5mgouryes, ethvaetrycaomne ofut and played for Team Canada. Wcoeundtidryi,tabnedcanuostefowreanloyvoetohuer creaanstohnr,onwo tohtehemrorneeays,ounh. ,Tfhoery tdhoewp. eTnhseiyoncafnunthdrouwt tahneytwhin-g tchaemyewbaenctauosuet twhe lwovinedCoawn.aWdae. AthnedUenvietnedthSotautgehs,wanedplwaye ienarn mCaonnaedyaiins tshtiellUonuirtehdoSmtaet, easn, d that’s the only reason we tchoamtew. eAnshdoIudldonb’tetbhoinokedit.’s fair

During the two-week break between Games 4 and 5, Team Canada visited Sweden and played two exhibition games on Sept. 16-17 versus the Swedish national team. These games had been arranged beforehand to let Canada get used to the bigger ice surface in Europe. At the same time, it put space between the

team and what was being said about them back home.

Wthehnenflewwe loeuft Voaf nTocorounvetor faonrd

RON ELLIS: (Team Canada right winger)

tShweeadiernpo, trhteortehweratshna’tnauso. ul at

I was glad that the games were over in Canada.

COURNOYER:

bTuhialtdbarseakteianmSw. Tehdeetnwleotguasmes rthinekr,eahnedlptehde ubisgagdearpictetosuthrfeace dinifEfeurreonpte. T, the taimngeleins aSrweeadllen gave us time to get in shape, apnicdkatdhjeugsut ytos twhheosiwzeouolfdthpelaiyc,e.

We became a team ain dSweedwene.rWene’tcgoouilndgn’ttobbeeb. eat

ESPOSITO:

The series resumed in Moscow with Game 5 on Sept. 22. The Luzhniki Ice Palace was filled to capacity, including Communist Party general secretary Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin and Soviet head of state Nikolai Podgorny, as well as a large contingent of Russian military in dress uniform. Also, a contingent of 3,000 Canadian fans who had made the trek to Moscow, paying upwards of $600 for their flight, hotel and tickets for each of the final four games.

Those 3,000 feanntshugasivaesmusisnotmheuirchc.oTrnherirof

COURNOYER:

sthpea rkin, tkhgaatveenuesrgtyhawtenneceesdseadr,y werrens’topsluapyipnogr,tibvuetwtheeynawlseo ownhaenthoefrf-idt abye sbiagchktsaetetihneg hinotel, uMsotshcaotwe,xytorautnhaamt we eit,ntehedyegda.ve

The 3,000 Canadians were houavritnagstseoomf huochmfeu.nT.hey

PARK:

WE WERE BOOED BY OUR OWN FANS. THEY BOOED US RIGHT OFF THE ICE. IT WAS HORRIBLE – Paul Henderson, Team Canada

Our dressing room in Russia was really a long

ELLIS:

ocsgoeuttphleeerto.eBfamsumt ntahelalvterhoraoldlmwresasyosefwfdiotafhliltat, hsatnaaldrlwtpeaodysgtwceatatrsidnssgoftrlhooenmsge,Cataennldeagdwriaeanmss bthaeckwhaollm. Yeo,uwweonualidleadlwthaeyms steoe thergeujyusstatkoirnegasdtothpesmhe. Irethaindk pPonehoitlph’sleescpooenuesncidhtrehy. aadnda hburignegeinffgect in Moscow,Aotuoruarsfsiristapnrtactice

HENDERSON:

coach John Ferguson took me taosicdoemaenduptobldigmfoer, u“Yso.”u’ve got

Despite Canada carrying the play in Game 5, the Soviets overcame a three-goal deficit and won 5-4 to take a commanding 3-1-1 series lead.

Even though tohoatklaoslostwoafspdoesvitaivsetastoinugt,owfe

HENDERSON:

ttaohhcaawhttaigtnlhaletmnhrege.efnWe, earexentekditnnhtehgrweawet wowgueaelmdhwaebedser, e itnohea Rhmuoassnstiiwaleneesfnienvlittrwhoanetmogueantmpte,lab, yauent d believe it or not, we still were baecloienvfiedewntegcroulpd. bWeeatatlwheamys.

Team Canada won the next two games in Moscow, with Henderson scoring the winning goal in both contests to even the series 3-3-1, leading to a winnertake-all Game 8.

With three mthiensuctoerseletfiet din3G-3a)m, Iej7um(apnedd

HENDERSON:

osphuroitfbtf.oaHrbalwyvhignaogtinIsgcthotoreubdgehtmht ewygalasmsteSwreaiavnlanlyredfrehtewiltionmgneigtw,hsittoshwbaehpfeoanrsesSIaewtrgaes center ice, and I avoided one of athloenirefaotrwthaeridrsb,lIufeolui nedamndyself wfRouersnmstieafo,nradnited.fTethnheseeromenwenetorwematiywtilonegft twryenintgfotor tshlieppitubcke,twjuesetnashIiswas isletkguaspt.eTa, gahaneidnpIuawcnkdaaskcaetbeulpaelgltyoihpniigtc,hkis mwiyethroiftgfhteht oemtphouvecrinkdg. eHofeevnesrnetdmoetadanukoepn targiepdpitnogkmeeep, bthuet Ipsutcilkl minafnro- nt ohfim.eAasnIdwmasy fsatlilcinkga,wTareytfiraokm dropped to his knees, thinking imt awnoaugleddbteoashloowotsihtotv,ebruhtiIs trhigehctrsohsosubladre. Tr haantdgjouaslt wunads er ntheevebresfotrogneet aI fetveerrthsceograemd.eI’ll tdeilelianghampypywmifeanElneoawno, rt,h“iIscwanill rbemtheemgboearleIdwfoilrl.”always be

PART TWO: GAME 8

The story of Game 8 really began the night before, when a disagreement between the Canadian and Soviet officials threatened to derail everything. It centered around the two referees who would work Game 8, in Kpaormtipcuallalar Wwehsot,Gmerumcahn troef JTeoasemf Canada’s consternation had previously officiated the team’s second exhibition game in Sweden and Game 6 of the Summit Series. He was regarded by Canada as abysmal.

Kompalla sucked. He wasn’t supposed to even

ESPOSITO:

be there. That argument on the referees got so bad that we almost went home. Throughout that whole series, the Russians always were looking to change tthheinrguslegTsoh.inergeownebrehsiondmtahney

ELLIS:

socf,ebnuets,thwahtidchidwn’et wmearkeamwaatr-e 8te, rws eanwyeereasgietr.tiBnugtbbeyttGearmate ihnanthdelisnegrtiehse, aitdmvearysihtay.vEeaurpliseert us and thrown us off our game, but not by this point.

In the end, Kompalla did officiate the game, alongside Czech referee Rudolf Bata whose presence had been insisted upon by Team Canada. And so with a deep sense of foreboding, Team Canada prepared for Game 8.

tghoeinbgi…t fYyoorutwhweaengraetemcdhetootmogpsetitantrght.iast

PARK:

Back in Canada, much of the country came to a halt to watch the game (which began at 1 p.m. ET), with students either playing hooky, being sent home to watch the game or given the chance to watch at school. Television sets were common in bars and places of business, and thousands of people gathered around TVs in ashnodprawdiiondaouwdsie. nTchees ogfaumpetowa16s broadcast to record television million across Canada and possSiobvlyiettoUpnpioinng. 1I0w0 imll nilleiovnerin the

tfohragtentisgthatnfdoirntghoen athtieobnlauleline

HENDERSON:

aCnatnhaedmia.nTofahnesasrinthgionsge, 3I ,n0e0v0er htheatrdintmheyalnifteh. eI mhasdusnhgivliekres running through me.

It didn’t take long for Team Canada’s fears about the officiating to be realized. Just 2:25 into the contest, Canadian defenseman Bill White was whistled for a questionable penalty. Thirtysix seconds later, teammate Peter Mahovlich joined him in the box. With the game having just passed the three-minute mark, Team Canada found itself two men short. Alexander Yakushev sthcoanreda tomigniuvteethlaeteSro,vKieotmUpnaiollna a 1-0 lead 33 seconds later. Less fingered J.P. Parise for another Team Canada penalty that may have been the most dubious of them all. Full of fury, Parise entered and then exited the penalty box, skated around as if pondering his next move, then suddenly approached Kompalla, threatening to whack the referee on the head with his stick before pulling back at the last second. Parise was thrown out of the game.

ePrAeReKw: aWs epakrnteiawl tohatht ethSeorveief-ts and was going to screw us, but lwohsteint.it started to happen, J.P.

At that moment epvoeinryt.tEhvinegnraemacohnegdstatbhoei3li,n0g00

HENDERSON:

cChaannatdoiafn, “fLaents’stghoerheowmaes!”a

There were times that I lost my composure too,

ESPOSITO:

motofoofarmectut.hcBahunrteoIanclcalyer.eaTdshsaiosmwmaautstcewhr,ar. wI’mhantoit ipsr.oud of that, but it is

With the game seemingly on the brink, a sense of order, somewhat surprisingly, returned, and the refereeing – while still tight with infractions being called on both teams – became less of a focal point as the game wore on.

I still marvel at how we whaenadthleedreadll ttheats.tWoremd. efinitely

ELLIS:

A goal by Esposito, deflected in by Soviet defenseman Vladimir Lutchenko at 6:45, tied the game 1-1. At 13:10, Lutchenko redeemed himself on a Soviet power play before Park responded with just over three minutes remaining in the period. The first intermission saw the teams tied 2-2. Canada appeared to be in good shape heading into the second period. That feeling lasted all of 21 seconds, when the Soviet Union’s Yakushev fired a high shot over hCiatnathdeianmgeoshalieneKtetinngDraydndenrtihcoa-t cheted into the slot, where Vladimir Shadrin had a tap-in. Team Canada sagged, and despite a goal by White and some spectacular goaltending by Dryden, the Soviets carried the play and led h5-a3vethbroeuegnhwtowrosepeifrinoodts.foItrwsooumlde defensive heroics by Esposito.

I consider that play in the second period the

ESPOSITO:

biggest one of my life, and it wasn’t a goal. A Soviet player quickly came out from behind the right side of our net and caught Dryden out of position. Idrouvseh, aenddtothfiellptuhcekohpietnmnyelte, ft skate and stayed out of our net. If not for that play, who knows?

Leading by two goals, at home, with 20 minutes remaining, the message in the Russian dressing room was direct.

Our coach, Vsevolod

ALEXANDER YAKUSHEV: (Soviet

Bobrov, gave us no particular

left winger) pinesrtsrpuecctitoivnes, sfruocmh assetrmatpehgaysizing defense with the two-goal lead. You must understand that, in principle, Bobrov’s game plan was to be always on the attack. That’s how he

Ap lal yhedsaniddttohuosugwhatst,h“eYoguamhaev. e already proved yourself, you know you are great players. You already know you can play well against the pros. You must omnaDekemesapoirftieentaiblmepeion.”igntdoofwitn,pbryovtewiot

goals with 20 minutes left, in a hostile environment, with all the distractions, and playing against an excellent team, members of Team Canada remained focused on the task ahead.

There was no pep talk in between periods. We knew

PARK:

what we had to do.

I knew we had to win. We all did. We were at

COURNOYER:

kthne wpotihnattotfhnisowreatsuarno.nWce-ainlla-lifetime deal and that there wouldn’t be a do-over.

We were not going to lose.

ESPOSITO:

We had to get a quick

ELLIS:

eHgaoecanhldionetrhtsheoerntiahnnitrdhdeIpsdearrteiobssdeis.niPdgaeul roigohmt b, aenfodrIe’lwl neewvernftoorugtetfo, r otohneDtthrhyeidrpdeanpd,esgraivnoedd,hthoimeldwahewinmht,aocvker a“Dnodnw’tel’ellt wthienmthsecgoaremaen.”ymore,

It was a determined Canadian group that took to the ice for the third period in Moscow, with the indomitable Esposito as the team’s driving force.

Phil was our leader, off and on the ice, the

HENDERSON:

hNeoabrotdayndwasosuelvoefrobuerttteeraimn.the lsilkoet,aahnodrhsies, sotuarmhionras,eh,eanwdaswe rode him all series long and ntheivredrpmeroiroeds. oWtehnaneeidnetdhahtim, ganredahteswt peenrtiodutaannydpplalayyeerdhathse ever played. the best third period. I would

ESPOSITO:

ltihkaettfo rththinekwItdhoaontle’Itpgcaloamnyseid.delirkeit

My grandmother and all of the older people

ZORKINA:

gcreoamuthledemnre’btdebtreolaiwecvaoetuctphleitsho“efPgghaaimml.”eeIs earlier when he was sitting in the penalty box, the cameras ctharuogahttshlaimshg. eGsrtaunrdinmgawyietlhlead at the TV, “He can’t do that, dheidcna’tnk’tndoowthwaht!a”tTtohemyarkeealolyf eTmeaomtioCna.nIatdwaaasnsdoaullnolifktehwishat we had ever seen before.

Just 2:27 into the third period, Esposito delivered.

I was in the slot right in front of the net, and

ESPOSITO:

iPpteadtseesrftlehMceatephduocvhkliigcohhuitanttotehme epa,tiera.dnIdto tchaeunghstwiitp, dedroaptpietdasitqduoicwkna,sanI d tchoeulsde,caonnddmtiimssee. d. I didn’t miss

With the Soviet Union leading by a goal, the third period became a reverse of the second period, with Team Canada dictating the play and the Soviets falling back into a defensive shell. Over the years, much has been made about the Soviet Union “playing for the tie” and then claiming series victory based on total goals. And while there has been debate about when and how Team Canada found out about this latest tactic, the players were aware, and they responded accordingly.

Before we went on twhe wicerfeotrotlhdeththaitrda tpierwioodu, ld PARK:

gwivine othr ethSaotvaiet ttshtehveesreyrlieasst theybwacokusldofcolauirmmviincdtosr, yw. eIn dawgiodrnende’tdemrteoad.ttBweurh,tewbnyeththhaiisdsh2pa0odimnbtei,neit-n useterisetso, awnidnatfhtergaEmspeo,’asngdoathl aet kthne wstawrteohfatdhetimtheir.d period we

Just past the midway point of the third period, with Canada pressing, Park hit Esposito with a long stretch pass. He barrelled through two Soviet defensemen, but his shot was stopped by Tretiak. Esposito pounced on the rebound, however, and dished it off to Cournoyer, who tapped it in to tie the game 5-5.

If you want to sfrconrteogfotahlse,npeutt. yOonucresIelgfoitnthe

COURNOYER:

rtoebmoyusnedlfa, “nOdKp,untoiwt inw,eI hthaovuegaht chance to win.” There was still lots of time.

But before that, all hell broke loose again.

scored, the gAofatel rligChotunrneoveyrer

ESPOSITO:

went on. From his seat in the stands, (Canadian tournament organizer) Alan Eagleson saw it and angrily began trying to get his way to the goal judge from halfway across the rink. In response, the Russian soldiers attempted to arrest hMiamhoanvldicdhrwagahs itmheafwirasyt.tPoesteer what was going on, and he left our bench, skated over, jumped oswveinr gthinegbhoiasrsdtsic, kanadt tshtaerstoelddiers, who had guns on their sides. To be honest, they were cPaeuteghatnadlsiottolenowffe-gwuearedablyl over there and took Alan back to our gboeanlccho. uIn tehde,ebnedc,aCuoseurtnhoeyrerf’-s oerveerrhualdedsetheen gitogaol jiund, gaen.d he refereesWciothultdhne’tspcolarye thi edir, the

ELLIS:

games anymore. Now we could jmusintuptleasyohfoGckameye. T8hwealasstth1e0 best hockey I’ve been involved with in my life. Both teams gave everything they had. PART THREE: THE GOAL

I remember our line (Henderson, Ellis and Bobby

ELLIS:

Carlaorukned) tcwomo imnginouftfetshle fitceinwith the game, and as soon as we got there being told by Harry (Sinden, Team Canada’s coach) tgoignegt riegahdtyb, tahcaktowne. Hweohual d bthee Esposito line (with Cournoyer and Peter Mahovlich) out, and bhaecwkawsigthoiunsg. tWo ictohmabeoruigthat minute to go, I started getting ready for the line change. yTehlalet’ds awthPeentePra, aunl dsttohoadt’usphoawnd Paul got on the ice ahead of Clarkie and me. oCfOmURy NshOiYftE,aRn: dI wI wasaasttitrheede, nbudt aI nwdaswaithththeeoltahregreernsduroffatchee, micye instinct was to stay on, I guess tmhyatecxopnefriideenncceeowf kansobwasinedg tohnat in order to win, you have to always push a little harder. So IjIuimsntateadrelcietthpletelddoentchgiseirop. nAucstkoaosrtneasytuholetn, etrnieddbtooacrdlesawr ihte. InotfhtenSowvoientdser what would have happened if I had decided to go off.

As soon as I got on the ice I charged right HENDERSON: towards the net and yelled for

PETER MAHOVLICH STARTED SWINGING HIS STICK AT THE SOLDIERS, WHO HAD GUNS – Phil Esposito, Team Canada

Iwthgaeostpotuurcitkpo.pfYemvdaybny’rsetpahcaehsSsa,onhvdoiewt edhvee-nr, Rmfeunessisenimatonatgnho,emabl.yomarodms beenhtuinmdttohoek

The Russians speuecmk ejudsctosnlifduoseudt,taontdhethfaeceoff

ESPOSITO:

cgiortcleen. oI uwgahsodneathdetipruecdk, btoutgIet taithnoidsn,ITt’vhreetoniafetket.nkFitochkroesudogmthteearpbeuoacsukotn, tsHhhterealdyli,igadhhlnelt’ftcoo.ourTugtol,odnbtoheatabhvooefunfftetrosPotaztIhueteli.hts.iinBdkuet.

Especially for the last game, I was worn out. My

TRETIAK:

ewstnardesnfhagostpth.inhagdthbeeegnamderawinoeudl.dI sbtoilalrhdasv, eI thimoueg.”AhIfttwetorashmsiytotsicenalgfl,mt“hIe

HENDERSON:

agcononadlt,araolonlndtheweahtrethbneoTusrnieddtei,aIokpf catohnueicldkne’dt athnediwceh, awchkiecdhthe sptuocpkpeadlo,nbgut athnedpituwckacsarmigehtrignhftrobnact koftomme.e, aHneworietlhd’sesartasshbhooftot,!rrHitgehanntddienrfsferololn.nHmte. arde’es

HEWITT: (from the original TV broadcast)

sTchoeryedscforeC! aHneanddae!rson has

Team Canada now led 6-5 with 34 seconds left on the clock. Sinden sent out a makeshift line of Esposito, Ellis and Peter Mahovlich.

After the goal I was done. I had nothing left.

HENDERSON:

I wasn’t goinIggatoveleHavaerrtyhae lioceok.

ESPOSITO:

until the game was over. Maybe I was too selfish, but I didn’t care. I needed to stay out there. pEuLLt ImSe: Iofuetltthgoeored, tbhuattIHhardryto mcthoyamtgpiunoystaehloml sloyesc3ek4lefd.sLeuecpot’.ns djussIthsady

The last 34 seconds ticked off without incident as Canada won 6-5 and took the Summit Series four games to three with one tie.

PTHAERTAFFTOEURRM: ATH

and posFtrcoamrdsalclotmheinteglieng,rwame s ELLIS:

knew this was probably a big deal back in Canada, but we werheasdonsoheidltearehdowin bMigosacdoewa,l fmroemanthweepwresres,hbeuatritnhgistwhiansg.sI we didn’t really know how big gthoitshtohmineg orenatlhlyewpalasnuen. til we

Team Canada arrived home on Oct. 1. They were greeted in Montreal by prime minister Pierre Trudeau, Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau and an estimated crowd of 10,000 at Dorval Airport. The players based in Montreal departed while the rest of the team went on to Toronto, where they were welcomed by Ontario premier Bill Davis, Toronto mayor William Dennison and 80,000 fans.

Just how big the winhoovlerththinegnwexatsferewalmlyosnutnhks. I

HENDERSON:

mreymwemifebearndsihttainvgindgotwo nmwakiteha dalelcoisf itohnis. Door dwoewruenemawbaryacferoitm? We chose the latter.

If things were jubilant in Canada, the opposite was true in the Soviet Union.

On Soviet TV, the adTleyhdseirasenodwr sainostndeoirdvpiteohwsetsggteaalmmeceeasaetnn.

KUPERMAN:

tweiatmh sp.laItywerassfjruosmt oevaecrh. of the

There was a real sense of disappointment from

ZORKINA:

wallinofaunsd. wWedwidenre’t.supposed to

The Soviet Union’s state-run newspaper, Pravda, covered the final game of the Summit Series with a 600-word story that was buried in the back of the next day’s edition.

The deepseated myth about the invincwibasilidtyesotfrothyedh.oOcbkveiyofuosulyndoeurs

PRAVDA: (Sept. 29, 1972) team is lacking in physical training in comparison with our rivals...we should mention that the game of professionals was marked with serious defects that are foreign to the real swpeorret.vTehrye fSroievniedtlyhotocwkeayrdfatnhse Canadian guests, but they were mdiesathpopdosinotfesdobmyethCeantoaudgiahn professionals.

PART FIVE: THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN GAME

I think after we won the first game in Moscow,

YAKUSHEV:

oseulrf-tceoanmfidbenctamthe awlaitytltehteoo fCiarsntagdaiamnes ihnaMd obneterneable. fWoreeftehlte woneewoof uthlde lriekmelyaiwniingatthlreeaest gsoa,minestoatnadl, wienfethltewsersiheso.uAldnd be all right. The overconfidence was a bad thing for us. In each of the last three games we fell hjcuoasudtlda nli’tttflienbisiahtdsohlfuofcrpktl.,aWMyseatyjhbuaest we would bring us victory. I think it was a good lesson for all sportsmen and particularly for us that you have to fight to the very end. That’s a special trait of Canadian hockey.

VLADIMIR LUTCHENKO: (Soviet

1972 serieI sthpisnykcwhoelologsictatlhlye.

defenseman)

There was something that wasn’t enough in us.

We had one advantage over them. We were all condi

PARK:

tsieorniesdatgoapinlasyt oansevoepnp-ognamenet. aTnhdeythweenrme uosveindgtono.nIengaame bsearsieds,oynouyomuarkoepapdojnuesntmt’sents gteivnedseynocuietshaenbdewsthcohandcewthoat wa sine.rIiet’s, tnhoet etobob hanigdh,flnoowt toofo wloiwth. Tthaety. had no experience

In retrospect, the 1972 Summit Series was the birth of hockey as we know it today. In the years that followed, international hockey took on a new level of prominence, and best-on-best encounters became the norm rather than the exception. A year later saw a wave of European players enter the NHL, to later be joined by Russians following the fall of the Soviet Union, and then leading to the participation of NHL players in the Winter Olympics. In short, the game has become much more global, and that can all be traced back to 1972.

In the aftermath of the Summit Series, Canada and the Soviet Union took the best from one another – with Canadian hockey placing a bigger emphasis on training, passing and skill, while the Soviets slowly adapted their approach to the game, incorporating the values of grit, tenacity and, above all, desire. Nothing would ever be the same after 1972, for hockey, and for those who were involved in the Summit Series, from the players on the ice to the legions of fans around the world who watched the drama unfold.

We liked the ruggdeiadnst.yDleuroifnpglareycoefstshaet Cscahnoao- l

KUPERMAN:

twphliaetyhdeaadyssmaofcatcelelrrcGoianrmkthfereo8hm, walaelwn aoylds champagne bottle. We started “hTithtins giseCaacnhaodtihaenrhaoncdkesay.y”ing,

A lot of the older “pthreuodupegl”ehotwrthwoeoCwrasanetc.ahMdeiadynbtshewe esereries

ZORKINA:

because I was younger, I saw lailklethnaottahsinpgaIs’sdioenve, arnsdeeint was ibnetfeorrees,taenddinthlaetargnoitnmg eabmoourte Covaenra, dI as.taArftedr thoelesaernietshwe as English language. My dream HonaelldoafyFawmase.to visit the Hockey wKAasNfEa:sWcinatacthedinbgyththeeseRruies-s, I sian crowd. They were always stoic and barely showed any emotion, no matter what was happening on the ice. I

twhoinkdienrge,dwwhhata’ts tghoeiyngwtehrreough their minds. They were a real mystery to me.

A few years later, Kane, a Montreal Canadiens fan, started exchanging letters with a member of the Russian chapter of the NHL team’s fan club, a friendship that led to him to visit Russia for the first time in 1991, right before the fall of the Soviet Union. It was during this visit that he first met Zorkina, who fulfilled her own dream shortly afterward of visiting Canada. It was on one of Kane’s return visits to St. Peateftresbr uargsahofertwcyoeuarrtsshlaipte,rhwehearned, Zorkina became husband and wife, eventually settling in Powell River, B.C.

Needless to say, the pSuacmtmonitoSuerileivsehsa. dItsguocthbaonthimofKANE: us thinking about each other’s country, and our mutual love of hthoecktweyo, tohfautsetvoegnettuhaelrly. brought

I was so into that fsowaevhiretoihrelwsein,heaemxnlpmdyeswirenileigfn.tnIchiehantawgdI,aatsonoosdomkthiutech ESPOSITO: athllaotnI emvyesreplfl.aIydedona’t thaintklevel raegmaienm. Bbuetriwt wheans swoesgpoetcibaal.cIk to playing in the NHL that next season and I would line up for a faceoff against Peter Mahovlich or Bobby Clarke, and we’d just look up and smile at one awnaortthoegre. Wthe’rd. been through a

I’m reminded of that series, that game, that goal HENDERSON: ekvneorwy dwahya. tAtnhdeyboeustwpanrt tiso? It’s dthoant’tpaesokpmleeapanpyroqaucehsmtioenasn. d sTthoery, wahnetrteottheelyl mwertehewirhen “it” happened. It’s so wondersfuple, cainadl ims tahkeirneg’sitnaollntehgeamtivoerse atolitthtleewbhitofloertthhiengR.uWsseilal,nms.aybe

I’ve gone back to Russia a bunch of times over

ESPOSITO:

tdheecaydeea.rAs,nedveInhamvoerteoiandtmheitlast thI’hveoells,beevgceuonymsB,eoTgrriesetaiMatkifk,rhiYeanikldousvs.hwWeivteh, gaebtlatosgt.eItthteurrannsdouhtavtheastutchhey were just like us.

So many important tgshuaimcnhgeas. Thuhanepiqpwuehenoepldoesitnshiibtnhiglaittwyo.anse

PARK:

mI catnc’ht tiht.ink of anything to

– with files from Denis Gibbons