The 1972 Hockey Showdown: Tell me the story, Gramps!

The Soviet national hockey team began to dominate international hockey from its first appearance at the World Championships in 1954 when it won the gold medal. The World Championships and Olympics hockey tournaments were restricted to amateur players and Canadian professionals were ineligible to play. In 1969 Canada withdrew from international competition in a dispute over player eligibility with international hockey authorities.In September 1972 the Soviet national team played a series of eight games against a team of Canadian NHL professionals known as Team Canada. The “Summit Series” was the first ever contest between the best hockey players of both countries and was intended to settle the question of who was better.The first four games were in Canada and the last four games were in Moscow. Many Canadian sportswriters predicted an easy Canadian victory in the series. However, the Soviets won the first game on September 2 by a score of 7-3. Team Canada had its hands full. By the fifth game, Team Canada had only won one game and had tied another. What followed was the greatest comeback in Canadian sports history that was sealed when Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal with 34 seconds left in the final game on September 28.Floyd was twelve years old in September 1972 and was captivated by the series. The players on Team Canada were his hockey heroes. He followed the trials and tribulations of Team Canada through each game and endured the ups and downs of an emotional roller coaster like no other. On the 50th anniversary of the monumental event, Floyd told his grandson Andy the story behind Floyd’s favourite photograph of Paul Henderson celebrating after scoring the most famous goal in Canadian hockey history. This is the story of Team Canada 1972 and the Summit Series.Read more