Reaction To The 1972 Summit Series Hockey (Canada vs Soviet Union)
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- čas přidán 13. 12. 2023
- Reaction To The 1972 Summit Series Hockey (Canada vs Soviet Union)
This is my reaction to The 1972 Summit Series Hockey (Canada vs Soviet Union)
In this video I react to the story of a classic hockey match between Canada and Soviet Union called the Summit Series which took place in 1972
#canada #hockey #reaction
Original Video - • The 1972 Summit Series...
I remember watching the soviet matches at school. The whole nation held it's breath, until Henderson scored.
Whole school in the gym, Grade 8. 347 teenagers and teachers watching in Westbank B.C!!
Grade 5 for me, teacher wheeled the TV set into the class so we could all watch
A little context. The Soviets were well known, they had been dominating in all the international tournaments for about a decade (including the Olympics). Mainly because the rules stated that the teams for international play be made up of amateurs, not professional athletes. The Soviets circumvented this rule by drafting the best players into military service, so they were professional soldiers, not athletes, and then the job they had in the military was to practice and play hockey year round. As for the Canadian professionals, the game was different back then, salaries were lower, and most players had other jobs in the off season, meaning they weren't keeping up their physical conditioning and so showed up not in game shape.
True. The Russians always find a way to cheat.
I doubt there are any Canadians alive who watched this and don't remember where they were when that winning goal was scored. I was in high school and a TV was brought into every classroom so we could all watch the game. This was considered historic.
Where were you in 72?
MVP: Henderson or Esposito?
"If there's all goal the everyone remembers it was back in oh 72, we all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger and all i remember was sittin beside you" - Gord Downy
Henderson's Goal is an iconic moment in Canadian history (Henderson also scored the winning goal in game 7). For me Crosby's Golden Goal in 2010 and Henderson's Goal in '72 are the two biggest goals in Canadian and potentially international hockey.
Henderson's series winning goal was scored with only 34 seconds remaining. The only time that I remember that we were allowed to watch television in school. Myself and my grade 6 classmates were ecstatic when the game ended.
Who would recommend this as a video to watch on the series. Many wrong "facts" and the kid can't even say the names right. Whoever recommended it must not know too much either.
As one of the rare Canadians who isn’t a hockey fan, I remember watching this game on the edge of my seat. Our teacher wheeled in a tv on a stand and the whole class watched
I was in high school in 1972. For the last game, televisions were wheeled into the cafeteria and everything stopped: classrooms were empty - even the hallways, no one wanted to be anywhere except where they could watch the game. We were all crowded in, probably, now that I think about it, contravening fire safety rules. Hundreds of us, gasping and cheering in unison, silent in between. Unforgettable.
My stern grade 4 teacher wheeled a tv into class and we watched the Moscow games. It was like nothing else existed. It was more than a hockey series, it was like a battle of cultures. Canada was missing our best defenceman, and possibly best player period, Bobby Orr who had just had knee surgery.
Greatest moment in Canadian hockey!
Greatest moment in Canadian SPORT!!
@@TomHuston43 That it is.
There was a lot that the video did not mention. They wheeled tv sets into classrooms across Canada to watch the games in Moscow. Players mentioned that there were middle of the night calls before games, mysterious road work outside the hotel in the middle of the night etc. But, maybe worst of all, was they stole half the team's beer!!!
Also, Paul Henderson scored the winning goal of the last 3 games, I believe, and he also did that with a concussion!
And Harry Sinden, the coach, lost his job because he went to coach Team Canada. (He was working for a US firm I believe.) Check out the full movie/documentary that was done on this. I was in school when it happened, but I learned a lot afterwards, because I was only 12yo at the time.
Me too.😊
I was a kid. We watched it at school. Yes, instead of doing reading, writing and arithmetic WE WATCHED HOCKEY!! I think we collectively had to eat some humble pie. We just assumed hockey was OUR game. When The Soviets turned out to be worthy opponents our civic pride was on the line. Esposito and Henderson and a few of the others were Canadian sweethearts for years.
Allan Eagleson turned out to have scammed players in the years to come. Him, not so much a sweetheart.
This was great series.
I was a 14 year old, avid hockey player living in south western Ontario at the time. It was the craziest hockey I had ever seen!
My dad and I were part of the 80,000 folks in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto to welcome Team Canada home as victors!
Peace
That Soviet/Philadelphia game was no slouch either. The Soviets were so banged up on the ice they refused to come out of the dressing room for the second period. Philadelphia slaughtered them.
One of the things I most remember about this series, especially in the last game, is that there was a lot of very questionable refereeing in favour of the Russians. On several occasions, the Canadians got penalties for tripping when a Russian player just took a dive (faking). That goal the red light didn't turn on for was a good goal, but they refused to count it. The Russians didn't get penalties for things they should have, many of them blatant. It made the win that much sweeter. As to the home coming, Dorval airport was so crammed with fans, my friend and I got more or less forced out onto the roof of the building! Fans were everywhere, there was no escape! Living only a mile from the airport, getting there was easy. It was harder to get out again, though. Wonderful memories from times past!
I wish I’d been there to witness that. Being only 4 was kind of a hindrance 😊
@@JoeCrow5542 I was early teens. It was amazing to see the crowd. We were all being told to get off the roof, but we couldn't move! 😅
The backdrop here was that prior to the modern era, "professional" athletes weren't allowed to compete in the Olympics and consequently, the Soviet national team which was made up mostly of players from the Central Red Army hockey team (essentially professionals who played hockey with very few military obligations), had been Olympic and world champions repeatedly since the 1950's. It was believed prior to the series that the professional Canadians were a far superior team, rightfully Olympic champs and it was a shock when Canada initially lost the first half of the series. I remember that the games were mid-morning on the Pacific Coast and the games were put on TV's at school. I remember being in a packed "projection room" at school and the entire place going wild with Henderson's final goal.
The W.H.A.(World Hockey Association) was a rival league that came and went from 1972 to 1979,tons of teams came and went as well and finally the W.H.A. disbanded and 4 W.H.A. teams joined the N.H.L. for the 1979-80 season.
I am 70 and I remember every thing about this. We won on a Thursday. The best Thursday ever. One of the best days of my life!!!
There's a famous saying in Canada, or at least there used to be: "Where were you in '72?" Meaning where you were when Henderson scored the winning goal.
We were never sooo proud. I was 16, (female) stayed home from school with my brothers and cousins . I still get goose bumps remembering that final goal . We went from the lowest of low (thinking they would lose,) to the frigging Moon and back.! Never in my lifetime has anything ever compared to that iconic game. They should never have been booed. Where's the loyalty.
I too was let go from school to go watch the final game at home (we watched the other games in Russia on a TV in the gym because they were during the school day - Canadian games were in the evening). So I was a teenager Leaf fan in '72, and Paul Henderson was my favourite player. He did well because he had played in Europe for a few years and knew the European style (and also learned to wear a helmet like the Europeans). Imagine my elation when my favourite player scored the winning goals in the last two games to clinch the series! All in all, it was a good wake-up call for Canadian hockey. Our game had devolved into bullies and enforcers beating up the skilled players in the corners. Teams with the biggest, meanest guys were dominating the NHL. That's why I liked Paul Henderson - he was a Lady Byng recipient - an award given for low penalty time. The Russians showed us how the game should be played and I respect them for that. Canadians came away looking like brutes (that said, the Russians were more sneaky with their nastiness). Canada really didn't deserve to win in some ways, but we'll take it!
You also did a video on the Tragically Hip - you should know that they also refer to Henderson's goal in their song 'Fireworks'. The lyrics are
'...If there's a goal that everyone remembers, it was back in ol' 72
We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger
And all I remember is sitting beside you
You said you didn't give a f---- about hockey
And I never saw someone say that before"
So yeah, that goal is definitely engrained in Canadian culture.
I was only eight years old, but I remember this series well, especially game #8 in Russia. It was such a big deal that my grade three teacher brought in a TV to our classroom. When the game was finally over, and Canada had one on Paul Henderson's nail-biting ocertime winning goal, you could hear my whope school of 600 kids erupt in unison! Great memory! 🇨🇦 🍁 🏒
I am Canadian. The series was a matter of national pride. We would have been devastated had the Soviets won. Hockey was OUR game. The games were a highlight of biased refereeing and the amazing teamwork of the Soviets. The Canadian team was an "all star" team but had not the experience of playing together that Soviets had. There was one incident that did not show Canada in a good light. We were being slaughtered by one particular Russian player. Bobby Clarke was told to go out and injure him so he could no longer play. In a face off instead of hitting the pack he "accidentally" hit the Soviet's player in the ankle, breaking it and putting him out for the series. This of course was denied by the Camadian team. In our defense, the Russians were kicking our players and were not being penalized. When the Canadians retaliated they received penalties.
It was a disgrace!
A little over a half century ago ― on Thursday, September 28th, 1972 ― school studies for millions of Canadian children and teens, myself included, abruptly ceased when TV-laden carts were wheeled into thousands upon thousands of classrooms across this vast land from coast to coast, antennae immediatedly splayed and aimed, and CBC tuned in.
As an aside, I must point out that said carts were laden with decidedly more primitive televisions than you likely imagine, and if there was also recording equipment on the carts they would had been ancient reel-to-reel video tape recorders. (The kinda stuff I first taught myself with; good marks 'n' snivellin' got me an approved student audio-video club with access to school equipment. 🤓 😉 😆)
This unexpected development on that autumn day, a surprise to us, had been quickly arranged so that all we thoroughly Canadian kids could take in and absorb the most important thing in the universe to the entire country at that moment: The eighth and deciding game, broadcast live from Moscow, of an ... no, not "an" ... "the" ... of what was already then recognized as THE epic hockey battle of the Cold War, pitting our Pros against the Soviet Union's best.
Even after all these decades I remember the iconic, angry, bruising, bitter, bloody, icy, emotional, stick-and-puck-and-crashing-bodies warfare we witnessed in those games, in what came to be known forevermore as The Summit Series. Even the Soviet police were involved; at one point physically subduing the Director of Hockey Canada when he raged irate and started to go after the goal judge, who had refused to flick the goal light on when we legitimately tied the score late in the 3rd period of Game Eight. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the moment when we were told we could put our pencils down on that long ago day.
There was no law enacted mandating we watch the game. There was no directive from on high. It just happened. To this day, it is my understanding that we all saw that game due to the spontaneous patriotism of teachers and principals in Canadian schools everywhere. Somehow, they all separately recognized that this was an event of hugely symbolic import that would live on forever in hockey lore, perhaps moreso in the history of the nation. And they knew we needed to be part of it. True story. True Canadiana.
Oh. If you didn't know: In a legendary, heart-stopping manner for the ages, Canada, having been down in the series 1-3-1 (one win, three losses, one tie), had managed to win Games Six and Seven, and then came from behind that Thursday in Game Eight to first tie the game late in the 3rd period, as noted above, and then score the winning goal against the USSR with just 34 ticks left on the clock. We won the game 6-5, and thus took the series 4-3-1. There is no doubt in my mind that the visual action sequence broadcast live from Moscow, voiced over by the legendary Foster Hewitt's tension-filled play-by-play and burst of excitement when that final goal went in, is something that is permanently etched into the minds of the majority of our older citizens. Older citizens like me. Never to be forgotten.
O Canada! 🇨🇦
Cheers! 🍻 😁
I would add, if I may, that this was more than simply a hockey game. It was also democracy against communism. Few said it, but I think everyone knew it. In the '70s, the Russians were very busy trying to prove they were better than everyone else.
Ken Dryden went on to be one of the best goalies to ever play. 6 Stanley Cups in 8 year career
Amazing career.
He was called up from the minors late in the season , then won Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Then he was winning goaltender for Summit Series
The following year he wins Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year.
The following 5 more Stanely Cups seemed like a retirement party
I had the great fortune of meeting Ken Dryden in 90/91. He was doing a book tour for The Game. He was tall, very friendly and laughed at his rookie card someone brought in for an autograph. A gentleman.
My dad was a school teacher at that time. He told me that he went to the school hours early on the day of game 8. It was to secure the only television set for his classroom.
I too watched these games in school,i think that i was in grade 3 at the time. It was incredibly exciting to see Team Canada win!!
I won a contest which allowed my wife and I to attend the induction ceremony for Team Canada into the Hockey Hall of Fame. I even have Team Canada jersey signed by the players that were in attendence that night!
I think I was the one or ones who recommended this. People don't get how important this series was. Our entire school shut down during the games so teachers and students could watch.
WHA= The World Hockey Association it folded in 1979. When it folded 4 teams came into the NHL The Quebec Nordiques, today known as the Colorado Avalanche. The New England Whalers, which ultimately became the Carolina Hurricanes. The Winnipeg Jets, became the Arizona Coyotes. Finally the Edmonton Oilers. Which is still in Edmonton.
The Edmonton Oilers are the most famous of this group due to the fact they had a 17 year old player. At the time you had to be 20 to play in the NHL. This teenage player would go on to become he greatest hockey player in the history of the world, he holds an astounding 61 NHL records. If you want to see a Canadian hockey story: Wayne Gretzky, number 99, "The Great One".
Gretzky should have entered into the dispersal draft when the WHA was "merged" into the NHL. Except Pocklington had a solid argument, Gretzky was HIS employee and his job was to play for the Oilers, therefore Gretzky wasn't eligible for the dispersal draft. Gretzky didn't have a contract with the Oilers, he had one with Pocklington himself, this seriously pissed off the Colorado Rockies, who held the first pick, who eventually became the New Jersey Devils, who Gretzky after racking up 8 points in a single game against the Devils said, "Well, it’s time they got their act together. They’re ruining the whole league. They had better stop running a Mickey Mouse organization and put somebody on the ice."
I remember Don Cherry saying 99 was not tough enough to play in the NHL
That video was a 40,000 foot view of the series. Much more happened on and off the ice. I was lucky to go to the game in Vancouver and I still have the game program (I applied and won 2 sets of tickets in a ticket lottery). Every Canadian my age remembers the series and especially game 8. Games 6, 7 and 8 were epic. Several books have been written about the series.
Grade four…watched in the library at school. Henderson scored and she jumped up so hard her glasses fell off and she stepped on them. Got home and my father’s watch was in pieces on the kitchen table. He’d jumped over the coffee table and his watch flew off and hit the ceiling…hard. I remember watching the news that night and the reporter kept going into stores around Ottawa and wasn’t able to find anyone because they were all in the back watching the game.
I was a kid in school and for game 8 our phys. ed teacher had a TV brought into the gym and we all sat on the floor and watched the whole game. When Henderson scored it was incredible. An amazing moment for all of us.
I was in elementary school and was at home for lunch when Henderson scored the series winning goal. I walked back to school floating on a cloud and our teacher got really mad at us because we were so excited and wouldn’t be quiet and focus on our work.
I am the youngest of seven and was not quite in school when the series took place. I have very vague memories of moments, like when my sisters were on TV briefly during the game they attended, Pete Mahovlich's goal in game two, Espo's speech after game four, and then game eight. It is the only time I recall my Dad staying home from the office before he retired, one of my brothers skipped school without getting in trouble, and when Paul Henderson scored the winning goal the noise scared our cat so she tore off my lap and out of the room leaving a pair of 3 inch long scratches just above one knee. I still have the scars. After that playing pick up hockey someone was always Tretiak in goal and other Soviet players entered our awareness.
What is it about CZcams video narrators having serious issues with Francophone names? JC Tremblay I can understand the phonetic issues but Yvan Cournoyer he doesn't even get reasonably wrong.
THE ON ICE INTERVIEW BY ESPOSITO WAS THE RALLYING CALL FOR THE TEAM. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS INTERVIEWS IN CANADIAN SPORTS HISTORY.
I watched that! Fun game to watch.
When Phil Esposito was talking about being booed made me laugh it's not the only time that happened. I remember in 2010 when canada lost that one game to the u.s in Vancouver alot of us canadians were already calling our own team bums lmao. I seen a sports interview that had like 6 people in it after those Olympics n they were shocked at how the experience of seeing firsthand how serious we take hockey in our country n that we called our team bums after that loss n they knew we weren't accepting anything but gold lol
Grade 5, Leslieville Elementary School, Alberta. All of the students and faculty in the gym watching the final game. Even the piano tuner, who happened to be working on the school piano that day, quit working to watch the game with us. It was exciting and memorable.
Grade 5, Red Deer, Same scenario ❤❤
Every Canadian remembers where they were that day in 1972,I was,in grade 7 and was watching it.
I was 18 & it was so exciting to watch & Paul Henderson played for the Toronto Maple Leafs which was my team & still is in my heart, I just can’t cheer for Vancouver🥴 I was as angry as Phil Esposito was with those Canadian fans booing them against Russia, really made me angry. I was so proud of them in the Russian games, especially Paul Henderson, everyone’s hero😁❤️
I WAS 11 YRS OLD IN '72 AND WATCHED ALL THE GAMES IN MOSCOW ON TV VIA SATELLITE, WHICH WAS OFTEN BLURRY/STATICY. THE WHOLE COUNTRY STOPPED TO WATCH THE GAMES. I REMEMBER THE TENSION DURING THE GAMES-IT FELT LIKE DO OR DIE. WHEN HENDERSON SCORED THE WINNER WITH 34 SECONDS LEFT, THE WHOLE COUNTRY WENT CRAZY!
Incredible series. The call on the final goal is the most iconic in Canadian history.
The fighting is old school , that's why alot of the players seemed to be big bruisers , it's toaned down now. It depends now on more skating skill and stick handling which is how I prefer the game to be played. Some of those players suffered in their later years with brain injuries, because there was no helmets in those days.
The Russian team played a systematic tactical game and they were well conditioned. In the years that followed skating, puck handling skills, and fitness improved hockey overall. The series was a wake up call for hockey coaching strategies and development.
As I watch this today, the tears of joy are flowing once again as they did on that day in our grade 5 classroom. We didn't know that the entire country had been shut down. We thought our pricipal was being kind and allowing our school to take the time out for these games.
I remember that. That was awesome! I was 10...
A lot of kids started taking Tretiak's name when in front of the net.
We watched every game at home or at school!!! It was amazing!!!!
This was a very exciting event here in Canada! As you mentioned it was the Cold War! Though that was mainly between the US and USSR, some European Countries were also bigger players in that. Canada was a relatively small player although there was major concern about the Northern Canadian Arctic and West coastlines. There were constant ongoing fly overs by the USSR.
The games were very very competitive obviously! When Phil Esposito expressed his disappointment in the Canadian fans booing the team seemed to be a turning point. Canada is a country with a relatively small population, 1/10th of the US population. We obviously produced a lot of very competitive athletes in any winter sport due to our climate with a long winter season compared to most countries. Obviously The USSR also had a long winter season though Hockey has always been Canada's game as well as Curling. Though if you really want to talk about our "National Sport" that is Lacrosse!
You mentioned/asked about The WHA, yes this was a very new league that was just starting out. They attracted many of Canada's top players both current and retired like those mentioned in the video. There were two big acquisition stories. First were Gordy Howe and his two sons Mark & Marty, that was a big one, all three on Hartford Whalers. Then was the new young rookie out of the Ontario Hockey League The OHL! That player was Wayne Gretzky, who didn't play in the 1972 series, too young.
But yes in Canada we take our Hockey extremely serious & still do to this day! Even in the NHL pretty close to 50% of the players are Canadian! More Than USA and More than Russia, even if you include former Soviet block Countries I believe you will still find Canada has more than all of those Combined. There are many many countries who now have hockey teams that are competitive on the world stage that is demonstrated by The Olympics, The World Championships and ever the World Junior Championships, now for both men and Women!
The Team Canada weakness was obviously the way Canada approached the series in the beginning. The Majority of Canadian Teams/Players have had a Physical approach to the Game. Years later USSR came over to play NHL Teams, when they met Philadelphia this was the style they played the and they beat the USSR Team. Your question about players swinging sticks at Refs, no that is not common, I think that is the only time I am aware of involving a Ref. That particular time the players were very frustrated by the USSR Refs who were not up to the quality and standards of professional NHL Referees and many of the calls were going To The USSR Team advantage.
I remember watching the final game on TV in my science class. That is how it important it was. Paul Henderson's goal will never be matched! Great Canadian history memory
Thank you for sharing. I got to watch the first 4 games in Canada right at home, with my family (extended family (7 uncles and 9 aunts, we are French-Canadian). But with the last 4 games in Moscow, only the privileged few at school got to watch on television and even that reception was limited/sketchy. Most of us weren’t going to classes while the games were being played, rather, we were huddled around anyone in the school-yard with a transistor radio. So that we didn’t miss a word from the announcer (Foster Hewitt), we were as quiet as church mice, barely breathing, just in case our own breathing might have an adverse effect. Previously our sworn enemies in the school-yard, we were best friends, just to be allowed close enough to the person with the radio. More than one young girl became the most popular of all-time, which was EVERY woman’s fantasy (to be so popular that a devoted life-long husband WOULD eventually result). The girls were hatefully jealous of each other and it was extremely difficult for them to pretend to get along well enough to not draw the wrath of condemnation of the all-male fan base listening to every minute of every game. Because Foster Hewitt was elderly and mostly already incompetent as a sportscaster/journalist, there were often large pauses with no commentary about what was actually happening during the games being played overseas in Moscow. Suddenly, without warning, the Soviet defenseman lost the puck in his own end and a scoring chance for OUT Paul Henderson happened and he got his own rebound to score THE goal of OUR entire lifetimes. But the excitement for US was exponentially much greater than for those who were privileged enough to be watching on the grainy government television in our school gymnasium. The deafenining confused silence seemed to last an eternity before Foster Hewitt finally blurted out the scoring play over the radio broadcast. We were losing control of our bodily functions while we were just trying to grasp what had actually happened. The young girls used to think that their Dad would have to buy them a Ford Mustang sports car or an open top Jeep Wrangler, in order to attract the most popular boyfriend, but none of them would have guessed in advance that a cheap transistor hand-held radio was all that was needed to get a future husband and father for her children.
My Aunt and Uncle had tickets for this series and attended these games in Moscow. Both were from here in the Vancouver area of Canada. I was 13 years old. Our family talked about these exciting games for many years after.
i was a little kid but it was a huge moment to remember
I was in grade 7, we shut down all the classes and all the students gathered around the elevated TV to cheer on out team(every game). I will never forget it.
I think most Canadians would agree, that as proud as we are of this team's accomplishment, they did it against one of the greatest goaltenders ever to play the sport: Vladislav Tretiak. He had a lengthy international career and was inducted into the (North American) Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1989 despite never playing an NHL game. He is currently the president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. He did spend a few years coaching for the Chicago Black Hawks, and a number of star NHL goaltenders during this era wore his number 20.
What is not said in the video that explain a lot of aggressiveness from canadian is that urss team were treated really nice when they were in Canada. But team Canada when they were in the USSR, they interrupt their nights, give them cheap food and let them in a "non-vacation" atmosphere. They were spied etc.... (sorry my english is bad, Im from Quebec)
They sure tried to keep that quiet, but I remember hearing about that, too. That sort of treatment was rampant in the USSR at the time. They were known to spy on their own people, as well. The joys of communism.
I remember something about that too, that the Russians were pretty hostile to our players. Thanks for the nudge.
Never, ever, EVER apologize for your English. It's excellent! Listen, one time around Thanksgiving I wished a co-worker in Québec "Bonne fête de la dinde". She looked at me like I had three heads and said "Seriously? In English do you say "Happy festival of the turkey?"" What could I do but say yes, LOL! We still laugh about that one.......
At school a TV was wheeled into the hallway. 4 classes watched, problally 130 people
We could hear the students watching and cheering in other sections of the school.
I would not be surprised if almost all students across the country watched the game
Canada knew of the Soviets from the Olympics. They drummed our amateurs for years. The USSR were considered amateur even though they only played hockey under the guise of being in the army. This is what started the desire for our pros to face them.
I was in grade 4 and the teachers rolled TVs into the classrooms. The floors of the school shook when Henderson scored the winning goal. What a series.
I'm so glad to see you took the suggestions for this reaction! Great story, eh?!
Back in 2017 the NHL celebrated 100 years and did a series of videos on the 100 greatest players in its history. The video bios are around 5 minutes each and all offer some good history and context I think you'd enjoy. Love the videos, keep them coming!
I was in grade school. We didn't get to watch it on TV, but the school broadcast the play by play on the intercom system. I remember the whole school going wild when Henderson scored!
All of Canada held their breath during that last match. I remember having a TV brought into our classroom so we could watch during class.
In 72 I was 16 and in high school. Whenever the games were played and the time zone meant we were in class, the principle would shut things down and we went to the auditorium to watch the game. We were so proud of our players. A great series with a winning goal we'll never forget.
I was 9 and certainly remember school basically stopping and we all watched the 4 games in Moscow. My dad was actually in Moscow. How his buddy Barry Blanchard ever thought to buy the hockey package is beyond me but he did and they were part of the 3,000 Canadian fans who saw games 5 through 8 live. Nobody knew it was going to be such an important, dramatic sporting event & in 1972 Moscow was not high on the list of places to visit, especially for somebody like my father who wasn't much of a traveler but he was a sports fan.
The Prime Minister of Canada is sworn in on a picture of Henderson's goal.
😂😂😂😂
As an aside - about Rocky IV - much of that movie was filmed in Vancouver. Rocky and Drago's fight was in the Agrodome at the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition grounds).
Right next door to the Pacific Coliseum, the fourth Summit Series venue.
I still have a poster from that hockey summit. That game just took your breathe away and when Canada won our whole neighbourhood was outside banging pots, cheering and cars blowing their horns. An exciting game.
Sweet! Hockey again. Miss the sport reactions.
I was very young at the time , what I remember is my mother screaming with joy when we won! This is a funny saying about hockey , I was at the fights last night and a hockey game broke out! Haha!
I watched some of those matches when I was young. Tretiak the Soviet goalie ended up being very respected in Canada.
Ken Dryden (goalie) was only 18-19 years old, and was so nervous that the Russians would assassinate him, that he hid in the Hotel Room after every game, while the rest of the team were out partying
Check your facts dude, he was 25
You might want to read a book or watch a documentary instead of spreading misinformation. Dryden and his wife Lynda were two of the biggest tourists in the group, most interested in the local culture. You have one thing right he wasn't a partier and often kept to himself, a stereotypical goalie attribute.
he was born Aug. 1947
Of course I'm Canadian. I was 20 years old and had watched hockey my whole life . . . or at least since 1955 when my family got our first television set.
I remember screaming and literally jumping around the living room while my husband just stared at me in utter shock.
Put simply: Canada had to win because we claimed hockey as our game.
For years Canada had dominated in hockey at the Olympics. We grew up playing it, and nearly all of the players in the American NHL teams were from Canada. Olympic hockey players couldn't be professional, but the Soviets started a program where they subsidized their players to play and practice all year. They were playing against everybody else's college athletes, and were hard to beat. This series was the first to actually pit the Soviets against the Canadian pros.
This was a Hot War on ice!
We watched the games in primary school 5-6 years old..even then we knew the importance!
I was 8 years old and remember it very well. In my school they wheeled TV's into the gym and the whole school watched. In my house both my grandfathers came to visit and we all watched the last game at home. I thought Canada might go to war against Russia when they tried to kidnap Eagleson. When Henderson scored you could hear the whole city screaming!
The memories of that series will live forever in my memory. It was an amazing time in Canada. I wish my country was like it was in 72 Camelot!
I was in school during that series, and the staff brought in T.V.s so that we could all watch that final game together. It was unbelievable!
Canadian players did not come into camp in shape, but the Soviets were game ready. Our players had been on vacation, in every sense of the word, and training camp was used to get the players ready for the season. (Nowadays players train all summer so that they are ready to go once training camp starts.)
I was a toddler. I remember my dad picking me up and dancing around the room when Canada scored.
Meet, European rinks are bigger which gives you more room for a finesse game. North American smaller rinks gave us our physical game. The Soviets were not used to this and it frustrated them. There's video of a Soviet player kicking the Canadian player through his shin guard and cutting him in one of the melees.
As a Canuck based in the UK this is the greatest international hockey tournament of all time!!!
Hahahaha I remember watching that series and looking back at it now brings back memories of when hockey truly was played by MEN.
I was 16 girl in high school recently engaged to be married Feb 14, 1973 and recall that series. Canada takes its Hockey 🏒 seriously. There was so much excitement and
Canada Pride. Many people t9k the day off work and offices, schools brought in portable Television to follow the series especially game 8 final. I recall especially little Bobby Clarke, the great Phil Esposito and the mild mannered , quiet ZPaul Henderson who was the goal scorer. it was as if it were yesterday.
I’m surprised you never commented on the NHL players not wearing any helmets back in the 70s. Tough boys.
If I remember it correctly, it was a humbling experience for us Canadians. We were used to being the best, and we found out that we might not be. The russians took it seriously, and we didn't. Everyone expected us to roll over them, on our own turf, but that didn't happen. The Russians were faster and smarter. Now we were expected to go on their turf, and the rinks were bigger which gave the faster soviets a bigger edge.
But damn it, those hero's on skates just would not give up, they played smarter and did not under estimate those russians again. Those heros that wore our canadian jerseys dug deep, real deep, and played like they have never played before. It was incredible and they won, it wasn't pretty, but damn they won. I also think that summit changed hockey forever. A lot of people respected the russian or european way of hockey. A lot has changed from then to now, and I think for the better. But damn, the grit and never say quit was what won those hockey games, they are all hero's.
But don't forget, the Russian players were from the Central Red Army. They were professional soldiers who worked out that's why they were so agile. That was cheating and the games should have been stopped right there but the Canadians are such hockey lovers, they said whatthehell, let's give a run for their money.
I remember I was 9 and the school brought a TV into the gym so the whole school could watch the game!!
The WHA was indeed a rival league to the NHL. Lasted from 1972 to 1979. Winnipeg Jets were the most successful team, my home team. Saw a lot of WHA games growing up. After the league folded, 4 teams joined the NHL, there's a lot more to it, I suggest watching one of the videos explaining hte history.
Watched this in high school in the cafeteria. Paul Henderson number 19 for the Maple Leafs was the hero of the series.
biggest moment in our history
I was 4 when the Summit Series went down. I had older brothers who played hockey, and I’m Canadian 😊 I remember bits and pieces. But I was well aware of what this all meant
I remember hearing a song years after this series, written by a Canadian songwriter. I can't remember who wrote it or much of the song except the last line of the chorus. After describing other worthy events in history that are celebrated and revered, the composer ended with "...but you should have been in Canada when Henderson scored the goal." The country fairly exploded! The result of that series was momentous for Canadians, hockey fans or not. Thanks for the retrospective!
Greatest perhaps one could debate but what can't be debated is that it was the most important sporting event in history.
The side note of the 1972 Summit Series relates to the Finnish sport equipment history. The Soviets played with Finnish wood and fiberglass composite Titan sticks, which were painted red for the Summit for marketing purposes. As the story goes, later during the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics the people from Karhu-Titan-along with Antti-Jussi Tiitola-took young Wayne Gretzky to a sauna and got him to agree to play with a Titan stick: "Wayne Gretzky's Custom Stick Maker & Creator Of Titan - Antti-Jussi Tiitola Answers Your Questions". The same year Jari Kurri was paired with Gretzky: "Jari Kurri Gretzky's wingman during Oilers dyansty".
I was 12 years old, in the 6th grade during this series. I remember my teacher ( a nun, as I attended a Catholic school) used to bring a tv into the classroom so we could watch it when it’s games were televised during the day. The only learning that happened during that time was Canadian pride.
If the schoolteachers had not brought televisions into the classrooms, many of the kids would have stayed at home to watch the games, especially Game 8.
One moment that I always remember was right at the end of game 8. While the Canadians were celebrating their victory, the TV cameras cut to a shot of the Soviet team bench. The coach and players all looked like they were not only devastated, but also wondering if they would be sent to Siberia for losing the series. They did get some revenge. Two years later, another summit series was held, this time against the WHA players. Same format, 8 games, 4 in each country, and this time the Russians won the series. No one in Canada likes to remember Canada-Russia '74 - they all remember '72, and then skip ahead to the Canadian win against Czechoslovakia in Canada Cup '76.
WHA Bobby Hull signed the first 1 million dollar contract in hockey at Portage and Main in Winnipeg. Very entertaining and competitive hockey. Original Winnipeg Jets.
This is why there is the joke "I went out to watch the fights last night and a hockey game broke out!" rather than "there was fighting during the hockey game". Fighting was so much a thing that people joked that they were there to watch the fighting, not the hockey.
Also, that final goal was (and in many ways still is) considered the greatest hockey goal in Canadian hockey history!
Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal in EACH of the final three goals, including that thrilling goal in the final game that is probably the most famous goal in Canadian hockey history.
Yet they still haven't inducted him into the Hockey Hall Of Fame.
The WHA was a competitor to the NHL that started play in 1972 and ran until 1979 when it merged with the NHL simialar to the NBA and the ABA around the same time
see ROAMMS's comment ... the NHL 'had to' buy out the WHA because the Edm Oilers (WHA) had Gretzky
in high school we had big TVs (32") in the gymnasium and classes were suspended during the games
WHA was the league that Gretzky started in. The WHA merged with the NHL for the 1979/80 series. It was only around for around a decade, but a lot of the current teams can be traced back to the WHA.
It took only a month to change the consciousness of the Canadian nation. September 1 - "We can easily beat them in 8 matches", September 2 - "They are also good at playing hockey" September 8 -"They play better than us, we have no chance" September 22 - "Even when we play great, they still win" September 28 - "How did we win? Why are we so lucky? Canada is saved by a player who, even in his Toronto, is not in the lead in points scored"
I was a kid during the ‘72 Summit Series. I remember my Summit Series t-shirt with the stylized maple leaf and the faces of all Team Canada players within the leaf. This was a seminal moment in Canadian history that unified the country only 2 years after the 1970 October Crisis. We may not have known this at the time but, as a nation, we needed something positive to bring us together.
no guy we are canadian
Also remember that while Team Canada was in their hotel in Moscow, their meals were prepared with rancid meat, the KGB had bugged their rooms, incessant hammering all through the night, etc. It was an amazing thing at the time. I was in Grade 1 and I had the Paul Henderson Team Canada hockey card - amazing. I remember as soon as the game was over we were dismissed from school early - and when we got home at 1 pm all of our parents had the day off already, and were partying and celebrating the victory. It was like the Cold War, on ice.