"The Russians gave us a lesson that myself, all our players and I guess the whole country won't forget for a long time" - Harry Sinden
"Henderson Has Scored For Canada!"
Almost any Canadian who is old enough can tell you exactly what he or she was doing on September 28, 1972, when Paul Henderson scored the 6-5 goal at 19:26 of the final period. For a moment, our world stood still, and then as the red light flickered behind Vladislav Tretiak, our hearts filled with joy, and relief.
"Here's a shot. Henderson makes a wild stab for it and falls," Foster Hewitt breathlessly described. "Here's another shot. Right in front. They Score!! Henderson has scored for Canada!"
As Foster Hewitt's ghostly words described "the goal heard around the world" millions of Canadians danced and hugged in a scene that was reminiscent of the celebrations at the end of World War II. Never has a single sporting moment meant so much to so many Canadians a sense of unparalleled nationalism.
Paul Henderson's goal sealed a remarkable comeback victory over a Soviet squad that had pushed Canada to the brink of defeat. Of course, none of this was supposed to happen. Team Canada was composed of the NHL's greatest stars, and were expected to easily defeat their communist counterparts. The success of the Soviets stunned Canadians, who had always unquestioningly believed in their country's hockey supremacy.
Team Canada restored the faith of fans by fighting back to win the final 3 games of the series, all on game winning goals by Paul Henderson. Henderson was a talented but unspectacular left winger who was the unlikeliest of heroes. Unlikely heroes have come to define Canadian hockey.
"I found myself with the puck in front of the net," remembers Henderson. "Tretiak made one stop and the puck came right back to me. There was room under him, so I poked the puck through."
"When I saw it go in, I just went bonkers." Millions of thrilled and extremely relieved Canadians went bonkers as well.
Thirty five years later, Canadians are still going bonkers about the series. Russians too have equally fond although often different memories about the clash at the top of the hockey world three decades ago.
My original website is 1972 Summit Series.com. I have a collection of articles and features over there that I think you may be interested in on this 35th anniversary of the most important hockey tournament ever played. I hope you enjoy:
Game Recaps and Box scores
- Game One - We Lost!
- Game Two - Redemption
- Game Three - The Win That Got Away
- Game Four - Canada Booed Off The Ice
- Esposito addresses the nation
- Dignity Blown (Dick Beddoes Column) Globe & Mail 1972
- Game Five - Buried in Moscow
- Game Six - The Comeback Begins
- Game Seven - Canada Forces Decisive Game Eight
- Game Eight - Henderson Has Scored For Canada!
Feature Articles By Joe Pelletier and guests
- 34 Seconds to Eternity - Joe Pelletier
- The Goal Heard Around The World - Joe Pelletier
- Witness To History: An Interview With A Canadian In Moscow - Joe Pelletier
- "I was at game 5" An interview with Andrei Petrov - Joe Pelletier
- Teaching Children About The Summit Series - Joe Pelletier
- 1972 Summit Series - Krystal Yee
- A Soviet View From 1972 - Vladimir Jurzinov (1972)
- Swedish Review of Series - Ulf Jansson (1972)
- The great mystery article - unknown
- The 1972 Summit Series - Bruce Kish
- They travelled to Moscow - Chris Thomas (1997)
- Original Newspaper Clippings
Player Biography and Stats
Soviet Biographies
Canadian Biographies
Statistics
Also See:
- Collectibles
- Quotable
- Buy the DVD! Canada's Team of the Century
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