Bill White was an outstanding defenseman with Team Canada 1972, contributing 1 goal and 1 assist in seven games played. Not exactly a flashy player, White's inclusion on the team may have surprised casual hockey fans, but certainly not his teammates.
White of course counts game eight as his favorite memory of the series - Henderson's goal and the celebrations. But don't forget the Canadians had to kill off the final 34 seconds of the game following Henderson's goal - 34 seconds which felt like an eternity.
Who was put out on the ice to help kill off the final seconds? Bill White. In fact it was White who relieved the pressure the Soviets were applying late in the game when he flipped the puck high down the ice. White's clearing attempt was perfect, as it was not far enough for icing. That effectively killed off the rest of the game.
White also remembers the switch of referees at the beginning of the game.
"Somehow I had felt there was a fix in there with the referees," said White. Swedish referee Uve Dahlberg was supposed to be one of the two referees, but somehow the Russians kept him out of the game and forced Canada to play with the incompetent - or perhaps down right biased - referee Josef Kompalla.
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