'They were our enemies'

Summit Series was about more than just hockey

The Series An exhibition which turned legendary 1972 Summit Series Game Recaps Defining event in Canadian history Russian hockey changed drastically Oppression bred creativity on ice From SI Eliot: A lasting impression Flashback: Still blushing Flashback: Off to Hockeyland Flashback: Narrow victory Features Q&As: Henderson | Tretiak Team Stats: Canada | Soviet Union More stories Canada bodychecked communism Slap in face to Canadians Hopes were dim heading to Moscow Too much garbage with series

TORONTO (AP) -- Rob Knoll watched with the rest of his rural Saskatchewan school on a television set up in the gymnasium. David Brisbin stood in a hotel lobby, transfixed by a hockey game on the other side of the world.

Ask almost any Canadian alive at the time where they were 30 years ago Saturday and you get an emotional recounting of the day Canada bodychecked communism, when Paul Henderson scored with 34 seconds left in the final game to give National Hockey League stars victory in their first encounter with the Soviet Union.

The eight-game confrontation called the Summit Series matched the heavily favored Canadian professionals who claimed hockey as their birthright against the pseudo-amateur Soviet hockey machine that won almost every international tournament of its era.

By the time it ended in Moscow on Sept. 28, 1972, with Henderson's goal giving Canada a 6-5 triumph in the final game for a 4-3-1 series victory, the confrontation grew to symbolize the Cold War clash of political and social systems that dominated global affairs at the time.

Played out over a month, with the first four games in Canada and the last four in Moscow, the series became a national ordeal for Canadians who watched their bareheaded heroes initially get trounced by helmeted, rarely smiling Soviets playing a newfangled version of the national game.

That Canada came back to win the series, beating the Soviets in the final three games in Moscow, created a sports legend. The Canadian players were chosen as the country's sports team of the 20th century in a millennium poll conducted by the Canadian Press and Broadcast News.

Three decades later, the last game is remembered by Canadians with the same clarity that Americans remember the Kennedy assassination or the lunar landing.

"It was the biggest thing that happened in my life up to that time," said Knoll, 39, as he waited in line Thursday at a downtown shopping mall for autographs by series veterans Tony Esposito and Marcel Dionne.

Knoll told how school officials in his hometown of Vibank, Saskatchewan set up a television in the gymnasium so all 300 kids could watch the final game instead of going to class.

They suffered as Canada went into the third period down by two goals, then watched their heroes tie it at 5-5 near the end. With under a minute to go, they saw Henderson grab a loose puck in front of the Soviet goal, get stopped by goaltender Vladislav Tretiak, then knock in the rebound as broadcaster Foster Hewitt shouted words that still ring in their ears, "Henderson has scored for Canada!"

They also saw ugliness generated by the emotion and political overtones -- Canadian forward J.P. Parise threatening the referee with a wild swing of his stick; Canadian organizer Alan Eagleson giving the finger to the Soviet crowd after nearly getting arrested when he charged the goal judge for failing to signal the fifth Canadian goal; a normally pacifistic Rod Gilbert getting into the only gloves-off fight of the series with Soviet player Eugeny Mishakov.

"It was North America against the Soviets. They were our enemies and you have to win," Knoll said. "I've heard it referred to more than once as a war. It was a war on ice."

That's how Canadian scoring leader Phil Esposito, Tony's brother, remembered it in the book "Home Game" by Team Canada goalie Ken Dryden and journalist Roy MacGregor.

"When I think about it, like right now, I sort of get goose bumps, because I would have killed them to win. I would have done anything to win. Absolutely anything," Esposito said. "I think in a war, maybe that's what happens."

Emotions surrounding the series remain strong among those who took part. Henderson and his series linemate, Bobby Clarke, feuded in the media in recent weeks over Henderson's public criticism of Clarke's two-handed slash in the sixth game that broke the ankle of Russian star Valeri Kharlamov.

The 30th anniversary resembles a war commemoration, with most of the series veterans gathering for a weekend reunion and a special DVD featuring all 19 hours of game action along with interviews and other information on sale. Each game has been rebroadcast on the ESPN Classic Canada cable television station.

In Russia, the anniversary also has been commemorated with extensive media coverage and broadcasts of documentaries and some of the games.

Even though they lost, the Russian players remember the series positively because they proved they were as good as the NHL professionals who had been heavily favored beforehand, said Bill Gillespie, a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. correspondent in Moscow.

Watching the games today reveals the influence that the Soviet system emphasizing all five skaters playing as a unit has exerted on the modern NHL game.

"Everybody realized, `Hey, the old game doesn't work any more," said Brisbin, now 56.

He was in a Hamilton, Ontario, hotel on business and stopped in the lobby to watch the final game. He never moved, and when Henderson scored the game-winner, a spontaneous celebration erupted with Brisbin admitting to "a few drinks."

Looking back, he attributes the enduring legacy of the series to its cathartic nature, with Canada rising from defeat to reclaim its national pride.

"There's no way it would be nearly as memorable," he said, "if it wasn't so difficult."

 

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