The Goal That United Canada: 72 Amazing Stories

A moment in time.

It's rare for a person to remember exactly where he or she was at a single moment in time, some four decades later. It's rarer still for an entire nation to hold a collective memory of such a moment. This kind of hardwired retention usually results from group trauma -- the shock of assassination, large scale tragedy, or natural disaster.

Occasionally, the event that galvanizes a population is a happy one. Such was the case when Paul Henderson scored the memorable goal in '72, that won the game and united Canada.

The Goal that United Canada contains 72 stories that revolve around the '72 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. Viewed separately, they are very personal, even intimate in nature. When they are strung together they begin to tell a larger story, a uniquely Canadian story of love for our country and its game.

Buy The Book: Amazon.com

Hockey is often the focal point of the Canadian narrative. Author Sean Mitton found that out himself when he moved to North Carolina and founded the Canadian Expat Network website. Hockey united Canadians abroad, and often it was 1972 that dominated the discussion.

Mitton then got the idea of collecting people's stories and compiling them into a book for the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series. He claims he wasn't sure if he was crazy for undertaking this project. Deep down, he knew this project would succeed since he was three years old.

Mitton was just 3 in 1972 and has no direct memory of the series. But his mother - a non-hockey fan at that - was moved to extraordinary measures.

“She wasn’t even a hockey fan,” Mitton recently told the Toronto Sun. “She was a housewife in Georgetown, Ont., who happened to be listening to Bob Cole’s CBC radio feed from Moscow during Game 8. But she got so nervous, she couldn’t help just wandering around, cleaning everything. When Henderson scored, she just started crying, then felt she had to go outside and talk to the lady next door, who probably thought she was crazy.”

The story would be re-told throughout the years, triggering her son's insatiable curiosity about this amazing event. And over all the years he learned that almost everyone in Canada was someone how touched by the eight game hockey series in many different ways.

So Mitton, and co-author Jim Prime, set out interviewing Canadians from many walks of life. In their collection of stories they try to show not just the tried and true typical 1972 story, but the many layers beneath it.

Some of Canada's most recognizable names are included among the 72 stories - Peter Mansbridge, Walter Gretzky, Don Cherry, Denis Brodeur, Bob Cole, Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, Howie Meeker, Darryl Sittler, Johnny Bower.

The book even features Paul Henderson himself, telling the story of how his goal actually saved a marriage.

But they also include everyday Canadians - including some of the 3000 fans who travelled to Moscow with Team Canada. Others who were working in hospitals, or parked at a shopping mall in the United States or walking home across a deserted campus.

Oh yeah, the stereotypical story of watching the game in the gymnasium of a school is included, too. But by and large this is a completely entertaining collection of fun and at times bizarre stories that shines a whole new light on just how deeply Paul Henderson's heroics and the 1972 Summit Series affected Canadians.

--------------------------

"It was the greatest tournament ever played in sports. There's no doubt in my mind about that." -- Don Cherry

"We sang Oh Canada. I started to leave the arena, only to see a young Russian boy in tears with his mother trying to console him. I wanted to stop, and try to explain -- but I couldn't. We were worlds apart." -- Jim Herder

"That didn't even come to my mind - that I was a descendant of the Russians. I never ever thought of it. It was just 'I'm a Canadian and we won! We beat the Russians.' Absolutely no mixed allegiances!" -- Walter Gretzky

"…you could pretty well point to anyone across the country and you knew they were all watching the same thing. That doesn't happen very often in our country, as big as we are and as diverse as we are. But on that day, they were, and whether it was in a little school in Winnipeg or somewhere else in the country you knew it was that kind of feeling." -- Peter Mansbridge

Jaw Dropping Hockey Trivia by Don Weekes

Hockey trivia king Don Weekes is back with another action packed trivia book. Jaw Dropping Hockey Trivia the latest title from Weekes, who has released more than twenty books on hockey now.

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Here's more from the publisher:

Hockey drama ripped from the latest headlines. Awesome achievements immortalized in the record books. The exploits of superstar greats from Alex Ovechkin to Gordie Howe. This explosive trivia collection will test the knowledge and stoke the passion of hockey fans everywhere.

Hockey trivia maverick Don Weekes takes the reader on a colourful journey through hockey lore and legend. Eight must-read chapters of multiple-choice Q and ;A and seven thrilling games and quizzes cover every angle of the sport, including the wild 2011 Boston-Vancouver Stanley Cup final and the on-ice thrills at the 2010 Olympic Games. From great victories to notorious hits to uproarious interview quotes, the world's most exciting sport is crammed, in all of its zany glory, into one jaw dropping trivia package.

Hockey's Home by Martin Jones

Originally published in 2002, author Martin Jones and Nimbus Publishing are re-releasing their text that claims hockey's birth place is Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. 

Hockey's Home includes a wealth of information about the origins of the great game of hockey in Nova Scotia with particular emphasis on the role that the community of Dartmouth has played in forming the game.

The book includes a foreword by Paul Henderson.

Buy The Book: Chapters

Titans of '72: Team Canada's Summit Series Heroes

Mike Leonetti combines his love for hockey history with the Harold Barkley photo archives to bring us Titans of '72: Team Canada's Summit Series Heroes

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Here's more from the publisher:

Phil and Tony Esposito, Paul Henderson, Ken Dryden, Frank and Peter Mahovlich, Ron Ellis, Yvan Cournoyer, Rod Gilbert, Bobby Clarke, Guy Lapointe, Stan Mikita, Brad Park - these are some of the Team Canada heroes who struggled mightily to defeat the Soviet Union's formidable superstars. For most of September 1972, Canadians were riveted to their television screens in what became one of the most-watched events in Canadian history.

At first, in Canada, the Canadians floundered so badly, losing two games and tying one, that it seemed impossible to overcome the embarrassment of total defeat. But in Moscow, after losing another match, Team Canada turned the tables on the Soviets, winning an amazing three games in a row to take the Summit Series.

Now, in Titans of '72, bestselling author Mike Leonetti tells the stories behind each Canadian on that fabled Team Canada, including those like Bobby Orr who didn't actually play. Accompanying Leonetti's portraits of these genuine Canadian heroes are superb pictures by Harold Barkley, a photographer who pioneered the use of stop-action colour photography in hockey.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame: A Photographic History of the Rebel League, 1972-1979

Attention all you WHA fans. Timothy Gassen, the league's leading historian, is back with a new book. The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame: A Photographic History of the Rebel League, 1972-1979 is available now.

The large-format 128-page hardcover book features scores of newly discovered and unpublished color photos, rare league promotional materials and official vintage WHA team portraits. The book hit book store shelves in October 2012, in time for the WHA Hall of Fame's 40th anniversary celebrations. 

The book is authored by longtime hockey journalist and filmmaker Timothy Gassen, also president of the WHA Hall of Fame. It follows Gassen's 2007 book on Wayne Gretzky's start in the WHA, and his recent 6-DVD, 12-hour video documentary series on the WHA. A revised edition of his Gassen's first WHA book and a new WHA HOF DVD set is also slated for release soon. 

"The WHA Hall of Fame has discovered and acquired so many exciting images during its years of research," says Gassen, "and the 40th anniversary of the league is the perfect time to share them with hockey fans."

Dazzling images of WHA icons Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull are featured in the book, along with dozens of the other stars that made the WHA a revolutionary major hockey league. Official team portraits, game jerseys, pucks, memorabilia, publications, and vital league statistics make the new photo book the celebration that WHA fans have been waiting for.

The book's Foreword is penned by Howard Baldwin, former president of the WHA and owner of the New England Whalers.

You can buy the book at Amazon.com or at the author's website, http://www.whahof.com/WHAbook.html

100 Ways To Become Your Personal Best by former NHLer Mike Hartman

Former National Hockey League grinder Mike Hartman has released his own book. And it's not exactly the type of book you might expect from him. 

100 Ways to Become Your Personal Best: A Motivational Life Coaching Blueprint is Hartman's list of 100 guiding principles that helped him attain my dream. And he wants you to help develop your own 100 Ways and achieve your dreams, too.

Here's more from Mike Hartman himself:

Throughout my career as a professional hockey player, I benefited from having great coaches and mentors. Combined with my strong drive to improve my game no matter what it took, these coaches and mentors were able to make me a better hockey player and a better man. In my book, I tell my story and how I distilled those years of coaching and mentoring down to an essential list I call my 100 Ways to Become Your Personal Best.

Combining lessons learned from mentors, coaches and players, along with observations and insight gained through just talking with folks through the years, I developed a fantastic step-by-step guide to becoming your personal best called the Better Life Training Playbook for Life.

You can learn more about the project at http://mikehartman100.com/

Gold Mine To Gold Medal by Ivan McLelland

I got this message from hockey historian Ernie Bies via the Society For International Hockey Research discussion forum:

Ivan McLelland, who back stopped the Penticton Vs by beating Russia 5-0 in the 1955 World Championship, has just published a book. Don't have a lot of details but I think it is his life story and done as a fundraiser for Dementia Patients out in Penticton where Ivan is still going strong. Sells for $30. I think they only printed about 500 limited edition copies which are almost sold out and he plans to put it out in ebook later.

Update: The ebook is now available for $9.99 at Smashwords.com 

For those who do not know who Ivan McLelland is: He was the goaltender who backstopped the Penticton Vees to the 1955 World Ice Hockey Championships in Germany, blanking the Soviets 5-0 in the final game. He had four shutouts and gave up only five goals in the entire tournament as he and his teammates restored Canadian pride in international hockey. 

The previous year the Soviets debuted at the World Championships and shocked the world by defeating the heavily favored Canadians. 

In 1955 Ivan McLelland and the Penticton Vees - notably starring he Warwick brothers Grant, Dickie, and Billy - fought and scrapped their way to international glory. Grant was also the coach. He told the team if they lost to the Russians, they might as well book a flight to China, because there was no way they'd be allowed back into Canada.

Thanks to the Warwicks spirited play and the great goaltending of Ivan McLelland, the Penticton Vees became World Hockey Champions.

Here's more about the book: "Gold Mine to Gold Medal and Beyond" offers personal insights into the life of a young man who was an integral part of a historical international hockey event. It also features a group of young men, known as the Penticton Vees, who took the word “try” to a new level. Just as importantly, it is a life story and a love story that lived itself out through the fabulous fifties.

You'll experience the unique events that culminated in a team of “individuals” standing at the absolute pinnacle of the hockey world, in spite of the fact that given the cast of characters, many did not believe such an outcome was even possible. The stirring contrast between meager beginnings and international fame is highlighted by stories that have remained untold for decades.

Although this story has its roots in Canada there were definite ramifications that had an emotional impact on people throughout the globe. Indeed, this was the beginning of an international hockey rivalry like no other before or since. Regardless of the magnitude of the achievements involved, they have been unfairly forgotten, for the most part, due to the natural passage of time.

This recounting of the facts breathes life back into a fascinating and exciting series of events that represents something more than an international hockey story. It is a life story.

The Hockey News Top Ten

The Hockey News is back with another paper back book release. This time it is Hockey News Top 10: Counting Down the Game's Wonderful, Wild, Weird and Wacky!

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

In the past I have found THN book releases to be a bit hit and miss. But they tend to be great stocking stuffers or gifts for the younger hockey fan on your shopping list.

Here's more from the publisher, Transcontinental:

By nature, sports fans must compare their favourite player or team against all others to see where they rank among the best. It''s in that spirit we present The Hockey News Top 10s, a compilation of countdowns stretching from the incredible (all-time by position, clutch player, playoff run) to the comical (hockey names, haircuts, quotes). The Top 10s are a mix of the present and past and the NHL and beyond, giving fans of all ages and from all corners a reason to join the debate.

The Hockey News Top 10s is certain to stir the pot. We slot our favourites in 100 categories, but the rankings are sure to leave readers nodding in agreement or shaking their heads in disbelief. And that''s the fun of the Top 10... let the debates begin!

Chapter Examples
1. The Top 10 Centers of All-Time: you don''t come by the moniker ''The Great One'' without doing some special things and Wayne Gretzky did that in spades during his unparalleled career. No player comes close to his 58 official records.

2. The Top 10 NHLers with Bizarre Birthplaces: Not every player is born in North American or Europe. How do you go from Brazil to Buffalo?

3. Top 10 Shots in NHL history: There''s more than one way to score a goal in the NHL.

4. Top 10 Draft Day Steals: Not every superstar was a blue-chipper selected in the first round. Were there really 198 prospects better than Dominik Hasek?


Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

NHL 13 Hits Stores On September 11th

Gamers need no reminder that Electronic Arts popular NHL 13 is coming out on September 11th, 2012.

What's new in this game?

• All-New GM Connected - The franchise's most popular mode connects you and friends with the real world of hockey, allowing you to manage, play, or coach in a 30-team, human-controlled league. You can also take your GM Connected experience with you using the mobile companion app, ensuring that you'll never miss a single moment. 
• All-New True Performance Skating - Driven by real-world physics and more than 1,000 new gameplay animations, True Performance Skating authentically replicates the explosiveness, momentum, and top-end speed of today's NHL players. With a new layer of creativity added in-game, combined with control offered by the Skill Stick, you now have the entire toolset of an NHL player at your fingertips. 
• EA SPORTS Hockey I.Q. - With a completely overhauled A.I. system players are now fully aware of others on the ice, resulting in quicker, smarter, and more true-to-life decision-making. EA SPORTS Hockey I.Q. also delivers the deepest and most customizable set of real-world hockey systems and strategies ever. 
• NHL Moments Live - Rewrite or relive history as you replay some of the most thrilling moments from today's NHL. From Gagner's historic eight-point night and Crosby's epic return to the ice to new moments that are added throughout the season, you'll always be challenged to see if you have what it takes to play like a star.

Buy The Game Now:

Amazon.ca:  NHL 13 - PS3 - NHL 13 - Xbox 360
Amazon.com: NHL 13 - PS3 - NHL 13 - Xbox 360

37 Stories About Karlis: Karlis Skrastins Book Available In Latvia

I came across this tweet from @GirtsMataleao about a new hockey book in Latvia about the late Karlis Skrastins.

The book is called 37 Stories About Karlis and appears to only be available in Latvian. I have no idea if an English release is in the works or if this book will ever make it's way to North America.

Skrastins of course is a former NHL defenseman who lost his life along with the rest of his teammates and coaches when the plane carrying Russian hockey league team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed a year ago.

The book's website is also in Latvian. Using Google Translate here is what I've learned about the book.

Journalist Guntis Keisels compiled by legendary hockey Charles Skrastiņa family and friends telling stories of the book "37 stories of Karl."

Karlis Skrastins will remain eternally 37 years old, which he had filled with great events, emotions, loved ones and, of course, his great love - hockey. This book has many authors. Both the Charles family and friends, teammates and coaches who shared their memories and sports journalists who wrote these stories.

"37 stories of Karl" is a monument to Latvian boy who found his early call for the ability to reach your goal and left themselves so many good atmiņu.Grāmatā much a human story that will be interesting and any good hockey fan, as well as those who Karl heard the news broadcasts.

Number "3" and "7" Charles Skrastiņa - Iron Man - fate was significant. He was destined to live for saturated and purposeful life 37 years to become one of the most prominent and effective Latvian hockey players. The figures were on the hockey shirts, car and phone numbers. He had three daughters. All evil on 7 July. September at three in the afternoon.

Involved in producing a book - Wife Zane Skrastiņa, Mom Eve Skrastiņa, brother Atis Skrastins, coach Leonid Beresņevs and Oleg Znaroks, team members Rodrigo avalanches, Girts Ankipāns, friends Maris Akmentins, Aija Steel, Robert Štelmahere, journalists Mariss Anderson, Dainis Āzens, Ingmar Jurisons Guntis Keisels, John Matulis, Ilze Pole, Armand owls, Mr. Zemberga and many others.

Book issued by the publishing house "Penguin Books," and from 5. September it will be available in bookstores across Latvia.

1972 Summit Series on DVD

There are several great options for 1972 Summit Series fans when it comes to DVD shopping.

The best all inclusive package is '72 Complete gift set is the second major dvd set about the 1972 Summit Series. The first, Canada's Team of the Century: The Best of '72, was a huge success. '72 Complete will cater more to the hard core fans, as the 8 games in the series have already been released and are already in many people's collection. '72 Complete does feature a bonus exhibition game against the Swedes, as well as many new features such as interviews, Hall of Fame coverage, an original documentary, reunion dinner coverage and a feature called Where Were You in '72?. Judging by early results, '72 Completeis going to be another unqualified success. The 1972 Summit Series will never die.

That being said, my favorite 1972 Summit Series DVD is a little known documentary entitled Summit on Ice. It expertly captures the thrill and emotions in a very well done documentary. It's pretty hard to find now, though Amazon does have some second hand options. Apparently it is also on Netflix for September 2012.