Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “.
There was an interesting response last week to an on-air conversation I had with The Great Paul Hill on CFOS.
We were talking about the historical significance of Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Hockey Series between Canada & Russia and exactly where we were at the moment when Paul Henderson scored that goal.
For many Canadians in a certain demographic, they can recall with great detail the exact location and circumstances of where they were September 28, 1972.
As a follow up, I received an e-mail from Merv Davidson, one of The Great Paul Hill’s many fans, who suggested Game 1 was the more significant game because the Russian display in a 7-3 win at Montreal served as an eye-opener for Team Canada.
Interesting.
Of course, what about Game 2 at Maple Leaf Gardens when Canada rebounded with a hard fought 4-1 win to even the series ?
Or Game 3, the tie game at Winnipeg which essentially changed the dynamic of the series to a best of 7 ?
Or Game 4 at Vancouver when Canada was booed off the ice as they lost 5-3 before heading to Europe and Russia.
Game 5 ? Canada blew a lead, lost 5-4 and were squarely against the wall for the remainder of the series.
Maybe Game 6 was the most important as Canada fought off a parade of penalties to stay alive with a 3-2 win.
Of course Game 7 had to be significant with Henderson’s split-the-defence game winner.
You can make the argument for most of the Summit Series that each game was pivotal
As for the most significant, I’ll stick with Game 8.
I’m Fred Wallace