Episode 7

Soul of a Nation

Synopsis

Two decades into the Cold War, relations are chilly between East and West. The Canadian embassy in Moscow aims to thaw the atmosphere by adding ice, proposing some friendly hockey games against a Soviet ministry team. The gesture seems to work as Pierre Trudeau soon becomes the first North American leader to visit the USSR.

With professional hockey players barred from international competition, the "amateur" Soviets hunger for a worthy rival. Their answer is to propose a friendly exhibition between the Soviet national squad and a team of top Canadian pros. Representatives from both sides quickly hammer out an agreement for an eight-game "Summit Series," unaware they are laying out the blueprint for what will become perhaps the greatest contest in the history of international hockey.

A festive atmosphere surrounds the first game at the Montreal Forum as fans clamour for tickets. Even with stars Bobby Hull and Bobby Orr out of the lineup, Canadians are confident their boys will soundly defeat the "overmatched" Soviet national team. But after Team Canada jumps out to an early lead, its supremely conditioned opponents roar back for a 7-3 victory as the Forum crowd, and the country, watches in stunned silence.

Perhaps shocked into action, Canada wins Game Two in Toronto on the strength of a brilliant goal by big Peter Mahovlich. But the Soviets refuse to retreat, earning a tie in Winnipeg and a convincing win in Vancouver that sends Team Canada off the ice to a chorus of boos. In a now-famous post-game interview, Phil Esposito lashes out at the country for abandoning its team.

With victory in the series now, unfathomably, in doubt, Team Canada heads behind the Iron Curtain along with by 3000 hearty supporters. After dropping the first game in Moscow, Canada battles back to tie the increasingly chippy series at three games apiece as the cheers of its supporters fill the Luzhniki Palace of Sports.

With nothing less than its very identity on the line, Canada grinds to a nervous standstill to watch Game Eight. When Paul Henderson scores the series-winning goal in the dying seconds, joy and relief washes over his team and his nation -- Canada's place atop the hockey world is safe. For now.

Back in North America, a different sort of challenge to NHL supremacy is underway as the upstart World Hockey Association lures star forward Bobby Hull to the Winnipeg Jets with the richest contract in hockey history. The addition of Hull, Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard – who agrees to coach the Quebec Nordiques - brings instant credibility, and the league becomes a hit in Edmonton and Ottawa as well. Soon, over a hundred players from the NHL and its farm teams have bolted to the WHA, which offers to double their salaries.

The battle for players takes its toll on the game, though. With two major pro hockey leagues now on the go, top-flight talent is spread too thin. Looking for a way to pitch their sub-par product, owners in both leagues aggressively market the violent side of the game. Fans seem to like the fisticuffs, but the quality of play suffers in the mid-70s as the brutish Philadelphia Flyers – dubbed the Broad Street Bullies – win two consecutive Stanley Cups. Soon, young players are emulating what they see on NHL rinks, culminating in a savage brawl during a minor hockey game in Bramalea, Ont., that brings national attention to the epidemic of violence.

Ultimately, though, a more artistic game wins out as the Montreal Canadiens, led by the dashing Guy Lafleur, end the Flyers' reign of terror by sweeping them in the 1976 Stanley Cup. Three years later, hockey's top talent reconsolidates when the WHA folds and the NHL absorbs its teams in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Quebec City, giving three relatively small Canadian cities a shot at the big-time.

Meanwhile, women continue their fight for hockey equality. A young woman named Nancy Dragan revives the women's squad at the University of Saskatchewan and organizes an exhibition against a university team in Minneapolis. Much to her surprise, Dragan's Huskiettes are soundly defeated by the polished Americans. Thanks to a law requiring that female sports teams receive equal funding, women in U.S. universities are getting more ice time and better equipment than their Canadian counterparts. Inspired, Dragan launches a crusade to promote women's hockey back home, and soon young girls are enjoyed opportunities not dreamed of in the past.

Fans at Le Colisée in Quebec City get their own glimpse of hockey's future when a skinny youngster from Brantford, Ont., lights up the city's annual Pee-Wee tournament. He may not look the part, but Wayne Gretzky stands on the verge of becoming the NHL's newest – and perhaps greatest – superstar.

'72 Summit Series, Hockey Hall of Fame

Vancouver Canucks, Hockey Hall of Fame