Team Canada's Phil Esposito takes a spill during the pre-game ceremonies of Game 5 of the Canada-Russia Summit Series in Moscow on Sept. 22, 1972. (File/Canadian Press)
Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of Game 1 of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, and on that day we asked you what (besides Paul Henderson's iconic winner in Game 8) your favourite moment or memory was from that series.
(To help jog your memory, you can listen to the games as they were originally heard, and then hear Hockey Night in Canada Radio host Gord Stellick talk to some of the key Canadian players about each of the games, available by clicking here.)
As of 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the question garnered 1,415 votes. Here's a breakdown of the numbers and your comments on why you feel the way you do about the memories of a Cold War showdown on ice:
11.03 per cent, or 156 votes: 'Bobby Clarke vs. Valeri Kharlamov'
Top response:
Truthyseeker: "The Clarke ankle breaker began the era we are now hopefully about to see begin to end, where winning at all costs by breaking the rules became okay and honourable good sportsmanship- the true value held by our grandfathers, ended. It is not too late to recapture our reputation in the world. Find the strength to teach your kids the right thing."
16.55 per cent, or 234 votes: 'Paul Henderson's beauty Game 7 winner'
Top response:
Paulca: "Paul Henderson's 3 game winners! Everybody talks about the last one but he nailed them 3 times."
21.15 per cent, or 299 votes: 'Soldiers try to take away Alan Eagleson'
Top response:
hihihi hahaha: "My pick is related to the Eagleson incident. It was after the scrum, when everyone was walking across the ice to the Canadian bench, and the trainer (or whoever) lifted both arms, and gave the arena the finger."
38.02 per cent, or 538 votes: 'Phil Esposito's speech after Game 4'
Top responses:
tatanka: "Espos speech by a mile, that was the glue that bound, it was a team after his speech, which took a lot of guts..."
dugie53: "Esposito's interview/rant was from the heart not the pocket book like most players of today's NHL. Put it on the tube to see again."
-------------------------------------
We also had a quite a few people go "off script," as 'Other' garnered 13.3 per cent of the vote, or 188 votes. Here are some of those comments:
Leaffanca: "One of my favourites was seeing the Canadian fans in Moscow cheering as if they were i an NHL rink,] and seeing the Russian fans and police looking very shocked and displeased. Oh and their chant: 'Da Da Canada, Nyet Nyet Soviets!!'"
ScottyMcScott: "My #1 moment was when the team landed in Montreal and got on a fire truck to take them downtown.
"Trudeau was shaking hands with them and Pete Mahovlich yanked him onto the fire truck with the rest of the team just as the firetruck was taking off for downtown.
"The prime minister's security was scrambling. So here you had a hockey team, on a firetruck, in Montreal, lights and sirens a blazing, with the prime minister of the country celebrating with the rest of the nation. We were one. (At least that's how I remembered it, I was a wee Scotty at the time)."
Zeke1212: "When Phil Esposito stumbled and fell during the introductions then made light of it. That broke the ice so to speak, and all the built up tensions were relieved for a moment."
