Home fans boo, Espo lets them have it
People took the day off work on Sept. 28, 1972 to watch Canada play the Soviet Union. In the game's last seconds, their hero Paul Henderson scored an epoch-making goal. But the hockey series was more than just that final game. The fast and skilled Soviets surprisingly showed up Team Canada in eight gruelling games that changed Canadian hockey forever. It became faster, better. And the drama began in game one when Team Canada skated onto the ice self-admiring and mighty, only to be knocked down hard, 7-3, by the Soviet Union.
"I'm really disappointed [with the fans]. I am completely disappointed. I cannot believe it," he says with a hangdog face. "Some of our guys are really, really down in the dumps. We know, we're trying, I mean, hell, we're doing the best we can."
• Phil Esposito was named the MVP of game 4. • Team Canada saw him as their leader throughout the Canada-Soviet series.
• Before the series, Esposito was known as a brutish goal-scorer who stood around the net waiting for his chance. He played for the Boston Bruins at the time.
• In 1972, Esposito was the first NHLer to score 70 goals.
Program: Sunday Magazine
Broadcast Date: Sept. 10, 1972
Guest(s): Phil Esposito
Host: Frank Herbert, Bruce Rogers
Duration: 1:08
Last updated: September 28, 2012
Page consulted on December 5, 2013
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