THE Goal

It was the only goal that mattered.

As CBC News told the story this morning, "40 years after Paul Henderson's famous goal in Game 8 of the Summit Series, many still remember exactly where they were."
I can ... and I'll tell you later.
It was the perfect cap to a surprisingly hard 7-game hockey series, between the best from Canada and the best from the U-S-S-R.
The series had been a long time in the making.
For more years than Canadians wanted to remember, we had been able to send only amateur teams to the Olympics and the world championships. Our latest Olympic hockey gold medal had come in 1960. Most of the European teams got around the “amateur” rules by recruiting players for military teams. Canadian teams were getting trounced. We wanted to send our best players from the N.H.L. to play against their best.
Finally, we would get our chance!
When the Summit Series of 8 games was negotiated (with the help of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau), all of our “best” Canadian players were recruited to a training camp, and the top 25 had to earn a spot on the team. The Soviet players were good, our team was the “best in the world” because hockey was OUR game; we KNEW that. But we were in for a surprise, and even a series of shocks.
Game 1 in Montréal, with Ken Dryden in goal, started off okay, but the Soviets rallied to trounce our team, 7-3.
Shock! Disbelief!
That script continued as the teams moved to Toronto and the West. Team Canada may have played well, but the “sheen” was wearing thin as the Soviets kept beating us. One of the items I remember is Capt. Phil Esposito on TV after the Game 4 loss in Vancouver, trying to reassure Canadians that the players were “doing their best,” and that we should continue to support them.
There were no fans at the airport when they left for overseas.
But ... three thousand Canadian partisans invaded the arena in Moscow, VERY loud in their Team Canada support.
The record for Team Canada was 1-3-1 after Game 5, and the daunting task became: win the three remaining games over there to win the Series.
Paul Henderson scored the winning goals in games 6 and 7.
So, it was all on the line in game 8.
During the series and the game itself, a number of events turned decidedly ugly: a number of players on both sides had delivered injury-causing body checks, and manager Alan Eagleson was plucked off the Canadian bench by Soviet police, and had to be “rescued” bodily by Peter Mahovlitch, all 6-foot 8 of him, who dove over the boards.
Early in the Third Period, all seemed to be lost; the Soviet team was leading 5-3, and a Canadian win seemed far off, if not impossible. Team Soviet was said to be claiming the Series win, by goal differential. hat was the 'spark.'
Team Canada suddenly scored, and Paul Henderson then scored the tying goal, and the drama was at its height.
With about a minute to go, Henderson (who had somehow called Peter Mahovlich off the ice!) was checked behind the Soviet net into the back boards. He then got up and skated in the face of the Soviet goaltender Tretiack. Somehow, the puck arrived near his stick, perhaps from Phil Esposito (Both seem to have no idea or recollection of how it got there!), and he shot it into the net.
Pandemonium!
Canada won the Summit Series, the nation heaved a collective sigh of relief, and then celebrated!
Most Canadians can remember where they were when THE GOAL was scored; I was in my living room, watching TV on a small black-and-white set, which used rabbit ears!
There have been later attempts at a number Summit Series, which all paled in comparison. They will never approach the level of play and drama of 1972.