The Summit Series was an 8-game affair, at the height of the Cold War, pitting the best professional players that Canada had to offer against a hated Soviet squad that kept winning Olympic gold medals but wasn't taken too seriously (after all, Canada sent amateurs to the Olympics while the Soviets always sent their pros). The political overtones were, of course, huge, as were the implications for Canada's national pride.

     But the Canadians were stunned in Game 1, on September 2, 1972, in Montreal, by a score of 7-3; despite marginally outplaying the Soviets (they outshot them 32-30), they were stonewalled by the great Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak. Canada won Game 2 in Toronto, in a game that will be forever known as "Brother Night." They won 4-1, outshooting the Soviets 36-21. But they had real trouble beating Tretiak, and didn't cement the game until Pete Mahovlich's remarkable short-handed goal at 6:47 of the third, which put them ahead 3-1. Big brother Frank Mahovlich's game clincher came at 8:59.

   But the upstart Soviets drew them in Winnipeg in Game 3, 4-4, (in part because Canadian superstar Bobby Hull had jumped to the World Hockey Association and had been banned from playing by the NHL), and won Game 4 in Vancouver, 5-3, despite being outshot 41-31. Fans routinely booed the Canadians.

   In Game 5, back in Moscow, Canada played the best first 40 minutes of the series, jumping to a 3-0 lead and thoroughly dominating the home team in their capital. But then in the third, Team Canada just seemed to stop skating, and the Russians capitalized - 5 third period goals on 11 shots, and a BIG 5-3 win, giving them an almost insurmountable 3-1-1 series lead. Canada now had to win all three remaining games to win the series.

   In Game 6, the Canadians finally pulled it together, winning 3-2 despite being penalized by the Soviet official who had never seen the physical brand of ice hockey that Canadians played. In Game 7, the Soviets outshot the Canadians for a second straight game ( 31-25, and 29-22 in Game 6), but this time Canadian goalie Ken Dryden was the star and Canada won 4-3, thanks to a nifty one-on-two third-period goal from Paul Henderson at 17:54, to tie the series at 3-3-1.

   Game 8: Moscow.  Canada had the momentum going into Game 8, but they still had to win the game to win the series. Right at game time, the Russians secretly switched officials: the agreed-upon official disappeared and the referee from Game 6 came in. When the game got under way, a steady procession of players to Canada's penalty box ensued; Canadian fans in the stands starting chanting "Let's go home." The Soviets went ahead 5-3 in the second, leaving Canada forced to fight for another 3rd period comeback.

   The great Phil Esposito started it off with an early goal at 2:27 mark of the third, then set up Yvan Cournoyer's goal that tied it at 5-5. Then, with a minute remaining, Esposito took the puck into the Soviet zone, with Henderson and Cournoyer trailing. Esposito passed the puck to Cournoyer. Cournoyer took a shot and missed. Henderson made a wild stab for the puck, but fell on his stomach. With 37 seconds left, Henderson got back up, headed to the front of the net. There he got a hold of the loose puck from the rebound, put a move on Tretiak and slid the puck to the back of the net.