Grant D Pennell
Registered User
- May 13, 2018
- 22
- 17
The 1972 Canada Russia Hockey Series was the greatest series in the history of Sports. The Summit Series games in Canada were all at once, shocking, emotional, passionate, and disappointing. These games had a major impact on Canadian culture, forcing Canadians to unite in a common cause. From the shocking game one Soviet win in Montreal to Phil Esposito's passionate speech in Vancouver, these games shook an entire nation, while reaffirming another.
Author and hockey historian Grant Douglas Pennell takes the never done before step of breaking those games down, moment by moment, analyzing each goal, each player involved, with a view from both the Canadian and Soviet lens. The book also includes a detailed and interesting history of international hockey not only for both countries, but in each Canadian city that the games were played. This book is an utterly new and refreshing and incredibly deep view of the Classic Series.
About the Author:
Born and raised in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada in a hockey family, Grant is a long-time sports enthusiast, especially hockey, golf, and basketball. Grant has played hockey for fifty years at various levels, coached and officiated. Grants father Gord Pennell was both a professional player in the Montreal Organization and a long-time junior coach in Manitoba. Grants passion for writing comes from a love for reading that started as a young boy reading sports books, but also classic novels, comics, and anything he could get his hands on. He has long term plans to write several sports books and is proud of his first published book " Sitting on Tretiak" The 1972 Summit Series Play by Play- The Canadian games, which is getting glowing reviews. A sequel is in the works " Waving at Brezhnev, The Summit Series Play by Play Volume 2. The European Games.
Grant currently lives in Toronto Canada, plays Oldtimers hockey, manages a golf course and a self-professed Facebook hockey debater!
A Snippet from the book:
Goal 5: Kharlamov Soviets 3 Canada 2
If Zimin’s first goal of the game for the Soviets was historic, this goal was the one that woke up the Canadian hockey world. Fans, historians, and players still recount this goal as the first sign the Soviets were not only ultra-skilled and cohesive as a team, but they also possessed dynamic individual stars. The goal happens on an extremely poor shift by the 5 Canadian players on the ice. As the puck goes into Canada’s zone Don Awrey attempts to skate and stickhandle it out; over stick handling was a major issue for Canada in this game instead of head manning the puck or simply getting it out of Canada’s end. He ends up getting checked by Kharlamov who tries to send a pass to the right point.
Rod Gilbert intercepts Kharlamov's pass, and lazily starts to skate to centre ice with the puck. Kharlamov accelerates, catches Gilbert easily, strips him of the puck and makes a slick between his legs pass to Maltsev. Canada is able to get the puck back as Ratelle carries the puck deep into the Soviet zone, but his weak backhanded effort is deflected behind the Soviet net by Maltsev. As Maltsev goes for the puck, in the far corner, both Gilbert and Hadfield attempt to body check him. Maltsev jumps out of the way, keeps his balance, and flies up the ice head manning it to Kharlamov, trapping the two New York Rangers’ forwards deep.
Why was Maltsev able to get out of the way of the body check? The answer goes back to the father of Soviet hockey, Anatoli Tarasov, his teaching and preparing the Soviets to face and defeat the best Canadians. In 1957 Tarasov was interviewed at a Toronto Maple Leaf’s versus Chicago Black Hawks game regarding Canadian body checking. His response?
“We are not learning how to do it. We are learning how to avoid it.’’ Anatoli Tarasov
While the Soviets could hit and would hit, when necessary, their game was founded and perfected on quick puck movements and counter strikes. Rather than play the Canadians at their own game, they worked on a system to use their opponent's aggression against them. While that included the Soviet players delivering body contact when required, the actual Soviet goal was to use the opponent’s physical play against them by being able to anticipate and shrug off body contact, leaving the opposing player out of position. The training of the Soviet players to have superior fitness and core strength allowed for superior balance and agility as demonstrated by Maltsev on this play. Their team play emphasized fast, accurate passing which allowed them to create quick strike scenarios. Like a boxing counterpuncher, the Soviet player would either take the hit and counterpunch by moving the puck very quickly, leaving their opponent out of position, or avoid the hit as Maltsev does and trapping the Ranger forwards deep.
When Kharlamov received Maltsev’s pass, it should be noted that he had two full zones to carry the puck uncontested. This allowed the extremely fast Valeri Kharlamov to get to what was probably a very uncomfortable speed for the rapidly retreating Awrey and Seiling. In fact, they were already backing up into their own zone as Valeri was not yet at his opponent's blue line. This left a large gap between them that allowed Kharlamov to blow by Awrey on the outside (Awrey’s left). As Kharlamov gets closer, Awrey tries a poke check that fails as Kharlamov stickhandles the puck away from Awrey’s stick without any drop in speed, a significant skill for anyone.
Awrey is in big trouble. Because of that gap, and with Kharlamov’s speed, by the time the Canadian turned, Kharlamov was already a step past him. The gap between them needed to have been closed at the blue line as Kharlamov could have been angled into the boards with Seiling acting as a plan B for any Soviet players attempting to break to the net in anticipation of a Kharlamov pass. Accelerating with every quick stride, Kharlamov goes quite wide on Awrey, just outside the Canadian faceoff circle, as Awrey does a last-ditch diving attempt for the puck, similar to Park’s diving attempt on the Petrov shorthanded goal. Kharlamov was a fantastic skater and his edging as he turns towards the Canadian goal allows him to not only get a better angle to shoot on Dryden, but to move the puck to his forehand for the shot. Kharlamov is able to move to his forehand, but he was still at a sharp angle when he shot. Dryden plays the shot very poorly and it goes between his pads into the net. This was not an angle that any player should have been able to score from unless they were able to cut across the crease or shoot to the far post quickly and accurately. Kharlamov does neither of these things, and Dryden simply allows a shot from a bad angle through his pads.
This goal was a combination of a fantastic individual talent making a world class, legendary rush, and a full ice Canadian breakdown. While the two Canadian forwards Gilbert and Hadfield were trapped deep from the clever Maltsev manoeuvre, Ratelle is seen back checking through centre ice, but despite being a very strong skater, Ratelle never catches up to the play. Awrey has poor timing on the rush and misplays the one on one, but the real issue on this goal was Ken Dryden. A world class goalie simply does not let in a shot from a bad angle through his pads. Unfortunately for Canada, this would not be the end of Dryden’s mishaps this game or for the Series
Available at Amazon, Hard cover, Paperback and Kindle.
Author and hockey historian Grant Douglas Pennell takes the never done before step of breaking those games down, moment by moment, analyzing each goal, each player involved, with a view from both the Canadian and Soviet lens. The book also includes a detailed and interesting history of international hockey not only for both countries, but in each Canadian city that the games were played. This book is an utterly new and refreshing and incredibly deep view of the Classic Series.
About the Author:
Born and raised in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada in a hockey family, Grant is a long-time sports enthusiast, especially hockey, golf, and basketball. Grant has played hockey for fifty years at various levels, coached and officiated. Grants father Gord Pennell was both a professional player in the Montreal Organization and a long-time junior coach in Manitoba. Grants passion for writing comes from a love for reading that started as a young boy reading sports books, but also classic novels, comics, and anything he could get his hands on. He has long term plans to write several sports books and is proud of his first published book " Sitting on Tretiak" The 1972 Summit Series Play by Play- The Canadian games, which is getting glowing reviews. A sequel is in the works " Waving at Brezhnev, The Summit Series Play by Play Volume 2. The European Games.
Grant currently lives in Toronto Canada, plays Oldtimers hockey, manages a golf course and a self-professed Facebook hockey debater!
A Snippet from the book:
Goal 5: Kharlamov Soviets 3 Canada 2
If Zimin’s first goal of the game for the Soviets was historic, this goal was the one that woke up the Canadian hockey world. Fans, historians, and players still recount this goal as the first sign the Soviets were not only ultra-skilled and cohesive as a team, but they also possessed dynamic individual stars. The goal happens on an extremely poor shift by the 5 Canadian players on the ice. As the puck goes into Canada’s zone Don Awrey attempts to skate and stickhandle it out; over stick handling was a major issue for Canada in this game instead of head manning the puck or simply getting it out of Canada’s end. He ends up getting checked by Kharlamov who tries to send a pass to the right point.
Rod Gilbert intercepts Kharlamov's pass, and lazily starts to skate to centre ice with the puck. Kharlamov accelerates, catches Gilbert easily, strips him of the puck and makes a slick between his legs pass to Maltsev. Canada is able to get the puck back as Ratelle carries the puck deep into the Soviet zone, but his weak backhanded effort is deflected behind the Soviet net by Maltsev. As Maltsev goes for the puck, in the far corner, both Gilbert and Hadfield attempt to body check him. Maltsev jumps out of the way, keeps his balance, and flies up the ice head manning it to Kharlamov, trapping the two New York Rangers’ forwards deep.
Why was Maltsev able to get out of the way of the body check? The answer goes back to the father of Soviet hockey, Anatoli Tarasov, his teaching and preparing the Soviets to face and defeat the best Canadians. In 1957 Tarasov was interviewed at a Toronto Maple Leaf’s versus Chicago Black Hawks game regarding Canadian body checking. His response?
“We are not learning how to do it. We are learning how to avoid it.’’ Anatoli Tarasov
While the Soviets could hit and would hit, when necessary, their game was founded and perfected on quick puck movements and counter strikes. Rather than play the Canadians at their own game, they worked on a system to use their opponent's aggression against them. While that included the Soviet players delivering body contact when required, the actual Soviet goal was to use the opponent’s physical play against them by being able to anticipate and shrug off body contact, leaving the opposing player out of position. The training of the Soviet players to have superior fitness and core strength allowed for superior balance and agility as demonstrated by Maltsev on this play. Their team play emphasized fast, accurate passing which allowed them to create quick strike scenarios. Like a boxing counterpuncher, the Soviet player would either take the hit and counterpunch by moving the puck very quickly, leaving their opponent out of position, or avoid the hit as Maltsev does and trapping the Ranger forwards deep.
When Kharlamov received Maltsev’s pass, it should be noted that he had two full zones to carry the puck uncontested. This allowed the extremely fast Valeri Kharlamov to get to what was probably a very uncomfortable speed for the rapidly retreating Awrey and Seiling. In fact, they were already backing up into their own zone as Valeri was not yet at his opponent's blue line. This left a large gap between them that allowed Kharlamov to blow by Awrey on the outside (Awrey’s left). As Kharlamov gets closer, Awrey tries a poke check that fails as Kharlamov stickhandles the puck away from Awrey’s stick without any drop in speed, a significant skill for anyone.
Awrey is in big trouble. Because of that gap, and with Kharlamov’s speed, by the time the Canadian turned, Kharlamov was already a step past him. The gap between them needed to have been closed at the blue line as Kharlamov could have been angled into the boards with Seiling acting as a plan B for any Soviet players attempting to break to the net in anticipation of a Kharlamov pass. Accelerating with every quick stride, Kharlamov goes quite wide on Awrey, just outside the Canadian faceoff circle, as Awrey does a last-ditch diving attempt for the puck, similar to Park’s diving attempt on the Petrov shorthanded goal. Kharlamov was a fantastic skater and his edging as he turns towards the Canadian goal allows him to not only get a better angle to shoot on Dryden, but to move the puck to his forehand for the shot. Kharlamov is able to move to his forehand, but he was still at a sharp angle when he shot. Dryden plays the shot very poorly and it goes between his pads into the net. This was not an angle that any player should have been able to score from unless they were able to cut across the crease or shoot to the far post quickly and accurately. Kharlamov does neither of these things, and Dryden simply allows a shot from a bad angle through his pads.
This goal was a combination of a fantastic individual talent making a world class, legendary rush, and a full ice Canadian breakdown. While the two Canadian forwards Gilbert and Hadfield were trapped deep from the clever Maltsev manoeuvre, Ratelle is seen back checking through centre ice, but despite being a very strong skater, Ratelle never catches up to the play. Awrey has poor timing on the rush and misplays the one on one, but the real issue on this goal was Ken Dryden. A world class goalie simply does not let in a shot from a bad angle through his pads. Unfortunately for Canada, this would not be the end of Dryden’s mishaps this game or for the Series
Available at Amazon, Hard cover, Paperback and Kindle.
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