Conjure the most iconic moments in international hockey history, and two stand above the rest eternally. Not Canada Cup 1987, not World Cup 1996, not the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
The 1972 Summit Series and 1980 Miracle On Ice transcend the tournaments in which they happened. They are hockey’s two most celebrated snapshots not just internationally but even if we include the entire history of the NHL.
It’s “Henderson has scored for Canada!” and “Do you believe in Miracles?” They aren’t the only two remember-where-you-were moments international hockey tournaments have produced, but no others are looked back upon with such emotion.
Why?
Is it because the hockey was so good? The 1972 Summit Series did feature some of the sport’s all-time greats, from Bobby Clarke to Phil and Tony Esposito to Vladislav Tretiak to Boris Mikhailov. The Soviet Union’s puck movement and team game were like nothing North American hockey audiences had ever seen, and the eight-game classic vs. Canada marked the moment the world realized other nations could compete with the Great White North. The 1980 U.S. Olympic team delivered some of the most inspired and spirited hockey of all-time under master tactician coach Herb Brooks, who crafted a peerlessly conditioned team of American kids to beat the Soviets in what is still considered the sport’s greatest all-time upset.
But for anyone old enough to witness those tournaments: do you have strong memories of the actual…
