1988 East Germany Andreas Ludwig Jersey

After the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) once again became a single, united country for the first time since 1949 with their official reunification on October 3, 1990.

With the division of Germany in the aftermath of World War II into Soviet controlled East Germany and West Germany, which was supported by Great Britian, France and the United States, on October 7, 1949, it necessitated separate national hockey team programs.

The flag of the German Democratic Republic,

otherwise known as East Germany

The East Germans made their international debut on January 28, 1951 in a 8-3 loss to Poland. It would take them until 1956 to make their debut at the World Championships, which they did in style, winning the "B" Pool tournament to earn promotion to the Top Division their first time out.

The East Germans were also represented at the 1956 Olympics by the Unified Team of Germany, a single team of athletes which competed at the Summer and Winter Olympics in 1956. However, in the case of the Winter Olympic hockey tournament, the East German and West German teams were not combined into a single representative team, but instead the two sides faced off against each other prior to the Olympics to determine which one team would represent Germany as a whole, so rather than being a unified team, it served the opposite effect in the case of hockey, pitting the two sides against each other!

For 1956, the West Germans won 7-3, leaving the East Germans out of the Games.

In 1957, the World Championships were held in the Soviet Union for the first time, and due to the Soviets occupying Hungary at the time, the United States, Canada, Norway, West Germany, Switzerland and Italy all stayed home in protest. With the lack of several of the favorites, East Germany was able to finish 5th thanks to wins over Japan, Poland and Austria.

Despite their success in 1957, they did not participate in the 1958 World Championships, but returned in 1959 for a 9th place finish. After being drubbed by the Soviet Union, the United States and Norway in the First Round, being outscored 21-6, they held their own in the Consolation Round, beating Poland 5-1, Switzerland 8-0 and Italy 8-6, but lost to West Germany and Norway for a second time.

East Germany was again represented by the Unified Team of Germany at the 1960 Olympics, only as in 1956, the West Germans prevailed in the qualification matches by scores of 5-2 and 5-3 and won the right to represent Germany as a whole.

After not participating in 1961 or 1962, the East Germans became regulars at the World Championships from 1963 on. Facing the might of the hockey powers of the world, the East Germans finished 6th (with a win over Finland and a tie against the United States) in 1963.

East Germany vs Czechoslovakia in 1963

The following year was another Olympic year, and East Germany was again represented by the Unified Team of Germany, but for a third time it was the West Germans who won the right to participate following a 4-3 win in their second game after a 4-4 tie in the first game gave the East Germans hope of participating in the Olympics for the first time.

East Germany next placed 5th (With wins over the United States, Norway and Finland) in the 1965 World Championships, 5th (with wins over Sweden (despite giving up 74 shots on goal!), Poland and Finland) in 1966 and 7th (with a win over West Germany and a tie with the United States) in 1967.

East Germany scoring against Sweden in 1965

For the 1968 Olympics, both East and West Germany competed as separate nations for the first time since the division of Germany. While they had met several times during the World Championships, this would be the only time the two nations would face each other at the Olympics, with the West prevailing by a score of 4-2.

East Germany in their only Olympic meeting against West Germany in 1968

With that loss, the East Germans finished in last place with an 0-7-0 record at the Olympics (which also served as the World Championships in Olympic years) and were relegated to Group B for the 1969 World Championships.

East Germany, wearing red instead of their customary blue,

faces Sweden at the 1968 Olympics

It was at this point in 1969, following their failure at the Olympics, that the East German authorities examined their national sporting programs, with a focus on maximizing their greatest return on investment, with their main focus being winning medals at the Summer and Winter Olympics.

As a result of this scrutiny, it was determined that the country should focus on individual sports, as a single track and field athlete, swimmer or speed skater could produce multiple gold medals at the Olympics, while team sports like water polo or ice hockey required many players, special facilities (such as pools and skating rinks) and special equipment (much of which needed to be imported), all resulting in higher operating costs - and all for the sake of hoping to win just a single medal, which seemed unlikely for the hockey program in the face of dominant competition from the Soviet Union, Canada, Czechoslovakia and Sweden.

This thinking, called the Lestungssportbeschluss Directive, resulted in ice hockey being relegated to "Sport 2" status by the East German sports federation, which resulted in East Germany never appearing in another Olympic hockey tournament and the immediate reduction in funding for it's domestic hockey league, which was left with only two clubs, SC Dynamo Berlin and SG Dynamo Weisswasser, to produce top level players for the East German National Team from 1971 on, with those two clubs only being spared because the head of the East German secret police, the Stasi, being an avid hockey fan.

In the 1969 World Championships B Pool, East Germany dominated with a perfect 7-0 record, defeating Poland, Yugoslavia, West Germany, Norway, Romania, Austria and Italy, scoring 11 goals three times and 13 once on their way to a final 62-13 goal differential, which saw them promoted back to the "A" Pool for 1970.

Back in the A Pool in 1970, they found the going much tougher, as they went 2-7-1, managing wins over Finland and Poland as well as a tie with Poland in their other meeting.

For 1971, the East Germans declined to participate in Pool A, and instead competed in Pool B, where they finished 3rd with a competitive 5-2-0 record. In 1972, the World Championships began to be held every year, regardless of it being an Olympic year. Still in Pool B, the East Germans again placed 3rd from a 4-2-0 mark.

As a result of the decision to reduce ice hockey to Class 2 status, the East Germans declined to send a team to the 1972 Olympic games, and would never again compete in the Winter Olympic hockey tournament.

The 1973 World Championship tournament saw the East Germans rise to the challenge despite the lack of support from their own government, waltzing to a 7-0 record with wins over the United States, Yugoslavia, Romania, Austria, Japan, Switzerland and Italy. Almost in spite of themselves, they were again headed back to the A Pool!

Once more swimming with the sharks proved difficult, and East Germany went 1-8-1, defeating Poland 5-3 in their first meeting and playing to a 3-3 tie in their second game of the double round robin schedule. Unfortunately for the East Germans, Poland managed two ties, their other coming against Finland, and the Poles were awarded a 5-0 win over Sweden when Swedish player Ulf Nilsson tested positive for a banned substance after Sweden had won easily by a score of 4-1. The 2 points Poland received in the standings was enough to leap them over East Germany, despite not having beaten them on the ice, resulting in the East Germans being relegated back to Pool B for 1975.

East Germany facing the Soviet Union in 1974

This began a series of promotions and relegations for the East Germans, as they were in the no man's land of international hockey, too good for the B Pool and not strong enough to survive in Pool A. They won the B Pool in 1975 with a 6-1 record, scoring 41 and giving up just 18 in 7 games to gain promotion back to the A Pool for 1976, where they were relegated after a 2-7-1 mark after losing Consolation Round games to Poland and Finland along with a tie against West Germany.

Back in Pool B for 1977, they were once again the dominant side, breezing to a 8-0 record while outscoring the competition 57-16, which only set themselves up for relegation from the A Pool in 1978 when they again faltered in the Consolation Round with ties against West Germany and the Untied States and a loss to Finland sealing their fate yet again.

A new format of play in 1979 saw them win Group 1 easily with a 4-0 mark, but a one goal loss to the Netherlands saw them miss out on promotion back to Pool A for 1981, as the World Championships were not held in 1980 due to the Olympics, which did not count as the World Championships as they had from 1924-1968.

The East German National Team in 1979

A down performance in 1981 saw the East Germans place 4th with a 4-2-1 record but they were again on top of the B Pool in 1982, defeating Norway 10-1 and China 13-7 on their way to a 6-0-1 record to earn their sixth promotion to the A Pool.

Wins over Italy and Finland in the First Round and again in the Consolation Round were enough to ensure their survival in the A Pool for consecutive tournaments for the first time since 1966, again, this coming from a country whose top national league consisted of a mere two clubs to draw national team players from.

Their participation in Pool A for a second consecutive time would have to wait until 1985, as 1984 was an Olympic year.

The 1985 World Championships were the East Germans last hurrah, as they only managed a pair of ties against Finland and the United States, sending them back down to the B Pool, where they would play out the remainder of their days as a separate nation, with a 3rd place finish in 1986 and 5th place finishes in 1987, 1989 and 1990.

The East German National Team at the 1985 World Championships

With East and West Germany reunited in time for the 1991 World Championships, only two players from East Germany would be picked to represent the reunified German National Team, goaltender Rene Bielke and forward Mario Naster. No players from the former East Germany were members of the 1992 Olympic team, but two defensemen from the East, Torsten Kienass and Jorg Handrick would dress for Germany at the 1994 Olympics.

Today's featured jersey is a 1988 East Germany Andreas Ludwig jersey. While West Germany's jerseys were based on the red, black and yellow colors of the German flag, and unlike many of the communist teams who wore red jerseys (the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland), the East Germans wore the surprising color combination of blue accented with red and white for most of their existence.

Today's featured jersey is one of the earliest examples of a jersey made by the Finnish company Tackla, as evidenced by the choice of font for the numbers, which would soon change to a block front with a 3-D drop shadow for the remainder of their time as supplier to the IIHF.

Of note, the "DDR" initials on the front of their jerseys stands for Deutsche Demokratische Republik, which translates to German Democratic Republic, often abbreviated as GDR in English.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1989 East Germany Jens Feller jersey as worn during the 1989 World Championships B Pool. This jersey was worn in the 1989 World Championships B Pool, Feller's only appearance for the East German National Team.

This jersey has an extremely minimalist style, with only simple striping on the arms and waist and is devoid of any traditional main cresting, with only the Tackla branding on the upper right chest and the DDR initials and East German coat of arms on the left chest in the style of a soccer jersey, leaving the rest of the body devoid of any traditional main logo.

Today's video section contains footage from the 1985 World Championships, where the East Germans faced off against Czechoslovakia, with the East Germans wearing red for one of the few times in their history.

1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Joe Sakic Jersey

On this date in 2009, the Colorado Avalanche retired the #19 of long time captain Joe Sakic.

A little known fact is that Sakic's parents were Croatian immigrants and he grew up speaking Croatian before attending elementary school. He would be named Rookie of the Year in the Western Hockey League of Canadian Juniors in 1987 after scoring 133 points. He also survived a horrific bus crash involving his club, the Swift Current Broncos, in which four of his teammates were killed. Sakic was then drafted by the Quebec Nordiques 15th overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.

The following year Sakic was named WHL Most Valuable Player and Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year after scoring 160 points.

Sakic during his days with Swift Current

He scored an assist on his NHL debut on October 6, 1988 versus the Hartford Whalers and originally wore sweater #88 because Alain Cote was wearing his preferred #19. He finished with 62 points in 70 games as a rookie.

Sakic wearing #88 as a rookie

With Cote now retired, Sakic claimed his #19 for 1989-90 and scored 102 points. 1990-91 saw Sakic score 109 points, sixth overall in the league, and be named co-captain of the Nordiques (for home games).

Sakic would miss 11 games in 1991-92, which would hurt him in his chances to repeat another 100 point season, and he would conclude the year with 94 points. During this time period. the Nordiques regularly finished in last place, which allowed them to load up on high draft choices and put them in position to acquire a number of talented players, highlighted by their trade of holdout Eric Lindros.

Now named full time team captain of the newly reconfigured Nordiques, Sakic would respond in 1992-93 with 105 points and lead the Nordiques out of the wilderness and into the playoffs for the first time in his career on the heels of a staggering 52 point improvement, double their total of the year prior. Without any previous playoff experience, the Nordiques would be eliminated in the first round by arch-rivals the Montreal Canadiens.

Sakic as captain of the Nordiques

1993-94 was a slight step back for Sakic, as he would fall short of the 100 point barrier with 92, but the Nordiques would take a large step back, dropping 28 points in the standings and miss the playoffs yet again.

The Nordiques final season of in Quebec saw Sakic finish fourth in scoring during the lockout shortened 1994-95 season and the Nordiques would capture the division title, only to be eliminated in six games by the New York Rangers, ending their time in Canada.

Relocated to Denver, the Colorado Avalanche took to the ice in the 1995-96 season hoping to continue the improvement shown during Sakic's seven seasons in Quebec. Little did anyone anticipate the events that would unfold that season.

After having a major falling out with the Montreal Canadiens, superstar goaltender Patrick Roy was traded to the Canadiens former arch-rivals, now located in Colorado, a trade which would have never, ever happened had the club remained in Quebec, and the Avalanche were now on their way to glory.

Sakic topped 50 goals for the first time with 51, adding 69 assists for a career high 120 points for third in the league. The Avalanche would storm the playoffs, defeating first the Vancouver Canucks, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks by identical 4 games to 2 margins. Next up was a hard fought series with the Detroit Red Wings, upsetting the team that finished 27 points ahead of them in the standings 4-2 for the right to face the upstart Florida Panthers, whom they easily dismissed in four straight games for the the franchises first Stanley Cup Championship in their first season out of Quebec. Sakic would lead the playoffs in scoring that season and be named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy.

It had been a long journey for Sakic, who, along with Curtis Leschyshyn, were the only two Nordiques players from the 1988-89 season to suffer through the years of last place finishes to eventually raise the Stanley Cup.

Sakic raises the 1996 Stanley Cup after many years of toil with the franchise

Sakic would eventually play 13 seasons in Colorado, scoring 100 points twice more in his career, eventually surpassing the 600 goal, 1,000 assist and 1,600 point marks. The Avalanche were regular fixtures in the playoffs, and contenders for the Stanley Cup for seven straight seasons, reaching the conference finals in six of those seven seasons, including winning the Stanley Cup again in 2001, the same season he won the Hart Trophy as league MVP, the Pearson Award and the Lady Byng Trophy.

Sakic again raised the Stanley Cup in 2001

Today's featured jersey is a 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Joe Sakic jersey and features the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals patch. This jersey stands apart with it's "mountain range" striping on the waist and arms, unlike any other jersey of it's day. Combined with it's unique color palette, custom number font, memorable secondary shoulder logos and the club's success on the ice, this style Colorado Avalanche jersey is a true icon of it's era and only the change to the templated Reebok Edge jerseys killed off what would have likely been one of those jerseys that lived on unchanged for years.

The white names and numbers on this jersey have a textured herringbone pattern pattern to them, which is called "Glacier Twill". In addition to that detail, the silver outline around all the numbers is a metallic silver material, which is often done as a flat grey material on Avalanche jerseys. The lettering for the name is also tall and narrow, as shown by the shape of the "C", which is also often found as a nearly perfect circle shape with rounded, instead of flat sides like shown here.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1989-90 Quebec Nordiques Joe Sakic jersey. This jersey was worn on the road when Sakic was still an assistant captain of the club, as he would not become a co-captain until the following season, and then only for home games, raising questions about just when and why Sakic was wearing the "C" on the road in 1989-90, perhaps due to an injury to their then Captain Peter Stastny. Close inspection will reveal clear remnants of an "A", replaced by a somewhat crudely fashioned "C" over the top of the "A".

Our first video today are the Top 10 Joe Sakic Moments from his throughout his career.

Our second video is a tribute video dedicated to his entire career on the occasion of his retirement.

1977-78 Minnesota North Stars Per-Olov Brasar Jersey

Born on this date in Falun, Sweden Per-Olov Brasar began his professional career with Leksands IF in Sweden's Elitserien in 1969-70 and proved to be a clutch performer in the playoffs, scoring 14 points in 14 games in both 1971 and again in 1973 when Leksands won the league championship.

Brasar early in his career with Leksands

1974 saw Brasar make his national team debut which saw his first appearance in the World Championships with 9 points in 9 games on his way to a bronze medal. He would make further appearances for Sweden at the Worlds in 1975 (bronze), 1976 (bronze), 1977 (with 11 points in 10 games on his way to a silver medal) and a final World Championships in 1978. Additionally, Brasar was named to Sweden's lineup for the inaugural Canada Cup in 1976.

Brasar made five World Championships with Sweden

1974-75 saw Leksands win a second championship following Brasar's best European season with 42 points in just 30 games.

After two more seasons, which included another 40 point campaign in 1976-77, Brasar made the move to North America, signing as a free agent with the Minnesota North Stars of the NHL, where the longer season allowed Brasar to set a new career best with 57 points while registering a 20 goal season while playing with fellow Swedes Roland Eriksson and Kent-Erik Andersson.

Eriksson, Brasar and Andersson teamed up with the North Stars

After a second full season in Minnesota, he was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks 22 games into the 1979-80 season. After having just scored 16 goals in two seasons, the change did Brasar good as he set career highs in all offensive categories with 22 goals, 41 assists and 63 points.

Brasar finished his NHL career with the Canucks

One final NHL season followed in 1981-82, which included a trip to the Stanley Cup finals with the Canucks, before Brasar returned to Leksands in 1982-83. He then played his final season with Mora IK in the second division before retiring.

His final NHL totals were 64 goals and 206 points in 348 games.

Today's featured jersey is a 1977-78 Minnesota North Stars Per-Olov Brasar jersey as worn during his rookie season in the NHL when he scored 20 goals to place third on the team behind Eriksson and Tim Young.

1977-78 was the final season for this seldom seen North Stars jersey style which was first adopted in 1975-76 and worn for just three seasons. It was the first North Stars jersey to use drop shadowed numbers, a feature that would remain in use through the 1990-91 season.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1977 Sweden National Team Per-Olov Brasar jersey as worn when Brasar won a silver medal with Sweden at the World Championships in Austria.

In the late 1970's Sweden abandoned their traditional "tre kronor" (three crowns" cresting for their jerseys in favor of the slogan "tre kronor" above a polar bear logo, which just happened to be the exact same polar bear used by the Polar Caravans brand of RV campers in an early example of corporate sponsorship on a hockey sweater.

The polar bear was gone by late 1981 and the three crowns returned permanently in time for the 1984 Canada Cup.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1980-81 Vancouver Canucks Per-Olov Brasar jersey. After starting life in 1970 with blue and green jerseys, Vancouver startled the world of hockey when they debuted their new "Flying V" jerseys, designed by a psychologist to be intimidating to their opponents!

Their new team logo was practically hidden on the arms among the bold stripes, which also did not leave room for the traditional location of the sleeve numbers on the upper arm, as they were now relegated to the end of the arms near the wrists - something never seen before or since.

Perhaps the most unusual and controversial feature of the jerseys was the lack of a main crest on the front, replaced instead by a giant "V" for Vancouver. Despite the derision and controversial nature of the jerseys, the Canucks stuck with them for seven seasons!

photos courtesy of Classic Auctions

2016 World Cup of Hockey Team Europe Anze Kopitar Jersey

Tonight is the second, and perhaps final, game of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey between Canada and Team Europe, an amalgamation of players from the European nations outside of Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic.

The formation of the team was a two-pronged effort by the NHL and the NHLPA to create a more competitive team than Slovakia, Switzerland or Germany would be able to send on their own and a pretty blatant way to include Slovenia's Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings in particular as well as the New York Rangers Mats Zuccarello of Norway, who otherwise would have had no place in the World Cup.

The final roster included players from eight countries, Thomas Vanek of Austria, Mikkel Bodker, Jannik Hansen and Frans Nielsen of Denmark, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare of France, Leon Draisaitl, Christian Erhoff, Thomas Greiss, Phillip Grubauer, Tobias Reider and Dennis Seidenberg of Germany, Zuccarello of Norway, Zedeno Chara, Marian Gaborik, Jaroslav Halak, Marian Hossa, Andrej Sekera and Tomas Tatar of Slovakia, team captain Kopitar of Slovenia, Roman Josi, Nino Niederreiter, Luca Sbisa and Mark Streit of Switzerland.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare of France

Outside of Canada, Russia, Finland, the United States, Sweden and the Czech Republic, who are the top six ranked nations in the current IIHF World Rankings, Switzerland at 7th and Slovakia at 8th seemed like the two most likely teams to be included in the World Cup if the organizers had not gone with the Team Europe and Team North America 23 an under "young guns" concept.

Belarus at 9th, is the highest ranked team not represented by a player on Team Europe. Germany (10th) would be the obvious choice to participate if Slovakia or Switzerland had been passed over.

Mikhail Grabovski of the New York Islanders is the NHL's all-time

career point leader from Belarus with 296 points

The rankings for the other nations included on Team Europe are Norway in 11th, Denmark at 13, France is 14th, Slovenia in 15th and Austria 17th.

One surprising omission is Latvia, ranked 12th, as there was a time that they would have had a good chance at multiple players on a Team Europe in the decade after the breakup of the Soviet Union, such as one time NHL regulars Arturs Irbe, Sandis Ozolinsh or Sergei Zholtok. The lone remaining nation ranked above Austria without a player on Team Europe is Kazakhstan in 16th.

 

Latvians Irbe, Ozolinsh and Zholtok

Team Europe's jerseys feature a "a modern E shield" crest "designed to signify unity between players" that "connects all of their home nations." Each players' jersey will feature the flag of their home country, a device employed by the NHL back during the era of the World vs. North America format of the NHL All-Star Game from 1998 to 2002.

Mats Zuccarello carries the Norway flag on his sleeve

Additionally, the names of each European nation are printed across the sleeve as a "unity stripe" while a "continental blue color scheme highlights the harmony on a unified team".

Today's featured jersey is a 2016 Team Europe Anze Kopitar jersey. A star center with the Los Angeles Kings, Kopitar is by far and away the best player in Slovenia's hockey history. While Slovenia is a national team on the rise, thanks to their unexpected qualification for the 2014 Olympics and return to the Olympics in 2018 now secured, as well as their eight appearances in the Top Division of the IIHF World Championships, Kopitar is the lone current Slovenian NHLer and one of just three in NHL history. If not for the Team Europe concept, Kopitar would be toiling at the Kings training camp instead of playing in the championship final of the World Cup on national TV across Canada, the United States and at home in Slovenia.

Today's video section begins with highlights of Team Europe's Semifinal overtime win over Sweden to advance to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey finals.

Next, Europe's opening game against the United States, which resulted in an unexpected shutout win over the Americans.

1972 Team Canada Paul Henderson Jersey

"Here's a shot. Henderson makes a wild stab for it and falls. Here's another shot. Right in front. They score! Henderson scores for Canada!"

The most famous goal in Canadian hockey history occurred on this date in 1972, as

Paul Henderson scored with 34 seconds remaining in Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.

The Summit Series was a groundbreaking event in not only hockey history, but international politics as well. The series would be the first time that the Canadians were able to take on the Soviets with a full squad of professional players head to head against the best that the Soviets had to offer. Most in Canada fully expected an easy time of it for Team Canada, with some even predicting an eight-game sweep.

That was not to be, however, as all of Canada was stunned when the Soviets came back from an early 2-0 deficit in Game 1 to win 7-3 in Montreal.

The stunned reaction in Canada to their Game 1 defeat

Canada would win Game 2 in Toronto by a score of 2-1 with the Soviets coming from behind by two goals in Winnipeg to earn a tie in Game 3.

Game 4 would see the Soviets up 4-1 after two periods, with the final score being 5-3, earning Team Canada a shower of boos from the Canadian crowd, earning them a tounge-lashing from a frustrated Phil Esposito as the series was about to head off to Moscow for the final four games.

Things did not start off any better for the Canadians in Moscow either, as Team Canada led 4-1 only to have the Soviets come back to win the game 5-4, putting them ahead three games to one, along with a tie and three home games remaining.

Game 6 went better for Team Canada, despite having 31 penalty minutes called against them versus only 4 assessed to the Soviets, Canada would win 3-2 in a game that would feature a pivotal moment in the series, as Bobby Clarke would fracture the Soviet's best forward Valeri Kharlamov's ankle with a deliberate slash.

Canada would even the series at three games each by winning Game 7 by a score of 4-3, with  Henderson scoring the winning goal with a shade over two minutes remaining, setting up a decisive Game 8.

While the series was supposed to be a "friendly" series of exhibition games with no overall winner, the Game 3 tie in Winnipeg left an odd amount of games to divide between the two sides, and when hen the Soviets proclaimed that even if Game 8 ended in a tie, they would be the winners on the basis of scoring one more goal than the Canadians during the series.

In an effort to ensure the best possible chance for a Soviet victory, they orchestrated a change in officials the night before the decisive game, choosing to replace the previously selected Swede and Czech referees with the same East German pair Josef Kompalla and Franz Baader

that were responsible for the great discrepancy of 27 penalty minutes in Game 6, so much so that the Canadians nicknamed the pair "Baader and Worse".

Canada threatened to leave Moscow without even playing Game 8 if that were the case and a compromise was reached where the the Soviets hand picked their favorite East German, while the Canadians got to choose the Czech ref Rudi Bata, who Canadian organizer Alan Eagleson figured didn't like the Soviets any more than he did!

Sure enough, just three minutes into the game Canada was two men short and gave up a power play goal. At 4:10, J. P. Parise was given yet another minor and his threatening reaction earned him a ten-minute misconduct. Now enraged, Parise's threatening outburst got him thrown out of the game as a game misconduct was added on.

Phil Esposito would score once the hockey resumed to tie the game at 6:45 and then the teams would trade goals by Vladimir Lutchenko and Brad Park to finish out the first period tied at 2-2.

The Soviets would use a little home ice advantage to score in the first minute of the second, as the puck was fired over the goal, only to take a large rebound off the mesh netting that topped the boards rather than the plexiglass of North American arenas. Vladimir Shadrin would put the puck behind Ken Dryden after it landed back into the area in front of the Canadian goal.

Bill White would score for Canada halfway through the period, only to have the Soviets score just over a minute later to regain the lead again and then once more on the power play at 16:44 to take a 5-3 lead into the third period.

Phil Esposito would ignite the Canadians with a goal at 2:27 of the third to pull Canada back within one. Esposito again charged the net and Yvan Cournoyer was able to put the rebound past Vladislav Tretiak at 12:56, only to have the Soviet goal judge fail to turn on the goal light, but the goal did count to tie the game. Again, a tie would allow the Soviets to claim a series victory, so the Canadians were still desperate to score another.

With the game now winding down in the last minute of play, Cournoyer intercepted a Soviet clearing attempt and passed to Henderson. The pass was behind him and he was tripped on the play as well, which sent him crashing into the end boards to the side of the Soviet goal.

At that point, Esposito, who was following the play, put the puck softly in front of the goal where Henderson, now back on his skates and, returning to play from behind the net, was able to jump on the loose puck and swat it towards Tretiak, who blocked with his leg. The puck bounced off his pads, allowing Henderson a second shot at glory, which he put over the sprawled Soviet goaltender to give Canada the series victory with only 34 seconds remaining in the contest.

Cournoyer hugs a jubilant Henderson seconds after he

cemented his place in hockey immortality

The success of the 1972 Summit Series led to an attempt at a repeat in 1974, only this time with a team made up of players from the World Hockey Association, which was one sided in favor of the Soviets and failed to capture the public's imagination despite the inclusion of both Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull, who were both absent in 1972.

The concept of the Summit Series eventually evolved into the Canada Cup tournament, which featured an expanded field of six teams, which in turn led to the current World Cup of Hockey.

The 1972 Summit Series also influenced many aspects of how the game was approached and played in North America, with off-season training now becoming important, as well as various strategy differences in puck possession and player positioning.

Today's featured jersey is a 1972 Team Canada Paul Henderson jersey as worn during the four games played in Moscow.

This jersey came up for public sale for the first time ever at auction in June of 2010 on ClassicAuctions.net, a leading online auction website based in Quebec, Canada. Fears immediately were voiced from many corners of the hockey world that this historic jersey would fall into the wrong hands - such as those of a trading card company like Be A Player or Upper Deck, who have made a business out of cutting up historical sports artifacts into hundreds of small pieces in order to create collectible trading cards.

Notable previous losses of significant items include the only set of goalie pads worn by Georges Vezina and a 1925 New York Yankees Babe Ruth jersey among the dozens of items that have been desecrated for the sake of short term profits by card companies.

The concern and publicity over the possible threat to "the most significant artifact in the history of the game of hockey" eventually saw the jersey sell for a record shattering $1,275,707, far outstripping the reported $250,000 paid for a Wayne Gretzky game worn jersey and the $191,000 for a Bobby Orr rookie jersey.

The winning bidder, Canadian real estate developer Mitchell Goldhar, not only preserved the jersey from possible destruction, but returned it to Canada from where it had been located in the United States, but took the iconic Canadian sweater on a tour of the country in an effort to share it with the citizens of the nation where everyone remembers where they were when Henderson score his dramatic goal. One of the highlights of the return of the jersey to Canada was having Henderson don the jersey once again.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

There is much more than can be written and examined about this series, it's significance and it's impact, and in fact many have done just so, as there are a number of books available on the subject as well as DVD sets of the games.

Finally, here is Henderson himself, telling the story from his unique point of view of the series and his famous goal.

1974-75 Minnesota Fighting Saints Gary Gambucci Jersey

Minnesota native Gary Gambucci, born on this date in 1946, joined the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers for the 1965-66 season with a flourish, leading the team in scoring with 23 goals and 40 points in 28 games. After a point reduction to 27 in his junior season, he rebounded with a 41 points season during his senior season of 1967-68 when he was named an All-American.

Gambucci led the Gophers in scoring as a sophomore

Gambucci spent the 1968-69 season with the United States National Team which saw him make his international debut at the 1969 World Championships, scoring a goal and an assist in 10 games. He also spent a season with the Rochester Mustangs of the United States hockey league, averaging two points per game with 28 goals and 62 points in 31 games.

The 1969 United States National Team

The 1969-70 season saw Gambucci with the US National Team again, playing in his second World Championships B Pool in 1970, scoring an impressive 11 goals and 18 points in just 7 games as the Americans won the tournament and promotion back to the Top Division for 1971.

The 1970 United States National Team

Gambucci had a stellar 1970-71 season with the US National team, scoring 51 goals and 98 points in 50 games before his third consecutive World Championships in 1971 with 7 goals and 10 points in 10 games.

The 1971 United States National Team

His efforts saw him signed by the Montreal Canadiens in May of 1971, who then traded him to the Minnesota North Stars. He spent the majority of the 1971-72 season with the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League, scoring 10 goals and 21 points in 56 games as well as making his NHL debut with the North Stars, seeing action in 9 games which included scoring his first NHL goal.

His entire 1972-73 season was spent with the Barons, who unusually relocated midway through the season to Jacksonville, Florida as their owner decided the Barons could not share the Cleveland market with the Cleveland Crusaders of the new World Hockey Association. Despite the unrest over the team's home situation, Gambucci led the team in scoring with 26 goals and 76 points to average a point per game in his 75 games.

His 1973-74 season saw him play a pair of games with the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL, 21 games with the Portland Buckaroos, scoring 11 goals and 26 points in 21 games, but the majority of his season was with the North Stars back in the NHL, seeing action in 42 games, where he scored one goal and 8 points.

Gambucci reached the NHL with the North Stars

Gambucci had been selected by the Philadelphia Blazers of the WHA back in 1972. The franchise relocated to Vancouver, who traded his WHA rights to the Minnesota Fighting Saints in June of 1974.

His first season in the WHA with the Fighting Saints was a chance to regain his offensive game, as he scored 19 goals and 37 points in 68 games in the wide open WHA. He also saw action in 7 games with the Fighting Saints minor league affiliate, the Johnstown Jets of the North American Hockey League.

Gambucci switched from the NHL to the WHA in 1974

Gambucci was back with the Fighting Saints in 1975-76, playing in 45 of their 59 games, scoring 10 goals and 16 points before the franchise ceased operations on February 28, 1976.

Gambucci at the St. Paul Civic Center, known for it's clear boards

He had one final chapter in his career, returning to the World Championship with the United States for the fourth time in the spring of 1976, contributing a goal in 5 points in ten games, which brought an end to his playing career.

His NHL totals were a modest 51 games played with 2 goals and 9 points and his two WHA seasons saw him play in 113 games with 289 goals and 53 assists. His World Championship totals were 37 games played with 20 goals and 35 points, aided by his dominating performance in the B Pool in 1970. Gambucci was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006.

Gambucci was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006

Today's feature jersey is a 1974-75 Minnesota Fighting Saints Gary Gambucci jersey. The Fighting Saints came into being in 1972-73, wearing jerseys with the same striping pattern, but with the team's "S" logo in home white, road blue and alternate gold. Before the season was over, a new set of white and blue jerseys debuted with their "Little Saint" logo as the new primary crest and remained in use through their demise in 1975-76.

When shopping for a Fighting Saints jersey, notice that the logo lacks a halo, does not say "Saints" inside the "S" logo and is wearing white skates, all common mistakes seen on many retail versions of the jersey, which use the version of the logo used in many of the team's print ads.

For the most accurate version we have seen, we recommend the one available from our friends at Vintage Minnesota Hockey.

Today's video is a look back at the Minnesota Fighting Saints and some of their legendary antics.