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La Série du siècle
KEN DRYDEN NOUS RACONTE LES HUIT MATCHS
QUI ONT CHANGÉ LE HOCKEY
Par | By Jason Santerre
Series of
the Century
KEN DRYDEN ON EIGHT GAMES
THAT CHANGED HOCKEY
I
f you’re Canadian and over the age of
50, chances are you remember where
you were and whom you were with on
September 2, 1972. That’s the day the puck
dropped on the Summit Series pitting
Canada versus Russia. Finally, the undisputed super power of hockey would be
crowned.
Canada invented the game, giving the
world ice-carving artists like Beliveau,
Orr, Richard, and Howe. But as far as international competitions went, Soviet skat-
ers had dominated the gold medal count
from the start of the Cold War. Training
camps were more like boot camps. Players
were handpicked at the age of six. Coaches
worked them day and night. The trick? Five
skaters working as one unit.
In 1972, the stage was set. At first, it
was a showcase for the Canadian way —
the best way to win hockey games. But as
the eight-game series wore on, it became
about much more than hockey: Capitalism
versus Communism; Freedom versus Dictatorship; Us against Them.
Who better to talk about hockey, the
series, and what the atmosphere was like
S
i vous êtes Canadien et que vous avez plus de 50 ans, il y a de fortes chances que vous
vous souveniez de l’endroit où vous étiez le 2 septembre 1972. C’est le jour où la rondelle
est tombée sur la glace de la Série du siècle opposant le Canada à la Russie. L’incontestable
super puissance du hockey serait enfin couronnée.
44 years ago than Ken Dryden? The Hall
of Famer, Stanley Cup winner, and Game
1 starter said overconfidence almost led to
Canada’s downfall. “We thought we just
had to show up, be ourselves, and we’d win.”
And then, the unthinkable. “We scored
Le Canada a inventé le jeu et produit des maîtres de la glace tels que Béliveau, Orr, Richard
right away and then scored again so it
le palmarès des médailles d’or depuis le début de la guerre froide. Leurs camps d’entraînement
Dryden. The Russians countered with two
et Howe. Mais en matière de compétition internationale, les patineurs soviétiques dominaient
ressemblaient plutôt à des camps militaires. Les joueurs étaient soigneusement sélectionnés
à l’âge de six ans. Les entraîneurs les faisaient travailler jour et nuit. Le truc? Cinq joueurs qui
travaillent comme une seule entité.
En 1972, la glace était prête. Au départ, c’était une vitrine pour faire valoir la méthode cana-
dienne — la meilleure méthode pour gagner des matchs de hockey. Mais alors que la série de
huit avançait, la rivalité devenait plus grande que le hockey : capitalisme versus communisme;
liberté versus dictature; nous contre eux. g
was 2-0 in the first five minutes,” says
quick goals. The momentum had swung
to the other end of the ice. “Going into the
dressing room (head coach) Harry Sinden
said, ‘Well, you didn’t think it was going
to be easy did you?’ There was a moment
of clarity. We knew we were in for a long
month of hockey.” gg
SUMMER 2016 MONTRÉAL enSANTÉ
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