The secrets of the Summit: on the 30th anniversary of the legendary Summit Series, we unveil some of the forgotten, obscure, and unknown tales from those momentous matches

ALMOST ANY CANADIAN OVER the age of 40 can tell you exactly what he or she was doing on September 28, 1972. That day Paul Henderson scored the winning goal at 19:26 of the final period of the 1972 Summit Series to give Canada a 6-5 victory over the Soviet Union. For a moment Canada stood still and then, as the red light flickered behind Vladislav Tretiak, a nation's hearts filled with joy--and relief.

"Here's a shot. Henderson makes a wild stab for it and falls," legendary television announcer Foster Hewitt breathlessly described. "Here's another shot Right in front. They score! Henderson has scored for Canada!"

As Hewitt's words described "the goal heard around the world," millions of Canadians danced and hugged in a scene that was reminiscent of the celebrations at the end of World War II.

Never has a single sporting moment given so many Canadians a sense of unparalleled nationalism.

To say that the story has been told a million times would be a gross understatement. September 2002 marked the 30th anniversary of the famed series. The story was probably told a million times in that month alone.

Like most great stories, there are always bits and pieces of the story that escape into obscurity.

One such unknown story is that Summit Series hero Henderson was initially reluctant to join the team. According to Roy MacSkimming's book "Cold War," Henderson and his wife had planned a late-August vacation to Germany. Henderson needed to be convinced by key organizer Alan Eagleson and Canadian Olympian Susan Nattrass to play. Needless to say Henderson has no regrets about his decision to skip his vacation.

The Summit Series almost never got underway due to an embarrassing diplomatic blunder. A Quebec judge granted an order of seizure on the Soviet hockey players' equipment in order to compensate a young Quebecois named Michel Dagenais. Dagenais had spent several months in Europe during 1968, and picked the wrong time to visit Prague. The day after he arrived Soviet troops and tanks entered the city. Dagenais was unharmed, but his car, a Renault 10 purchased for $1,581, was demolished.

Dagenais attempted to get his money back from Czech and Soviet authorities, but was never able to get very far. So he took his case to a court in Quebec when he learned that the Soviet hockey team was coming to Montreal. To his surprise the judge granted him a writ of seizure.

The Soviets never surrendered their equipment, and never gave Dagenais any money. The dispute was temporarily settled when Hockey Canada wrote him a check for $1,581, but Dagenais was not be able to cash it as political officials intervened.

Another interesting event happened just hours before the opening puck drop. Vladislav Tretiak, the thin young goalie that everyone thought was the weakest link of the Soviet team, got an unexpected visit from a goaltending legend.

Jacques Plante, the Montreal Canadiens legendary puck-stopper, showed up on game day and via an interpreter and a chalkboard gave Tretiak a few pointers about the Canadian shooters. As suddenly as he appeared, he disappeared. Tretiak never understood why Plante tutored him but he assumed it was because Plante took pity on him, thinking the Russian goalie was about to be humiliated.

It turned out that Tretiak was an Iron Curtain in the series. But it was the incredible Valeri Kharlamov who caught the attention of Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard after Game 1. The next day the cantankerous Ballard supposedly offered Kharlamov $1 million to play for the Leafs. The story was quickly written off as a publicity stunt. The Minnesota North Stars pulled a similar stunt a couple of weeks later when the series shifted to Moscow. They sent team president Walter Bush to Moscow to meet with Russian government officials, but it is largely believed it was just another publicity stunt.

Also after the shocking Soviet victory in Game 1, many Canadian journalists, who all predicted a romp by Team Canada, were eating their words--and one did literally. Dick Beddoes, a famed journalist and columnist, went as far to predict "Make it Canada, 8 games to 0. If the Russians win one game, I will eat this column shredded at high noon in a bowl of borscht on the front steps of the Russian Embassy." To his credit Beddoes was true to his word. Accompanied by a photographer and a Russian reporter, he appeared at the Soviet Consulate in Toronto and proceeded to chow down.

Many people don't realize that the Summit Series also featured exhibition games in Sweden and Czechoslovakia. Team Canada stopped in Sweden for two games before heading to Moscow, with the idea that they'd use these two games to get used to the bigger ice surface. Canada won the first game, 4-1, with the second game ending in a tie. Canada's extreme physical play was frowned upon by many watching the games. Wayne Cashman ended up in the worst condition, though. He said he was high-sticked, while the Swedes insist he bit his own tongue. Either way the great Bruins winger had to endure 50 stitches in his tongue.