BOULDER, Colorado -- Our beloved bandy got a brief mention in a special publication from The Hockey News, "Sixty Moments That Changed the Game." The issue counts down the most important moments and developments in hockey in the sixty years since The Hockey News hit newsstands for the first time in 1947.
The reference comes in Moment #6 - the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union that opened the eyes of the world the dominance of the Soviets. Despite losing the series 4-3-1, the Russians proved themselves capable of icing a team that could compete with the brightest stars of the NHL.
As author Denis Gibbons notes, "The Soviets adopted many of their tactics from the game of bandy, which is played with a stick, ball and skates on an ice-covered soccer field." As I always say, there is no better training for "box hockey" (a term Russians use for traditional ice hockey referring to the confinement of the boards and glass) than skating for 90-minutes straight, 100 yards end to end, when it's -25F outside. After that, a four-minute penalty kill is a cakewalk. And the likes of Esposito, Orr, Henderson and Clarke don't seem so intimidating, especially since most of those guys were on hot dog and beer diets back in those days.
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