I don’t know about you all, but I’m still riding the adrenaline rush of Thursday evening’s Canadian victory over the USA. In the midst of an incredibly tense and dangerous geopolitical environment, Canada has once again proudly prevailed using hockey on the international stage.
Over the past century, there have been countless moments where Canadian supremacy at hockey is the thing that we can attach to to stand out around the world. This has led to an ever-growing collection of moments in these international tournaments where a Canadian player makes a legacy defining moment. Something that puts the player’s name in the country’s history books and the story of the nation. One of those Heritage Minutes as an important moment in Canadian history.
We wanted to keep the momentum on Connor McDavid’s overtime winning goal at the 4 Nations Face-Off alive this weekend. Given the context on the tournament, being the first best-on-best international hockey in nearly a decade. And the context of the matchup between Canada and the United States on the world stage. His goal has the potential to become one of these historically important hockey moments for the country.
So, this week, we took to Twitter to ask the fans which is the greatest goal in Canadian hockey history.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @oilrigEDM. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Henderson has scored for Canada!
Back in 1972, Team Canada took on the Soviet Union in an eight-game series marking the first time the best Canadian hockey players played against the best players from the Soviet Union. Canada had pulled away from international hockey in this era due to disputes over player eligibility with the IIHF. However, they got the best of the best together to ice this team.
In the middle of the Cold War, international relations were tense and feelings of nationalism were strong, using the hockey teams as an outlet for nationalist pride. Canadian egos were at an all-time high as they thought the series would be a cakewalk. It turned out to be anything but as the Soviet team actually led the series after the first four games in Canada.
Heading into the eighth and final game, the series was tied. Three wins apiece with one tie, but the Soviet team had the tie breaker on goal differential.
With the game tied late, Paul Henderson inserted himself into Canadian history with the goal dreams are made of.
What may be influenced by a generational gap, as this was over 50 years ago now, 25.3% of voters think this is the most important goal in Canadian history. It finished second in this week’s poll.
The two greatest of all-time connect on a tournament winning goal
The 1987 Canada Cup was an incredible opportunity for the hockey world to see the two greatest players of all-time, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, playing together for Canada. They did not disappoint, combining in some way on nearly 30% of Canada’s goals in the tournament.
Canada once again met up with the Soviet Union in the finals, which in this tournament was a three game showdown. The Soviets won 6–5 in overtime in game one. Canada won 6–5 in double overtime in Game 2. Meaning Game 3 was a winner-take-all battle once again.
In a nearly identical situation to the Summit Series, the game was tied late in the third. Heading into the final minutes of regulation, Gretzky and Lemieux cemented their international hockey legacies by combining on one final goal to win the game and tournament.
With 14.6% of the votes in this week’s poll, Lemieux from Gretzky ranks third.
Sidney Crosby! The golden goal!
The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver were one of the biggest sporting events in this country’s history. And the entire tournament set the stage for this final game on the last day of the Olympics. Team Canada was sitting at the top of the medal table, with 13 gold medals. This game gave them their 14th to set the record for most gold medals in a single Winter Olympics of any country.
Revisiting the Canada-US hockey rivalry for the second time in a decade, Canada was looking to defeat the Americans again just like they did in 2002 at the Salt Lake City Olympics with the Lucky Loonie at centre ice.
It looked like they had it in regulation, as Canada had led the game since the first period. But a second-half comeback finished off by the game tying goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation sent it to overtime.
From there, we got the call heard around the country. The now iconic yell of “IGGY!” from Sidney Crosby to get the pass. The shot found the gap in Ryan Miller’s pads. And the famous call from Chris Cuthbert announcing the golden goal.
Reports after the game suggest that nearly two-thirds of the country was watching this game during the overtime goal. Almost 80% of the country watched the game at some point. And an average of 16.6M were watching at any given time. It is the most-watched sporting event in Canadian history.
Possibly influenced by generational factors with this event being the most important in the younger demographic’s hockey experience, Sidney Crosby’s golden goal was the winner of this week’s poll with 52.2% of the votes.
Connor McDavid! For Canada!
The inspiration for this topic. Connor McDavid’s overtime winner in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Not only was this a massive goal for him and his resume as a player. But for the entire country, this goal is representative of the sense of unity and Canadian pride sweeping the nation this year in the face of an unnerving threat to Canadian sovereignty dominating the political narrative in the country.
What started out as a gimmicky tournament with low expectations turned into some of the most exciting hockey the world has ever seen. The build-up of going almost an entire decade without best-on-best hockey. The buy-in from the players making it clear from the first minute of the first game that they were here to play. And the impact on the country from coast to coast to coast once again providing Canada with an international stage for the sport to be our sense of nationalistic pride.
It was almost a given before the tournament even started that Canada and the USA would face off in the final game. Not only because the two countries had, on paper, the best rosters, but also because of the greater context to the timing and placement of the tournament.
The two teams met the previous Saturday in a game the Americans won 3–1 after starting the game with three fights in the first nine seconds. But with a Canadian victory over Finland on Monday, the Canada-US matchup in the Final on Thursday was set.
While there were no fights in this game, the energy and commitment of the players was clear. Most of this game was spent tied. Despite Canada scoring early, the US got the next two and briefly led until Sam Bennett tied the game in the second period.
Eight minutes into overtime, history was made as Connor McDavid was left completely uncovered in prime scoring territory as he roofed the game winner and scored the biggest goal of his career (so far).
It’s recency may impact the place it holds in Canadian history, as it finished last in this week’s poll with 7.9% of the vote. But it’s importance in the moment cannot be understated.
Which goal do you think was the biggest in Canadian hockey history? Drop a comment down below!
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