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HSC: 1972 Summit Series Game Two Mahovlich Goal P

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop / Sports - Game Used Memorabilia Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:15,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD
HSC: 1972 Summit Series Game Two Mahovlich Goal P
<B>1972 Summit Series Game Two Pete Mahovlich Goal-Scoring Puck.</B></I> No Canadian hockey fan alive to see the Series could ever forget it. In much the same way that the United States' victory over the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics continues to resonate these decades later, so does the '72 Summit Series remain a source of great national pride for our neighbors to the north. After a crushing loss in Game One of the fabled contest with the Russians, the Canadians rallied in the second game, and, in the face of great adversity, went on to carry the Series by a score of four wins, three losses and a tie. An improbable victory perhaps, though that is always the sweetest kind. Most Canadians will admit that the rather decisive loss in Game One shook their faith quite considerably, and most will also tell you that the turning point, the moment when it seemed that their team might actually do it, was when Pete Mahovlich netted his incredible short-handed goal to take a three to one lead in Game Two. Here we offer the very puck that gave an entire nation a reason to believe.<BR><BR> Universally accepted as the most remarkable individual effort of the Series, the lanky "Little M" picked up a Phil Esposito clearing attempt just inside the center line as Canada tried to kill a penalty. Mahovlich faked his vicious slapshot, freezing the Soviet defender for just an instant, but enough time to blaze past and drive toward the goal. Standing between him and the net was the superstar Russian goalie Vladislav Tretiak, the future Hall of Famer who would introduce his tremendous skills to the world in the '72 Summit Series. Mahovlich faked a forehand shot and then went to his backhand, falling over Tretiak as he miraculously slipped the puck into the net. This puck.<BR><BR> The story of how it came into the possession of our consignor is one of pure chance. He had scored excellent tickets for the game, and found himself in the red seats at Maple Leaf Gardens, in perfect position to see Mahovlich's historic goal from just to the right of Tretiak's net. Moments later, when play restarted, a face-off took place directly in front of our consignor's seats. The puck was dropped, and immediately it was airborne again. He remembers how it tumbled gently, as if in slow motion, bouncing off of the back of the man seated in front of him before landing in his hands. The puck had not been changed after Mahovlich's goal. He had that incredible puck. Years later he took it to the Hockey Hall of Fame, which was very interested in acquiring it for their collection, but could offer no financial compensation. A friend suggested that he auction the piece, and research of his options brought him to Heritage.<BR><BR> The puck shows tremendous use from that historic game, with heavy gouges from collisions with sticks and skate blades. The flags of the two competing nations appear on one side, with the words "Canada 1972 Russia." The verso has our consignor's vintage notation, in gold, reading "Peter Mahovlich 6:47 Second Per. - Short Handed - Canada 3, USSR 1 - Final Score Can. 4, USSR 1."<BR><BR> Serious hockey collectors already know that pucks from this storied series are all but non-existent, and would clamor for any opportunity to own one, much less one with the history-making relevance of our offered specimen. With half the games played behind the Soviet Union's iron curtain, and those "away games" using pucks printed in the Russian language, only a very small supply of pucks such as this one ever existed, and almost all have been lost to the ages in the three decades since. But an opportunity to own the specific puck that turned the tide for the Canadian team in the 1972 Summit Series is certainly, without question, of a once-in-a-lifetime nature. A notarized letter of provenance from our consignor is included in the lot.