| Although Paul Henderson scored the series-winning goal for Team Canada in 1972, it was Phil Esposito who was both the club's top scorer and its emotional leader. Esposito had seven goals and six assists for 13 points in the eight-game summit with the Soviets. He scored the first goal for Team Canada just 30 seconds into game one at the Montreal Forum on September 2, 1972, but, like his teammates and the rest of Canadians, Esposito quickly learned that the Soviets would not be pushovers. His impassioned plea for fan support, and his disgust at the treatment the team had received, in a television interview after game four in Vancouver helped unite Team Canada for the final four games of the series in Moscow.
Four years after the historic 1972 Summit Series, Esposito was again a member of Team Canada at the inaugural Canada Cup. No longer the NHL's most dominant scorer, Esposito nonetheless managed four goals and three assists in seven games to rank among the team leaders as Canada won the tournament. Esposito made his final international appearance in 1977 when a Canadian team returned to the World Championships for the first time since launching a boycott of International Ice Hockey Federation events in 1970. Esposito had seven goals and three assists in 10 games and was selected as the best Canadian forward, but Canada could finish no better than fourth at the tournament. |
