Olympic Hockey

During the height of the Cold War, a group of small-town young men would lead their underdog hockey team from the little country of Czechoslovakia against the Soviet Union, the juggernaut in their sport. As they battled on the ice, the young players would keep their people's quest for freedom alive, and forge a way to fight back against the authoritarian forces that sought to crush them. Freedom to Win tells a story that ranges from iconic moments in history to courageous individual stories.

Once upon a time, they taught us to believe. They were the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, a blue-collar bunch led by an unconventional coach, and they engineered perhaps the greatest sports moment of the 20th century. Their "Miracle on Ice" has become a national fairy tale, but the real Cinderella story is even more remarkable. It is a legacy of hope, hard work, and homegrown triumph. It is a chronicle of everyday heroes who just wanted to play hockey happily ever after.

In 1980 the Soviet Union had dominated the world of hockey for nearly 30 years. Nobody thought the USSR's hockey team could be beaten in the Winter Olympics. But US Hockey coach Herb Brooks didn't believe that. He pulled together a ragtag team of amateur hockey players and molded them into a team that could compete with the best teams in the world.

Three decades later, the "Miracle on Ice" still captures imaginations around the world and causes American hearts to swell with pride. This is the thrilling true story of how a ragtag team of collegiate and amateur athletes united in the shadow of the Cold War to defeat the seemingly invincible Soviet ice hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Men's hockey in Canada may hog the limelight, but interest in women's hockey has never been higher. The Role I Played is a memoir of Sami Jo Small's 10 years with Canada's National Women's Hockey Team. Beginning with her experience as a rookie at the first-ever women's Olympic hockey tournament in Nagano in 1998 and culminating with Canada's third straight Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, the veteran goaltender gives the listener behind-the-scenes insight into one of the most successful teams in sports history.

For nearly four decades, commencing in 1954, and running all the way through 1991, the USSR dominated the sport of International hockey on the world stage. During that time period, the Soviet Red Army Men's Ice Hockey Team totally and thoroughly demolished virtually every single opponent that was unlucky enough to go up against them. They smashed their opposition to smithereens. In a phrase, it was a suicide mission to play the Soviet Union at ice hockey; because you were going to lose; and lose badly. In 913 International games, they won an astonishing 738 times, with another 65 ending in ...

On the fortieth anniversary of the historic ""Miracle on Ice,"" Mike Eruzione—the captain of the 1980 U.S Men’s Olympic Hockey Team, who scored the winning goal—recounts his amazing career on ice, the legendary upset against the Soviets, and winning the gold medal. It is the greatest...

Jesse Owens’ gold-medal winning feats at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin struck a mighty propaganda blow against Adolf Hitler. The Nazi leader had planned to use the German games as a showcase of supposed Aryan superiority. Instead, there was American, Black athlete Owens on the podium being photographed by Hitler’s personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann.

Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favourite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments--especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons--in this warts-and-all history of the NHL. The NHL is, indisputably, weird. One moment, you're in awe of the...

A hockey player and a former figure skater get a second chance at love in this hot sports romance from a USA Today bestselling author, perfect for fans of Hannah Grace, Elle Kennedy, and Grace Reilly. Zoe Carson, former figure skating queen, needs a fresh start as a hockey skating coach. An NHL...

The weather might be icy, but the tension is red-hot in this fake-dating hockey rom-com from the author of Let the Games Begin. "[Narrator Lillie-Pearl] Wildman does an impressive job of performing both British and American characters, and listeners will appreciate her vocal portrayals of side...

She’s chasing gold. He’s chasing forgiveness. The Winter Olympics heat up as two comeback stories collide. Narrated by Katie Schorr! Quinn Albright was America’s figure skating darling until a humiliating Olympic performance splashed her across every headline. Now she’s back, stronger...

There was no iconic Paul Henderson moment, nor a Sidney Crosby golden goal, but Canada's 5-2 victory against the rival United States in the men's 2002 Olympic gold medal game wiped out 50 years of frustration for the nation that invented ice hockey.

In this highly entertaining and insightful memoir, one of television’s most respected broadcasters interweaves the story of his life and career with lively firsthand tales of some of the most thrilling events and fascinating figures in modern sports. No sportscaster has covered more major...

Did you know BEARS can play ice hockey? Have you heard about the fan who once tossed a REAL LEOPARD SHARK onto the rink? Get ready to uncover the most surprising facts that hockey has to offer! Packed with extraordinary, forgotten stories, this book is a treasure trove of astonishing hockey information. It will leave young readers wide-eyed and full of new knowledge about their favorite sport! Here’s a sneak peek of what hockey fans will find inside the book: – 501 Ice Hockey Facts: The ultimate collection of jaw-dropping, hilarious, and mind-blowing trivia! – Over 75+ Expressive and ...

Red York has seen it all: the Maple Leafs’ 45 consecutive Stanley Cups, Toronto’s designation as a United Nations World Heritage Site, the emergence of the Toronto Telegram as the nation’s greatest newspaper. Now, in response to at least two readers’ requests, and with the aid of a ghostwriter whose name he can’t ever remember, the award-winning columnist has penned a definitive history of the city of Toronto in the back half of the 20th century.

The follow up to the Best Selling book, Black Ice: The History of Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925, Tribes: An International Hockey History examines the concept that 19th-century European militarists had channeled their spirit and energy into sports in hopes of creating a training ground for warriors. This new concept and logic fed upon the ideas of racial purity and warrior cults. The book looks at the game of ice hockey's European origins while adding additional information to the story of Canadian ice hockey including new information about the Colored Hockey League and ...

The inspiring, unlikely story of the American, Canadian, South Korean and even North Korean women who joined together to form Korea’s first Olympic ice hockey team. Two weeks before the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics, South Korea’s women’s hockey team was forced into a...

Father David Bauer changed lives - at the rink, in the classroom, and at the pulpit. Bauer's dream created the first truly national Canadian hockey team. In 1963 that unique group represented Canada abroad and were committed to both country and to Father Bauer. Whether shepherding the hockey program at St. Michael's College in Toronto or the men's national team out of the University of British Columbia, Bauer was both spiritual leader and trailblazer.

A New York Times bestselling and award-winning journalist uses cutting-edge sports research to make the case for why being a fan is good for us individually and is a force for positive change in our society. Larry Olmsted’s writing and research have been called “eye-opening” (People)...