Hockey History

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.

They are motivators, key strategists, tough bosses, and choreographers. They can be branded as heroes, ousted as scapegoats, quietly valued as friends, and everything in between. It's all in the job description for an NHL head coach. In Behind the Bench, Craig Custance sits down for film sessions and candid conversations with some of the game's most notable modern luminaries - names like Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville, Dan Bylsma, Ken Hitchcock, and Claude Julien - all of whom share their singular views on topics ranging from leadership secrets to on-ice game plans.

More and more fans are watching the NHL each week, but many of them don't know exactly what they should be watching. How does an offense create shooting lanes for its best sniper? When a center breaks through and splits between two defensemen, which defender is to blame? This guide for sports fans on how to watch and appreciate the game of hockey takes you inside a coach's mind as he builds a roster or constructs a game plan, to the chaos of the goalie's crease, and deep into the perpetual chess match between offense and defense.

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team. Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

He's a professional hockey player that lives on the edge. I prefer to play life by the rules. I'm the personal assistant at a sports agency that no one notices. I don't like sports, and I like professional athletes even less. I'm indifferent to the mostly male clientele, except for one. Mica "the savage" Petrov. When it comes to wild antics, Mica is the biggest offender of them all. He's reckless, wild, and carelessly charming. I'm mortified that I find him attractive. But it doesn't matter because the guy hasn't taken a second look at me. Not once. In two years.

Famous games and players have been the hallmark of the New York Rangers from their NHL debut in 1926 to the present day. From Frank Boucher and the original Blueshirts to Jaromir Jagr, the Rangers have thrilled their fans with some of the most memorable performances in hockey history. In Game of My Life: New York Rangers, John Halligan and John Kreiser share the recollections of 24 of the most famous names in Rangers history as they discuss the most memorable games in their careers.

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.

Big, skilled, tough on the ice, and nearly indestructible, Howe dominated both the sport and the record books like no one has before or since. Over an incredible six decades, the Hall of Famer had so many accomplishments that he set the record for the most records by any athlete ever in any sport. He also achieved the remarkable feat of playing for six years with his own two sons, Mark and Marty.

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills 3,000 years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws. This bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other infamous strategists. The 48 Laws of Power will fascinate any listener interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favorite 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.

More than 12,000 years ago, in one of the greatest triumphs of prehistory, humans colonized North America, a continent that was then truly a new world. Just when and how they did so has been one of the most perplexing and controversial questions in archaeology.

When most sports fans hear the stat 3,000, they immediately turn to baseball. But for those fans whose breath comes out in frosty puffs, and who bleed ice and snow, 3,000 can only mean one thing - the glory of Montreal Canadiens hockey. The "Original One" of the "Original Six", the Montreal Canadiens hockey team is practically synonymous with superlative: The most Stanley Cup championship victories, with 24? The Montreal Canadiens. The highest number of regular-season wins? The Montreal Canadiens. The oldest active franchise in the NHL? The Montreal Canadiens.

Zanders: Chicago hockey isn't complete without me—everyone's favorite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night. What I don't like is the new flight attendant on our team's private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I'll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she'll be begging to quit her job.

This bundle includes three books in the Slayers Hockey series. In the first book of the series, Dirty Secret, an NHL player has to keep his head down to avoid being benched for the season. But when he discovers he’s fallen for the captain's little sister, trouble gets hard to avoid. In the second book, Dirty Hookup, a rough-around-the-edges hockey player finds himself falling for a feisty redhead. Can he convince her that he's boyfriend material before it's too late? In the third book, Dirty Rebound, Cammy Wesley’s hockey-player best friend becomes her fake boyfriend.

My name is Rachel Price, and two months ago, I walked away from the perfect man. Sweet and funny, and so hot it should be illegal—we shared one magical night. No names. No strings. I never thought I'd see him again. I was wrong. It turns out Mr. Perfect is the playboy grinder for the Jacksonville Rays, the NHL's hottest new hockey team . . . and I'm his new physical therapist. Oh, and the jerk doesn't even recognize me!

Taking us back to that feverish spring, The Last Good Year gives an intimate account not just of an era-defining seven games, but of what the series meant to the men who were changed by it: Marty McSorley, the tough guy who took his whole team on his shoulders; Doug Gilmour, the emerging superstar; celebrity owner Bruce McNall; Bill Berg, who went from unknown to famous when the Leafs claimed him on waivers; Kelly Hrudey, the Kings' goalie who would go on to become a Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster; Kerry Fraser, who would become the game's most infamous referee.

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.

When British soldiers began settling in early Canada, their sporting traditions blended with a Mi’kmaq game to create a new sport that evolved into hockey. A History of Hockey in Canada traces hockey’s roots from those first steps on the frozen ponds of eastern Canada to the modern game we know and love.

In Tales from the New Jersey Devils Locker Room, former New Jersey goalie Chico Resch and coauthor Mike Kerwick bring listeners along for a wild ride from the lean early seasons to the three Stanley Cup championships of this beloved team.

Hockey with benefits. That was what Mara proposed, and I was down. She said no feelings, and she meant it. Just benefits. No strings attached. Nothing else. Not even friendship. College was her escape, including us. I didn't have time for a girlfriend. I had classes, the team, my family, and the game. It was all working too.... Until somewhere down the line, things got messy. Until somehow we were dealing with threats, secrets, rivals, and so much more. Until I began to want her in ways that weren't part of the deal. Our agreement didn't just get checked into the wall, it got obliterated.