“I was 10 and my brother Russ was 17 during the ’72 series. I was a typical Canadian kid who was passionate about hockey.

Before the series started, we felt that Canada would show them who’s game it was. But it was surreal how good the Russians were.

The fans were really hard on the players and I remember Espo’s speech after one of the games. The Team showed it’s grit and Canadian pride. The Russians may have been
in better shape, but our guys dug deep.

For Russ and I, Paul Henderson was our favourite player because we liked guys who skated fast. So his success in the Series had us bouncing off walls.

I watched the final game with all my buddies in the gym at Parkview School in Midland, Ont. and went crazy when Henderson scored. I get goose bumps thinking about it.

Looking back on those days, I liked both hockey and curling and eventually chose curling over hockey at age 13 or 14. My career goal was to get to a Brier.”

Editors note: Howard won 3 Briers and 3 World Championships.