"It was in hockey that we found our heroes when Bobby Hull wheeled down the wing, his sweater bulging in the wind, we were there with him. We understood; we knew what it felt like. All that separated us from our true heroes was that they were better at something we had all done. They belonged to us, as no other kind of hero ever could, at once more celebrated and more approachable because of what we shared. They were of us, playing the game of our lives." —PETER GZOWSKI, EXCERPT FROM THE GAME OF OUR LIVES A young boy dreams of hockey glory. A teenager explores his budding talent and revels in his first poignant victory. A professional goalie relies on a mysteriously powerful face mask to deliver him to glory. A small town pits itself against a neighbouring village in an all-out no-holds-barred contest of hometown solidarity. A middle-aged woman discovers women's recreational hockey. An aging radio personality joins the pros on the ice in an exhilarating—and embarrassing—publicity stunt. In this anthology of hockey tales—both fiction and non-fiction— hockey lovers from across North America offer their insights on what makes hockey "the best game you can name." With stories from such bestselling authors as Roch Carrier, Morley Callaghan, Mordecai Richler, Don Gutteridge, Ken Dryden, George Plimpton and the late Peter Gzowski, Words on Ice is an outstanding literary contribution to any hockey lover's bookshelf. (September 2003) The Contributors Doug Beardsley The Sheer Joy of Shinny Morley Callaghan The Game That Makes a Nation Peter Gzowski from The Game of Our Lives Roch Carrier The Hockey Sweater Steve Shikaze Hockey Dreams Tina Lincer First In the Penalty Box: Confessions of a Reluctant Hockey Mom Mordecai Richler Cheap Skates Don Gutteridge from Bus-Ride Aaron Bushowsky The Phantom Centre of Great Slave Lake Don Reddick from Dawson City Seven Richard Wagamese from Keeper n'Me Tom Brand The Glass-Eyed Winger Douglas Hunter from A Breed Apart Rudy Thauberger Goalie George Plimpton from Open Net Calvin Daniels The Woman Behind the Mask Peter Behrens Wives Marsha Mildon Number 33 Edo van Belkom Hockey's Night in Canada Richard Gruneau and David Whitson Violence, Fighting, and Masculinity Lawrence Scanlan from Grace Under Fire