Timothy J. Thompson
ON FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 22 1980, THE USA OLYMPIC HOCKEY TEAM DEFEATED THE VAUNTED SOVIET UNION 4 TO 3 IN THE SEMI FINAL MATCH AT LAKE PLACID, NEW YORK. IT WAS THE SINGLE GREATEST UPSET IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS.
IN THE BOOK, MAGICIAN'S ON ICE, AUTHOR TIMOTHY J. THOMPSON DESCRIBES IN DETAIL THE ORIGINS OF THE GREAT SOVIET HOCKEY DYNASTY. HE TRACES THE ROOTS OF HOCKEY IN RUSSIA, EXAMINES THE SOVIET PHLOSOPHY WITH REGARD TO THE SPORT, DISCUSSES THEIR UNIQUE TRAINING METHODS, AND PROVIDES THE READER WITH BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE TWO PATRIARCHS OF SOVIET HOCKEY.
THE SECOND HALF OF THE BOOK TAKES THE READER THOUGH EACH GAME THE SOVIETS PLAYED IN THE 1954 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. YOU WILL READ ABOUT UNPRECEDENTED OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER, SPECTACULAR GOAL TENDING, AND TREMENDOUS VICTORIES.
THERE ARE 10 WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPGHS INCLUDED FOR THE READERS' ENJOYMENT, ALONG WITH A FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE INDEX THAT MAKES IT QUITE EASY TO FIND OUT INTERESTING TIDBITS OF INFO AT THE DROP OF A HAT.
THE SOVIETS HAD THE SINGLE GREATEST DYNASTY IN THE HISTORY OF HOCKEY. THIS FANTASTIC BOOK TELLS HOW IT ALL BEGAN.
TIMOTHY J. THOMPSON HAS EARNED BOTH A BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ST. LOUIS. HE MAJORED IN UNITED STATES HISTORY AND MINORED IN TWENTIETH CENTURY EUROPEAN HISTORY.
DURING HIS TENURE AS A GRADUATE STUDENT, MR. THOMPSON WROTE FOR THE COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CALLED, THE CURRENT. HE WROTE NEWS STORIES, SERVED ON THE EDITORIAL BOARD, AND PRODUCED HIS OWN WEEKLY COLUMN ENTITLED, THIS WEEK IN HISTORY.
UPON GRADUATION FROM COLLEGE, MR. THOMPSON MOVED TO FLORIDA WHERE HE BEGAN CONDUCTING RESEARCH ON HIS VERY FIRST MAJOR PUBLICATION. THE TITLE OF THAT WORK IS, GRIT AND VALOR: THE STORY OF SWALE. IT WAS INITIALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 31 2006. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE IN THREE DIFFERENT FORMATS.
SWALE WAS A GREAT THOROUGHBRED RACEHORSE. HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST AND MOST BELOVED SONS OF THE LEGENDARY AND IMMORTAL SEATTLE SLEW. TIM ALWAYS FELT THAT SWALE NEVER RECEIVED THE PROPER RESPECT AND RECOGNITION THAT HE TRULY DESERVED. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE MANY THINGS THAT MOTIVATED HIM TO WRITE THE BOOK AND GIVE SWALE HIS DUE.
AFTER THAT MAJOR SUCCESS, MR. THOMPSON BEGAN CONDUCTING RESEARCH ON HIS SECOND MAJOR PUBLICATION. IT WAS ON THE HISTORY OF THE SOVIET HOCKEY DYNASTY. IN ORDER TO RETELL THE STORY VIVIDLY, MR. THOMPSON EXAMINED HUGE AMOUNTS OF PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIAL, INCLUDING RARE VIDEO ARCHIVES OF THE TEAM'S EARLY BEGINNINGS, TRAINING METHODS, PRACTICES, THEORIES, PHILOSOPHIES, AND EXHIBITION GAMES.
MR. THOMPSON HAS ALWAYS HAD A TREMENDOUS LOVE AND PASSION FOR BOTH HISTORY AND WRITING. HE HAS MANY WORKS UNDERWAY.
THE THIRD GAME OF THE SOVIET NATIONAL HOCKEY TEAM WOULD BE A SPECIAL ONE. THEY WOULD BE PLAYING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FRONT OF THEIR OWN PEOPLE IN MOSCOW ON FEBRUARY 8. THEY WOULD BE TAKING ON THE EAST GERMANS. IT WOULD BE A SLAUGHTER. AND I DO MEAN A SLAUGHTER.
THE FIRST PERIOD WAS ALL SOVIETS. THREE OPENING GOALS HURLED THE EAST GERMANS BACK ONTO THEIR HEELS. THEIR SKATING WAS SUPERIOR. THEIR PASSING WAS SUPERIOR. THEIR PUCK HANDLING WAS SUPERIOR. THEIR SHOOTING WAS SUPERIOR. THEIR BACKHANDS WERE SUPERIOR. THEIR FINESSE WAS SUPERIOR. AND THEIR GOAL TENDING WAS SUPERIOR.
THE SECOND PERIOD WAS, ONCE AGAIN, ALL SOVIETS. A TRIFECTA OF GOALS TURNED THE GAME INTO A LAUGHER. THE EAST GERMANS COULD BARELY EVEN GET CONTROL OF THE PUCK. ALL OF TARASOV'S AND CHERNYSHEV'S INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES, AND HARD WORK ETHIC OF THE SOVIET PLAYERS WERE PAYING OFF IN A HUGE WAY.
AS ONE-SIDED AS THE FIRST AND SECOND PERIODS WERE, TOGETHER, THEY PALE IN COMPARISON WITH THE THIRD PERIOD. THE HIGH POWERED SOVIET OFFENSE BLASTED AWAY AT THE EAST GERMAN GOAL TENDER RELENTLESSLY, SCORING AN INCREDIBLE EIGHT GOALS IN THE PROCESS. IT WAS SUCH A FURIOUS ASSAULT, IF ANY OF THE SPECTATORS EVEN SO MUCH AS BLINKED, THEY WOULD HAVE MISSED A GOAL. PERHAPS THE ONLY THING ABSENT FROM THE SOVIET OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT WERE THOUSANDS OF STALIN ORGANS!
