When the Atlanta Flames became the Calgary Flames in 1980, it gave hockey one of its greatest all-time rivalries. The Edmonton Oilers, just 160 miles up the road, would now go head-to-head for the Battle of Alberta. Hockey fans everywhere would witness some of the fiercest, toughest, and most highly entertaining brand of hockey not seen in the NHL in decades.
Edmonton was loaded with superstars like Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, and Glenn Anderson, who led the Oilers to five Stanley Cups. The Flames were not far behind with the likes of Lanny McDonald, Mike Vernon, Al MacInnis, Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Doug Gilmour leading them to the finals in 1986 and a Cup win in 1989.
Captured in these pages are recollections of great games, notable records and awards, memorable trades, and a host of other fascinating Battle of Alberta facts and lore.
As an added bonus, an entire chapter is devoted to NHL players who come from Alberta.
From the famous (including Hall of Fame players such as Norm Ullman and Johnny Bucyk) to the obscure (players like Autry Erickson and Greg Joly), the "Alberta Boys" chapter will bring back memories of players who call Alberta home.
The Battle of Alberta Trivia Book is also completely up-to-date, with questions and answers about current players like Jarome Iginla, Miika Kiprusoff, Ales Hemsky, and Gilbert Brule, and events that occurred in the 2009-10 season.
Past or present, The Battle of Alberta Trivia Book provides hundreds of trivia questions sure to please any hockey fan!
Just for fun here are a couple of trivia questions from the book:
Question: The Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary prior to the start of the 1980-81 season when it was decided that the NHL would work better in western Canada than in the Deep South USA. In which arena did the Calgary Flames play their first NHL game in, who was the opposition and which Flames player scored their first ever NHL goal on this night, October 9, 1980?
Answer: The Flames played their first game at the Stampede Corral tying the Quebec Nordiques 5-5. Guy Chouinard scored Calgary's first goal at 8:45 of the first period.
Question: Edmonton's first-ever NHL game at home at the Northlands Coliseum was played on October 13, 1979 when the Oilers hosted the Detroit Red Wings. The game ended in a 3-3 tie on a late goal scored by the Oilers. Which future Hall of Famer scored the goal that tied the game ? his first ever in the NHL?
Answer: Mark Messier evened the game by beating goaltender Rogie Vachon.
Question: The Flames were on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs on the night of April 14, 1991 when they headed into Edmonton for the sixth game of a playoff series. The game went into overtime with the Flames winning it 2-1 after scoring a goal just 4:40 into extra time. The on-ice celebration by the happy goal scorer was one of the most memorable in Stanley Cup history. Who scored it?
Answer: Theo Fleury
