Dennis Lyall (American, B. 1946) "USA Olympic Hockey Wins over USSR Team" Signed lower center. Original Oil on Canvas board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood Commerative Cover for Old Glory's Proudest Moments postmarked on the anniversary February 22, 2002. In hockey the puck -- hard rubber disk whose function is comparable to a ball in other sports -- draws the attention of twelve, well-padded players on skates. Using angled wooden sticks (in French a "hoquet" is a shepherd's crook) to catch and pass the puck, players sprint up, down and across a 200-foot long rectangular arena called a rink. With or without the puck, they feint, attack, brake in a spray of ice, and drive opponents into barriers enclosing the rink. Always, the primary object is to score a goal by directing the puck into the opponent's basket-like net at one end of the rink, while the purpose of a team's goalie is to prevent that occurrence by catching or deflecting the puck away. The roots of hockey are buried deep in antiquity, but the modern game of ice hockey began in Canada in the 1850s. By the 1890s the game had spread to the U.S. and since 1917 the National Hockey League has been the world's premier professional association with 28 teams vying for a championship trophy -- the Stanley Cup. The premier hockey event in international competition takes place during the Winter Olympic Games which began in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The Olympics featured amateur competition until 1998 when professionals, as well as women, played for the first time in Nagano, Japan. With the increase in the pace of life the up-tempo game of hockey has grown in popularity, and today the vast majority of hockey games are played by kids on frozen ponds or on urban, concrete courts and asphalt streets. Image Size: 15 x 13 in. Overall Size: 18.5 x 16 in. Unframed. (B16964)