Local author hopes to tickle the twine with “Hockey Stories”

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on May 4, 2022.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Retired University of Lethbridge Professor Gordon Hunter, holding a vintage hockey mask, has written his first novel "Hockey Stories" after writing multiple academic books.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

After writing multiple academic books, a local author has decided to write his first novel. With an extensive hockey knowledge, he decided to write a fictional hockey novel.
Retired University of Lethbridge professor Gordon Hunter is bringing to life “Hockey Stories”, a fictional tale of two hockey players from rural Saskatchewan who find themselves on a winning NHL team.
“Billy Sinatra is accused of inappropriately organizing players to achieve the Stanley Cup win,” said Hunter.
He said Keeper was the goalie on his team, and the story takes the reader from a confrontation in a first-class airplane cabin, to NHL Head Office interviews, and back into the early junior league days of both players.
“Full of puns and light-hearted banter, the book’s narrator, El Gordo, brings in the tone of a play-by-play commentator,” said Hunter.
He said the inspiration for the details in the novel comes from growing up around hockey.
“School interfered with my hockey. I do have a PhD though,” said Hunter.
He said when he first went to university he had a scholarship to play hockey for a year.
“I didn’t do all that well in hockey, we didn’t go that far. I think there was All Star games, provincial championships and so forth, but it taught me how to lose,” said Hunter.
He said he learned to not let that upset him.
“A goal would be scored, and I would skate to the top of the crease and stand there and let some linesmen go and get the puck. I would ignore it completely,” said Hunter.
Hunter said he decided to write a novel because it just occurred to him that he should do it.
“My wife likes to tell the stories when we’re upstairs watching TV and I stand up and excuse myself and I come down and write for about an hour and come back and the novel just occurred,” said Hunter.
He said he enjoys writing and has been doing it for many years because he enjoys it so much, and in this novel he gets to combine his passion for writing and his passion for hockey.
“1992 is when I ended up with a PhD and I was writing academic journal articles, conference papers, and then the books as well and that was just kind of part of the job, but it was something I was interested in,” said Hunter.
Hockey Stories is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Thrift Books.

Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter