When the Canadian men’s hockey team beat the Americans in Salt Lake City, it ended a 50-year drought of Olympic hockey gold. This was big news in a country that prides itself as a hockey powerhouse, and it didn’t take long for the media to begin memorializing the tournament. Canada Gold: Canadian Men & Women Hockey Champions ($14.95 paper 1-55366-327-6, 132 pp., Winding Stair Press/Stewart House) is likely the first in a subgenre of books celebrating what excited commentators were already calling a national triumph minutes after the last game ended. From the men’s abysmal showing in the tournament’s first two games to the women’s triumph over the Americans in spite of having to kill off eight straight penalties, there are no surprises here.

This collection of photographs and chronologically arranged articles has the feel of a league-approved team program: full colour photos, enough stats to help readers relive every game, and a good-news approach to its subject matter, the home teams. The tournament’s controversies – including Gretzky’s bizarre “everybody is against us” speech – are all touched on, but this is a commemorative photo album after all, and it certainly succeeds as one. Readers will have to wait for a more in-depth study.