[1] The miniseries begins in medias res on September 8, 1972, as Team Canada takes the ice for Game 4 of the series in Vancouver.

The film then cuts back five months earlier to April 1972 with Alan Eagleson meeting with Gabrielle Fournier, an official with External Affairs Canada, and the heads of the Soviet and Canadian ice hockey programmes (respectively headed by Alexander Gresko and by Joe Kryczka and Charles Hay) in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

They finalize the deal for an eight-game hockey series between the USSR and a team compiled of the best Canadian NHL players.

Shortly prior to Game 1, Sinden privately confesses to Eagleson that he doesn't think the team is ready.

The Canadian players become fatigued by the rising temperature in the Montreal Forum, making it continuously more difficult for them to play.

For Game 2 in Toronto, Sinden takes Hadfield and his line out of the lineup and replaces them with grinders (Wayne Cashman, J. P. Parise and Bill Goldsworthy).

During the practice, Frank Mahovlich notices politician Robert Stanfield in the stands wearing a Team Canada jersey and talking with Alan Eagleson.

Although initially objecting due its violation of the series contract, Eagleson agrees to the request, thinking the Russians will know they owe them one.

As they prepare for Game 4 in Vancouver, Sinden and Ferguson decide to put Dryden and the Hadfield line back in the lineup.

Seconds later, the Soviets take the ice and are cheered by the Vancouver fans, leaving the team shocked and frustrated.

Trailing after the second period, Esposito tells Henderson that he wants to give the fans a piece of his mind.

While waiting in the Vancouver airport, Eagleson receives news that Frank Mahovlich will not be travelling to Sweden for their exhibition game due to allergies.

During the game, a Swedish player slashes Cashman in the mouth and slices his tongue, in which no call is made and a fight ensues.

After the game, Sinden and Ferguson follow the officials to their dressing room, angrily complaining about Cashman's cut.

During the celebration of Canada's fourth goal, a Soviet soldier pulls a Canadian fan who was making noise by blowing into a plastic horn out of the crowd and drags him into a backroom.

The next morning, Fournier makes a deal with the Soviet police to free the Canadian fan on the condition that he leaves the country immediately.

The now fully shaved fan confesses to Fournier that the police took his clothes, hung him by his ankles, and tattooed his heels.

Late in the game, Henderson dekes several defensemen and scores, giving Team Canada a 4–3 lead and the win.

In the dressing room after the game, Bergman shows the team his blooded shin pad as a result of Mikhailov's kick.

Eagleson and the coaches hold out their decision to not play, until the next day when Fournier suggests a deal in which both teams pick one referee.

As the Canadians proudly celebrate in the dressing room, Alexander Yakushev gifts the team with a samovar from the Russians.

Esposito accepts the samovar, and gives Yakushev a hockey stick and a beer in return on behalf of the team.

A handshake between the two follows, as they continue to sit silently in their room (In the extended version, Sinden leaves and Ferguson breaks down in tears).

[2] The docudrama was produced by Barrie Dunn and Michael Volpe for Halifax-based Summit Films and Timothy M. Hogan and Rick LeGuerrier for Moncton-based Dream Street Pictures, with a budget of $7.8 million.

[3] It received financial assistance from Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Television Fund, New Brunswick Film, and a distribution deal with Maple Pictures.

Dunn and Volpe met Hogan and LeGuerrier at the 2004 Banff Television Festival and quickly made plans to begin production in New Brunswick.

"[5]: 243  In the CBC's role (defined in the Broadcasting Act of 1991) to contribute to a "shared national consciousness and identity", the docudrama attempts to bring the touchstone of the Summit Series to new and young Canadians.

[5]: 245  Field suggests that the docudrama is a "heritage narrative", using a variety of devices to promote a unified national identity.

[5]: 246  He notes that by opening with Game 4 and Esposito's interview, the docudrama frames Team Canada as heroic and patriotic underdogs rather than overconfident and spoiled elites.

[7][5]: 245 William Houston wrote for the Globe and Mail that the film was "entertaining [while making] no attempt to romanticize Canada's come-from-behind triumph".