Each of the six stories in Dave Bidini' s playful, irreverent new book takes a headlong run at the hockey dressing room, and each knocks the door down. What' s happening when the door opens next is anyone' s guess.

In one story, a chronic minor-leaguer discovers the wonders-- and the pitfalls-- of the game in Europe, both on and off the ice. In another, an NHLer is tight with his teammate, the league' s leading goalscorer, but dreams of getting MUCH tighter. A star on a losing streak turns to a magical salve to turn his game around. A conversation between two friends yields surprising facts about Joan, everyone' s favourite female goalie. A hundred bucks is all that stands between a hockey groupie and eternal happiness in 1950s Detroit. And finally, the eponymous ' Five Hole' itself speaks-- though it never reveals all of its secrets.

Full of sex, drugs and high-sticking, each of "The Five Hole Stories" runs its proverbial tongue down hockey' s seamy, steamy underbelly and then finds language to tell us what it tastes like. A scintillating look at hockey with its clothes off, in six ambitious poses.

The Hockey Sweater, the title story in this 20-story collection, has become an enduring classic: a Quebec boy and Habs fan is shipped a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater by mistake. It encapsulates everything you need to understand French and English Canada, told with humour and love. This edition features a new introduction.