Hockey Night Down Under!

The humorous story of a junior South Australian ice hockey team trying to win for the first time the national tournament in the early 1990s. Told through the eyes of one of the hockey oldies (parents), the narrative includes many Ozzie slang expressions. Included is an Ozzie Dictionary to explain the slang meanings.

How much do North Americans, Russians or Finns know about cricket? Three-fifths of five-eighths, right? And that's exactly how much Ozzies know about ice hockey. But a tiny number of dedicated Ozzie fanatics have established a foothold for ice hockey in their Land of Sun 'n Surf. Albeit a slippery one! Join The Mob - the bumbling South Australian under-18 team in their chaotic quest to win the coveted national trophy at the big tourney in Sydney in the early 1990s. Sympathize with their suffering oldies whose misfortune in life is to have a son (or daughter) inflicted with ice hockey mania, rather than a love for normal Ozzie sports, such as cricket or footy. Join The Mob's reluctant team manager, Normie, a mid-life ex-flower child, in his search for ice hockey's yin. Be one of Normie's readers and discover the relevance of Ozzie slang and poetry to hockey. By the time you've finished reading this best seller, yer'll wanna meet this hockey mob who are considered nongs in their own sunburnt country and yer'll just have to jump the next plane heading Down Under!

Ray Rains resides in Adelaide, South Australia where he lives with his wife Peggy, a Canadian. They have two sons, one of whom took up ice hockey at an early age. The other son is normal. Ray lived in Canada for several years where he was fatally exposed to ice hockey. Ray works as a writer-editor and spends a great deal of his life correcting the spelling and syntax of others. This eventually developed in him a perversion ... a compulsion to mutilate the English language. Hence a book unfolded written with a narrative featuring the best and worst of Australian slang, wrapped around the odd tale of an ice hockey team Down Under. Ray has also written a play, Chornobyl Story, performed at the Adelaide Fringe 2004, and is a member of Gone Troppo, a collective of Adelaide artists who write and play their own songs for enjoyment. He threatens to create more artistic endeavours if the world keeps bothering him.