The Official Halifax Launch of In the Pressure of the Moment: Remembering Gerry McNeil Dalhousie University Club (Halifax), March 23rd

We were still doing a sound check as people started filling up the Earl of Dalhousie Pub. The author immediately started signing copies, which were available from a BookMark representative.

People mingled for a bit, got drinks, and then settled into their seats. Dylan Walker, the MC for the evening, began by encouraging people to make sure thay had a ballot in the can for the framed-photo draw. He thanked Janice Tate the manager of the Club for her help in organizing the event. He then mentioned that donations would be taken for KidSport, a national non-profit that assists children participate in organized sport. In fact one dollar from every sale of In the Pressure of the Moment: Remembering Gerry McNeil will go to KidSport. A sound clip consisting of 1950 newsreels caught the attention of the people in the room and then Dylan introduced the author.

David began by telling the story of how he came to write the book, how he had started the project some twenty years ago, and how he overcame a number of obstacles before finally seeing it in print. His readings from the book followed certain topics, such as the beginning, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and encounters with Gordie Howe. Each topic was introduced with an illustration.

The first reading, however, was meant to acknowledge the presence of Karen (Murphy) Creelman. Karen and David had known each other as students at Loyola in the mid-1970s. They had seen each other since then until just this past spring when they became reacquainted through a third party. What they discovered for the first time was that their fathers had both played goal for the Canadiens. So David read the story of how Karen's father Hal got his chance. Jacques Plante had just used his three "allowed" professional appearances to fill in for the injuried McNeil who was recovering from a broken cheekbone. A forth game would have required him to relinguish his amateur status, so Hal Murphy was called up from the Sainte-Therese junior team to to play against Chicago. It just so happened that that was the game in which Richard set a new all-time scoring mark. (You'll have to buy the book to see how the night turned out for Murphy.)

At one point David said that anybody wearing a Canadiens sweater or carrying something with a Canadiens ensigna would be allowed to put a second a ballot in the can. Remarkably nobody present was able to come up with an item that qualified. A few more topics were covered.

After about a half hour, David announced that the audience would find a Gerry McNeil hockey card taped underneath their seats, one of these cards was autographed by Gerry. It took a few moments but eventually the winner did emerge--Paul Conrad. At the end of the question and answer session, a staff member drew for the framed Kilpatrick photo and this was won By Brian MacDougall. Then David was again asked to sign copies.

David was glad to see so many friends but regretted not having more time to chat. The success of the evening was largely due to Janice Tate, Megan and the friendly staff at the Earl of Dalhousie Pub. In the Pressure of the Moment was well launched.

Click here for the story of a nearly blind goalie and Hal Murphy's perfect NHL career.

Click here for an mp3 (audio) of the event.

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Last Updated: 10 January 2026