How Canada's Dream Team Was Destroyed by the Soviets in 1981

[@XanderDDS]

Great to hear the shout-out for Terry Fox, a Canadian hero because of his courage and passion.

[@PSF1]

I met Terry in Ajax, Ontario during his run. Hardwood Ave and HWY 2. I was 10 years old. He was and still is my only hero.

[@Parlimant_Strifey]

even Terry Fox has been morphed into a shameful athletic icon to some, instead of the fighter for cancer research that he was. How do these people get offended by Terry Fox's purpose?

[@XanderDDS]

@@Parlimant_Strifey they're not people.

[@Pfsif]

There's more to hockey than dump and chase, slash, cross-check and fighting.

[@ront769]

We learned from it then triumphed as we always do against emotionless athletes like them.

[@geofflepper3207]

Although these three Canadian players didn't play that way.

[@daniel213141]

"like a hoop around a barrel" - Howie Meeker

[@thecastleofenlightenment2604]

​@@ront769 emotionless is why they where so difficult to beat. difficult to rattle people like that

[@ront769]

@thecastleofenlightenment2604 Eventually we channeled ours and made sure they can no longer defeat us in a best on best whether it's men or women. The good guys always win even if it doesn't look as precise but at least it was accomplished with heart.

[@RichardMullin-u8w]

The way the soviets played this game was way ahead of its time. Never a bad thing to be humbled - you learn something.

[@mikearchibald744]

The gulag jokes were wearing a bit thin, but this was very interesting and frankly more interesting than watching most hockey games now.

[@rmay16]

Cry liberal

[@clebo99]

That move on LaFluer in the 3rd was brutal!!!

[@fastfootedone]

Lafleur was a good sniper, but he was a one way player. I think he had to be introduced to the defensive zone.

[@BrianLitke-yj6qw]

The USSR team played together all the time! It’s been proven dozens of times you just can’t throw together a bunch of great hockey players and expect to win every game! Those Soviet teams were some of the best to ever play, we as Canadian hockey fans always underestimated how great they really were!

[@scottboyd3838]

Ahh, we did quite well against the Russians with " just throwing a team together". Olympics 2010 and 2014, Canada Cup, World Cups, Juniors. We will always have the best talent and usually, usually, we win.

[@scottboyd3838]

But I kinda agree, The Soviets playing together for way longer does benefit them. But fuck them, we're the best.

[@flyingtiger1603]

We no longer have the best goalies though. That’s one area where Canada is sorely lacking.

[@christosnikitakis6675]

Not the 1977 Montreal Canadiens. They never faced. Even when they tied, MTL outshot them 52-15. Then when he Flyers beat them 4-1, they outshot USSR 49-17. Not even close....

[@Frank-el3fy]

And the whining continues….

[@mpress469]

I remember that game. Canadian hockey would never quite be the same after that... for the better. While Canada produced the greatest hockey superstars in the world, the Larionov five was the greatest line I've ever witnessed in all of hockey. Individualism vs. collectivism playing a "team" game?... it's a no-brainer, really!! Alan Eagleson-of-a-bi***!!!

[@basilcarroll9729]

The best line I ever seen had Gretzky and Lemieux.

[@berryscott3590]

individualism vs collectivism has all sorts of dire totalitarian impiications particularly in an era of rapidly eroding human rights.. That matter aside, playing a 'team game' is pretty much a 'No brainer' if, IF you live and train together, in militaristic and Spartan fashion, 11 months a year, a la CCCP... and don't have to deal with an 80 game schedule, replete with a hectic, cross continent travel schedule, and precious little between games practice time, UNLIKE your NHL counterparts

[@alsukharsky]

⁠@@basilcarroll9729if they were so good they wouldn’t need help from the refs. ‘87 Canada Cup had the worst officiating in the history of the sport.

[@basilcarroll9729]

@@alsukharsky I didn't see it that way but I did notice that 3 Months later at the Izvestia tournament the Soviet team with its maga stars lost to Canada on home ice with Euro reffs .Canada won the tournament with none of it's maga stars so that answered all the questions of home ice and referees .

[@AlbertLivingstone]

The Soviets played for possession and control like a cohesive 5-man squad. The Red Wings Russian Five also played like that.

[@berryscott3590]

I'll give them that. The Soviet Style was oft times esthetically pleasing... But again, not many if any of you young whipper snappers realize that that 'Soviet style' was really invented by Lloyd Percival, a Canuck, and author of, 'The Hockey Handbook' xxx EDIT and Side Note to 'Neutralevil 1917... KZbin Thought Police won't let me respond to your, arguably, anti-Western, Hockey-Wokesism, propaganda, so let's see if I can't respond this way... First off, the PROOF is there in BLACK AND WHITE', that many, neigh virtually all, of the ostensibly 'uniquely Soviet' hockey training methods, along with the so-called 'Soviet puck possession style', everything from wingers crossing, to circling back with the puck when an attack doesn't look promising, to maintaining puck possession while entering the opposition zone, was being preached by CANADIAN Lloyd Percival, author of 'The Hockey Handbook', many years BEFORE so-called 'Soviet Hockey' was even a twinkle in the so-called 'Father of 'Soviet Hockey' Anatoly Tarasov's eye. Hell's bell's, even the exercise employed by goalies of bouncing tennis balls off a wall to improve hand/eye coordination, allegedly first recommended by Tarasov to Tretiak (likewise employed by Jimmy Craig's character in the movie, 'MIRACE'), was in fact an exercise first recommended, years earlier, by Percival to Terry Sawchuk (He of the, if memory serves, 103 career NHL shutouts!) Newsflash: It's been widely acknowledged that Tarasov (again 'Father of Soviet Hockey') had Percival's 'Hockey Handbook' translated into Russia, that he had 500 copies printed up, and that he called Percival's book his 'BIBLE!'. Tarasov thought so much of Percival that he actually traveled to Canada to see him, when Percival was on his death bed, writing a glowing, handwritten, personal note of thanks, acknowledging the debt he (Tarasov, along with 'Soviet Hockey') owed Percival on the inside cover of one of Percival's books (Percival also wrote the book, 'How to Play Better Hockey'). I had these conversations with another poster in a different thread, not some nobody but a clearly, very knowledgeable hockey-guy who claimed to know coach Herb Brooks personally, who said (I'm paraphrasing) that he knew the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style actually originated in Canada, but that he hadn't previously known that it was the brainchild of one Lloyd Percival... Although I couldn't tell you the author, I recall at least one news story, appearing in a major Canadian newspaper, during, or just prior, to the Canada-Russia Summit Series, likewise documenting that the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style really originated in Canada, NOT that this was 'NEWS' to some in my inner circle... xxx I mentioned, again in another thread, that my mother's cousin, one Harold Schooley (Side Note: Schooley was himself a Lloyd Percival Disciple!), was invited by the Russians behind the iron Curtain, back in the early fifties, to serve as a guest coach for the CCCP Nats, and that he (Schooley) was summarily shown the door after they (the Soviet Nats) won their first World Championship in 1954, without so much as a 'Thank-you', something he (Schooley, who's no longer with us), a man I had personal conversations with, was still bitter about decades later. If (I repeat IF) you want to know the truth, it's not like you can't go to a library and pick up a copy of Lloyd Percival's 'Hockey Handbook', and see for yourself that the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style was being preached by Canadian Lloyd Percival YEARS EARLIER! Incidentally, Harold Schooley's International Hockey exploits were likewise documented by one Glenn Knott sp? in a full page article entitled 'The Wizard of Europe' which first appeared in the Hamilton Spectator back in the early 80s (again if memory serves). Moreover, a copy of 'The Wizard of Europe' can still be found in the Special Collection's department of Hamilton's Central Library, just ask the library attendant for the Harold Schooley article, there's only one. .. Sure I'm biased but 'The Wizard of Europe', by Glenn Nott, is a fantastic read, plus a potential gold mine of info for the aspiring Hockey Historian and SORELY NEEDS to be properly documented BEFORE it is LOST FOREVER to posterity... Heck Schooley's overseas exploits, along with the 'little known' , but indespensable contributions of Lloyd Percival to Soviet Hockey would make for a GREAT KZbin VIDEO, especially in the lead up to and during the FOUR NATIONS FACEOFF, and all it would take is a quick trip to Hamilton Central LIbrary and the use of a photocopier, than maybe a few Glenn Nott, etcetera interviews xxx A Couple of final Side Notes: Harold Schooley's name also appeared in the Guiness Book of World Records, back in the early fifties, for the most goals ever scored in a professional hockey game EIGHT, which happened in a British Elite League (or whatever it was called back then?) game between Fife Flyers and Paisley Pirates. Less some forget, UK pro hockey was actually high caliber in the years preceding and immediately following World War 2, what with SO-MANY Transplanted Canadians Servicemen overseas at the time. Indeed the UK, led by Canadian dual nats, won Olympic Gold in Hockey in 1936! Canada, a nation of 10 million back then, had ONE MILLION men at arms in WW2! So yeah, to say that there were masses numbers of able bodied and hockey playing Canucks serving overseas circa the wars years is a MASSIVE UNDERSTATEMENT! PEACE OUT

[@neutralevil1917]

@@berryscott3590 Actually no, that's the myth and I'm quoting "serving to privilege a Canadian ice hockey system while relegating other ‘narratives’ and ice hockey systems to that of mere receivers". I'm a gen X'er and I remember good ol' Soviets. No one played the Soviet style before the Soviets cause the Soviets themselves invented their own style. Tobias Stark and Hart Cantelon made it pretty clear in their 2019 paper

[@berryscott3590]

First off, this HOCKEY WOKEism CRAP smacks of Neo-Marxist and anti-Western propaganda, in keeping with the Neo-Marxist and dare I say racist, some have even alleged, 'thieving' ideologues at the helm of the BLM (Bigots Love Marxism) Movement. (Side Note: Where did the missing millions in BLM contributions go? 'Inquiring minds want to know!') Secondly, the PROOF is there in BLACK AND WHITE', that many, neigh virtually all, of the ostensibly 'uniquely Soviet' hockey training methods, along with the so-called 'Soviet puck possession style', everything from wingers crossing, to circling back with the puck when an attack doesn't look promising, to maintaining puck possession while entering the opposition zone, was being preached by CANADIAN Lloyd Percival, author of 'The Hockey Handbook', many years BEFORE so-called 'Soviet Hockey' was even a twinkle in the so-called 'Father of 'Soviet Hockey' Anatoly Tarasov's eye. Hell's bell's, even the exercise employed by goalies of bouncing tennis balls off a wall to improve hand/eye coordination, allegedly first recommended by Tarasov to Tretiak (likewise employed by Jimmy Craig's character in the movie, 'MIRACE'), was in fact an exercise first recommended, years earlier, by Percival to Terry Sawchuk (He of the, if memory serves, 103 career NHL shutouts!) Newsflash: It's been widely acknowledged that Tarasov (again 'Father of Soviet Hockey') had Percival's 'Hockey Handbook' translated into Russia, that he had 500 copies printed up, and that he called Percival's book his 'BIBLE!'. Tarasov thought so much of Percival that he actually traveled to Canada to see him, when Percival was on his death bed, writing a glowing, handwritten, personal note of thanks, acknowledging the debt he (Tarasov, along with 'Soviet Hockey') owed Percival on the inside cover of one of Percival's books (Percival also wrote the book, 'How to Play Better Hockey'). I had these conversations with another poster in a different thread, not some nobody but a clearly, very knowledgeable hockey-guy who claimed to know coach Herb Brooks personally, who said (I'm paraphrasing) that he knew the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style actually originated in Canada, but that he hadn't previously known that it was the brainchild of one Lloyd Percival... Although I couldn't tell you the author, I recall at least one news story, appearing in a major Canadian newspaper, during, or just prior, to the Canada-Russia Summit Series, likewise documenting that the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style really originated in Canada, NOT that this was 'NEWS' to some in my inner circle... xxx I mentioned, again in another thread, that my mother's cousin, one Harold Schooley (Side Note: Schooley was himself a Lloyd Percival Disciple!), was invited by the Russians behind the iron Curtain, back in the early fifties, to serve as a guest coach for the CCCP Nats, and that he (Schooley) was summarily shown the door after they (the Soviet Nats) won their first World Championship in 1954, without so much as a 'Thank-you', something he (Schooley, who's no longer with us), a man I had personal conversations with, was still bitter about decades later. My young whippersnapper: If (I repeat IF) you want to know the truth, it's not like you can't go to a library and pick up a copy of Lloyd Percival's 'Hockey Handbook', and see for yourself that the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style was being preached by Canadian Lloyd Percival YEARS EARLIER! Incidentally, Harold Schooley's International Hockey exploits were likewise documented by one Glenn Knott sp? in a full page article entitled 'The Wizard of Europe' which first appeared in the Hamilton Spectator back in the early 80s (again if memory serves). Moreover, a copy of 'The Wizard of Europe' can still be found in the Special Collection's department of Hamilton's Central Library, just ask the library attendant for the Harold Schooley article, there's only one... Sure I'm biased but 'The Wizard of Europe', by Glenn Nott, is a fantastic read, plus a potential gold mine of info for the aspiring Hockey Historian and SORELY NEEDS to be properly documented BEFORE it is LOST FOREVER to posterity... xxx A Couple of final Side Notes: Harold Schooley's name also appeared in the Guiness Book of World Records, back in the early fifties, for the most goals ever scored in a professional hockey game EIGHT, which happened in a British Elite League (or whatever it was called back then?) game between Fife Flyers and Paisley Pirates. Less some forget, UK pro hockey was actually high caliber in the years preceding and immediately following World War 2, what with SO-MANY Transplanted Canadians Servicemen overseas at the time. Indeed the UK, led by Canadian dual nats, won Olympic Gold in Hockey in 1936! Canada, a nation of 10 million back then, had ONE MILLION men at arms in WW2! So yeah, to say that there were masses numbers of able bodied and hockey playing Canucks serving overseas circa the wars years is a MASSIVE UNDERSTATEMENT! PEACE OUT

[@berryscott3590]

@@neutralevil1917 First off, your HOCKEY WOKEism smacks of anti-Western, Neo-Marxist progaganda ...Alas, I need to stop right there since my initial post was sent down the proverbial 'Memory Hole' by YouTUBE THOUGHT POLICE Secondly, the PROOF is there in BLACK AND WHITE', that many, neigh virtually all, of the ostensibly 'uniquely Soviet' hockey training methods, along with the so-called 'Soviet puck possession style', everything from wingers crossing, to circling back with the puck when an attack doesn't look promising, to maintaining puck possession while entering the opposition zone, was being preached by CANADIAN Lloyd Percival, author of 'The Hockey Handbook', many years BEFORE so-called 'Soviet Hockey' was even a twinkle in the so-called 'Father of 'Soviet Hockey' Anatoly Tarasov's eye. Hell's bell's, even the exercise employed by goalies of bouncing tennis balls off a wall to improve hand/eye coordination, allegedly first recommended by Tarasov to Tretiak (likewise employed by Jimmy Craig's character in the movie, 'MIRACE'), was in fact an exercise first recommended, years earlier, by Percival to Terry Sawchuk (He of the, if memory serves, 103 career NHL shutouts!) Newsflash: It's been widely acknowledged that Tarasov (again 'Father of Soviet Hockey') had Percival's 'Hockey Handbook' translated into Russia, that he had 500 copies printed up, and that he called Percival's book his 'BIBLE!'. Tarasov thought so much of Percival that he actually traveled to Canada to see him, when Percival was on his death bed, writing a glowing, handwritten, personal note of thanks, acknowledging the debt he (Tarasov, along with 'Soviet Hockey') owed Percival on the inside cover of one of Percival's books (Percival also wrote the book, 'How to Play Better Hockey'). I had these conversations with another poster in a different thread, not some nobody but a clearly, very knowledgeable hockey-guy who claimed to know coach Herb Brooks personally, who said (I'm paraphrasing) that he knew the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style actually originated in Canada, but that he hadn't previously known that it was the brainchild of one Lloyd Percival... Although I couldn't tell you the author, I recall at least one news story, appearing in a major Canadian newspaper, during, or just prior, to the Canada-Russia Summit Series, likewise documenting that the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style really originated in Canada, NOT that this was 'NEWS' to some in my inner circle... xxx I mentioned, again in another thread, that my mother's cousin, one Harold Schooley (Side Note: Schooley was himself a Lloyd Percival Disciple!), was invited by the Russians behind the iron Curtain, back in the early fifties, to serve as a guest coach for the CCCP Nats, and that he (Schooley) was summarily shown the door after they (the Soviet Nats) won their first World Championship in 1954, without so much as a 'Thank-you', something he (Schooley, who's no longer with us), a man I had personal conversations with, was still bitter about decades later. If (I repeat IF) you want to know the truth, it's not like you can't go to a library and pick up a copy of Lloyd Percival's 'Hockey Handbook', and see for yourself that the so-called 'Soviet' puck possession style was being preached by Canadian Lloyd Percival YEARS EARLIER! Incidentally, Harold Schooley's International Hockey exploits were likewise documented by one Glenn Knott sp? in a full page article entitled 'The Wizard of Europe' which first appeared in the Hamilton Spectator back in the early 80s (again if memory serves). Moreover, a copy of 'The Wizard of Europe' can still be found in the Special Collection's department of Hamilton's Central Library, just ask the library attendant for the Harold Schooley article, there's only one... Sure I'm biased but 'The Wizard of Europe', by Glenn Nott, is a fantastic read, plus a potential gold mine of info for the aspiring Hockey Historian and SORELY NEEDS to be properly documented BEFORE it is LOST FOREVER to posterity... Heck Schooley's overseas exploits, along with the 'little known' , but indespensable contributions of Lloyd Percival to Soviet Hockey would make for a GREAT KZbin VIDEO, especially in the lead up to and during the FOUR NATIONS FACEOFF, and all it would take is a quick trip to Hamilton Central LIbrary and the use of a photocopier, than maybe a few Glenn Nott, etcetera interviews xxx A Couple of final Side Notes: Harold Schooley's name also appeared in the Guiness Book of World Records, back in the early fifties, for the most goals ever scored in a professional hockey game EIGHT, which happened in a British Elite League (or whatever it was called back then?) game between Fife Flyers and Paisley Pirates. Less some forget, UK pro hockey was actually high caliber in the years preceding and immediately following World War 2, what with SO-MANY Transplanted Canadians Servicemen overseas at the time. Indeed the UK, led by Canadian dual nats, won Olympic Gold in Hockey in 1936! Canada, a nation of 10 million back then, had ONE MILLION men at arms in WW2! So yeah, to say that there were masses numbers of able bodied and hockey playing Canucks serving overseas circa the wars years is a MASSIVE UNDERSTATEMENT! PEACE OUT

[@explosivereactionstv7414]

@@berryscott3590don’t nobody wanna read all that shit

[@GuyCybershy]

Tretriak stoned the Canadians cold in the first period. After that it was no contest. When Tretriak was on his game they were almost unbeatable.

[@donmacquarrie9161]

yyup- he was amazing - if you can't score-you can't win!

[@jeffpope7811]

Eagleson likely Melted down the Nickle & went directly to the Pawn Shop!

[@berryscott3590]

How dare you denigrate an 'Order of Canada' recipient (wink, wink)

[@classic.cameras]

Biggest problem for the Canadians. They mostly ever played against each other. Where as the CCCP were an actual team.

[@UCMUjoTgQE]

USSR players spent a lot of time together. If you look at the lineup in this game, the first five were entirely CSKA, the second three were attacking from Spartak, all three pairs of defenders were also from the same clubs. They played during the season (although the Soviet season was short, 40-44 matches), there were a lot of national team games (world championship, numerous tournaments, long training camps). They were just very well-acted. But this did not stop the Miracle on Ice from happening in 1980.

[@Polytrout]

@@classic.cameras Although I believe that the 1981 Soviet National Team was the best hockey team in the world, I always had this gut feeling that they had the chemistry and toughness to defeat the Soviets fairly consistently.

[@ravilgouty2952]

Vary bad players selection,aspsially make liut he didn't belong in the team at all.

[@thecastleofenlightenment2604]

​@@UCMUjoTgQEEvery top team has their low points. miracle on ice was the soviets

[@billmitchell6575]

Tretiak man. Every time I can catch any old footage, the guy is always a problem for whoever is playing the USSR. Dude likely the best in the world at the time.

[@moreblack]

Don Cherry probably had an aneurysm coming to terms with this result.

[@ZoranJankovic-p7s]

😆He probably smashed some objects in his house following the result. He hated the Russians with a passion, and even hated Ovechkin when he brought some emotion to the game by celebrating his incredible goals. Salty Don got what he deserved when they fired him. He was acting more unpredictable and couldn't even string sentences together without Ron having to bail him out.

[@GuyCybershy]

@@moreblack September '81 was rough this and the Expos losing the NLCS to the Dodgers.

[@BC-th3mx]

​@@GuyCybershy Go Dodgers 🧢⚾ 🏆🏆👈🏼 Go Kings, too 👑🏒💪🏼

[@jeffroegner1499]

​@@ZoranJankovic-p7sliberals are funny. 😅😅😅😂😂😂😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😅😅😅😂😂😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🎉

[@richardwebb8203]

Very informative. I remembered the stink over the Soviets trying to take the Cup home, but was unaware of the part about the replica being given to them. Thank you.

[@strannick2212]

Bobby Clarke wasn't there to break the ankle of Soviets leading scorer like with Canada Cup

[@berryscott3590]

Without bothering to check I think Yakushev sp? was likely CCCP's leading scorer... although I agree Kharlamov was their MOST TALENTED forward/best skater...

[@basilcarroll9729]

@@strannick2212 That reminds me of the play in game 5 when Paul Henderson was chopped down by Alexander Maltsev causing him to hit the boards head first giving him a concussion .

[@strannick2212]

@basilcarroll9729 Clarke was surely instructed to maim the Russian in game 1 cause Canada knew they had to cheat to be competitive. That series would have also been a blowout if Canada hadn't resorted to their ugly tactics. The Russian whose ankle Clarke broke was out for the series Henderson meanwhile of course was fine

[@berryscott3590]

@@strannick2212 Canada spent most of Game 8 shorthanded cause CCCP had ref Joseph Kompalla on their team, a decision sprung on Team Canada at the 11th hour... The Soviet captain (Boris M) REPEATEDLY kicked one of our guys (Was it Gary Bergman?) in the shins... if memory serves that happened in Game 7... Using your skate as a weapon... Really Boris? Some Homer Russian goal judge didn't put the red light on after Canada scored the tying goal in the 3rd... KGB had a meltdown cause some Canuck in the crowd had the gall to blow a trumpet... TC had their beer stolen... They were being woken up in their hotel rooms, at all hours of the night, by mysterious phone calls...Perhaps KGB were conducting a poll in broken English? ;) The list of Soviet dirty tricks goes on and on... Even so, Canada , who began the series out of shape and over confident, WON the last 3 games on Moscow Ice... Yet you claim Canada needed to cheat to win... NONSENSE... xxx Canadians, a la their Soviet counterparts, were NO CHOIR Boyz... Both sides hated one another... This may sound awful to modern sensibilities... But consider the times... During WW2 Canada , a nation of 10million , had 1 million men at arms... All of our players had relatives who experienced combat.. Rightly, or wrongly, TC viewed these games almost as an extension of WW2, Korea, Vietnam... .. This transcended hockey... It really was a clash of Worldviews/Coldwar on Ice! '... That your response seems so one sided tells me you are not old enough to have experienced the Summit Series firsthand... xxx But to respond to one of your original points... Yes, Bobby Clarke WAS instructed by assistant coach John Ferguson to give Kharlamov's ankle a tap... Fergie later admitted this... although Clarke kept mum... only giving his 'name, rank and series number', he said waxing metaphorically xxx Alas, all our heroes, be they hockey heroes or war heroes, had feet of clay... Errors in judgement/Atrocities were committed by both sides ... In terms of our spiritual development, we humans are still a work in progress. Shyte happens under duress, in fits of anger/moments of unbridled pride and prejudice... ... It was what it was... what it is... what it shall be... until what we call 'HIS-STORY' comes full circle sometime in the not too distant ANNO DOMINI... PEACE OUT

[@berryscott3590]

@@strannick2212 The slash on Kharlamov didn't happen in Game 1...

[@dislecsicderek]

Loving these short documentary style videos, I especially like that you cover semi-forgotten hockey history. Makes for fun conversations with my Dad. Keep up the good work.

[@snowman22ism]

Great video bud... You do good work.. Happy to be a subscriber.

[@TheBluelineHockey]

Thanks!

[@Ratzapak]

It was a disgrace. It was alleged that some Canadian players had partied all night before the game.

[@kelticach4999]

I heared that too.

[@angelaspanger]

I remember when Larionov was in his 40's and getting 4 or 5 assists in a game

[@migmadmarine]

The professor😏

[@GUISNIP]

I remember this tournament well... Canadian hockey hadn't yet adjusted to the European system yet, despite the close call in '72. Liut was more proof that the big goalie struggled against the Russians (shades of Dryden in '72). And God love him, Guy was already past his prime at that point.

[@Polytrout]

I have no doubt that the Soviet Team in the 1981 Canada Cup was the superior team. It was the best team in the world at the time. HOWEVER, a culmination of some events contributed to this disaster. 1. Bob Bourne didn't play due to contract disputes with the New York Islanders. 2. Bill Barber was injured 3. Mike Liut had a horrible game 4. Team Canada got robbed by Vladislav Tretiak. 5. Canada did not ice the best team that they could It should be noted that the following all-star game featured very few members from the "Dream Team" that suffered the 8-1 humiliation. This loss wasn't about Canadian hockey not adjusting to the European system. Although the Soviets were better, this game was not indicative of that fact - Canada could have won that game, but the goaltending was lopsided. Even if Canada had assembled the best team that they could, it would not be as good as this Soviet juggernaut. But a stronger Canadian team with Don Edwards in net might have won that night, but it wouldn't mean that Canada was better at that time.

[@basilcarroll9729]

​@@PolytroutCanada had a decent tournament, they were undefeated the round robin and had a +19 in goals while the Soviets were +7.Canada also defeated the Soviets 7-3. The Czechs also had a strong team as they tied both Canada and the USSR .

[@mikemyros4142]

@@PolytroutBilly Smith made the team but was injured too. He was one of the best big game players in his prime. He loved the spotlight and getting in the heads of his opponents. I could see him giving the Soviets fits if he played.

[@fastfootedone]

Lafleur was 30. Connor McDavid is almost 28.

[@Polytrout]

@mikemyros4142 Billy Smith would have played better than Mike Liut did that night. Who knows what would have happened had Billy Smith or Don Edwards was in net? I doubt that it would have been such a blowout. But as I said earlier, there were injuries and contract disputes affecting the roster; Canada didn't ice their best possible team. Guy Lafleur's lifestyle was catching up with him as well. Gilbert Perreault, though older than Lafleur, took better care of himself but was injured. Months before the tournament, I predicted a blowout like 6 or 7-2. But as an ignorant teenager, my reason was, "without Bob Bourne and Mike McEwen Team Canada would face an impending doom". I gloated but was po'ed that Mike McEwen wasn't even invited to the Team Canada training camp and that Bob Bourne couldn't risk it. Don Cherry would have murdered me for the Mike McEwen part of that comment...

[@donmorfeo]

Canada's goaltending was poor. Also, the tournament organizers made a big mistake in making it a one game final instead of a series. Remember Canada lost the first game in 87.

[@Joseph-n4c5l]

Team Canada was overconfident and Liut was a sieve. In other tournaments, when the skaters were figuring it out, the goaltending stepped up.

I remember watching this on an ancient, 14" TV, and rabbit ears. Very snowy. So many HHoFers! Tretiak was one of my boyhood hockey heroes. I was thrilled when he was drafted by Les Canadiens... P.S., Dryden was my number-one hockey hero, at the time. Thank you for posting this, mate.

[@willyupshaw]

This is the earliest hockey memory of mine that I can date. I was born in 1977. I remember standing in den, probably playing with a set of blocks, and seeing the Russians celebrating. "Did the Russians win?" I asked my Dad. "The Russians won this time," he said.

[@kj6446]

what some of the younger viewers might not realize is that back then seeing ads on the boards only occurred in international tournaments like this, and thus seemed unusual to someone used to watching nhl hockey.

[@frizlaw]

One thing that wasn't mentioned in the video is the reason behind making the 1981 Canada Cup final a one game winner take all instead of best two out of three, which all the other Canada Cups had as the format for the final. There was an international series called the 1979 Challenge Cup held at Madison Square Garden in February between the NHL all-stars (who were made up almost entirely of Canadian players plus three Swedish players) and the Soviet national team. The NHL all-stars/Team Canada won the first game 4-2. The NHL all-stars/Team Canada were leading 4-2 about halfway through game 2 when the Soviet team flipped a switch scoring three goals to win 5-4. In game 3, the Soviet team completely embarrassed the NHL all-stars/Team Canada 6-0. Because of this result, it was felt that Canada would be unable to beat the Soviets twice in a best of three playoff, so they decided on the one game final in 1981. After the debacle of the 8-1 loss, it was back to the original best of three format. I even remember there being a political cartoon showing Alan Eagleson yelling at the Soviet airplane as it was leaving Canada saying, "Hey, it was best two out of three!"

[@robertosborne8694]

Ironically enough had he 87 final been a one off the Soviets would have won, as they won the first game of that series

[@DarkDestroyer98]

This must be one of the few rare times that Gretz didn't have his jersey tucked in. It's weird to see.

[@elikahnapace8668]

the loss of gilbert perrault was biggest hit for the number one line...gretz, guy and gil...his speed kept the other teams backing up

[@vestaxwax]

Sadly, the Canadian system never learned from these losses. The Soviet style of puck possession is a superior brand of hockey, but Canada opted to shove the dump-and-chase, park fwds in front of the net, skill-less, brute style of hockey. It was Don Cherry hockey, made simple for players with little-to-no skill. The skilled players are then saddled with trying to go end-to-end to try to make something happen. It's an easy system to shut down. This style persists to this day, making hockey a mostly dull game to watch. I'd kill to see positional puck movement in a set break-out, and chances made breaking across the opposing blue line, instead of the predictability of another dump, chase, throw the body, hope for something sloppy hockey. US College hockey is a better version of the game, so maybe the Americans will be the change the game needs moving fwd. Thanks for the video. Subbed.

[@berryscott3590]

The so-called 'Russian Style' was the invention of Canadian Lloyd Percival author of 'The Hockey Handbook' a book Anatoly Tarasov dubbed the father of Russian hockey called, HIS BIBLE... Tarasov had Percival's book translated into Russian and 500 copies printed up, just for starters...The REST IS HOCKEY HISTORY... a little known, though not totally forgotten history... XXX Incidentally, my mother's cousin, one Harold Schooley, was invited behind the Iron Curtain to serve as a guest coach for the Soviet Nats circa the early fifties. Schooley, another Lloyd Percival disciple, was summarily shown the door, by the Soviets, after they won their first World Championship in 1954 without so much as a 'Thank-you'... All this was documented by Glenn Nott, in a Special to the Hamilton Spectator, a full page article entitled 'The Wizard of Europe', a copy of which can still be found in the Special Collection's department of Hamilton's Central Library under the name Harold Schooley; there's only one such article gathering dust in a small drawer in said library.... Schooley was in the 1953 Guiness book for the most goals ever scored in a pro hockey game EIGHT, suiting up for the Fife Flyers (EDIT: Or was it the Paisley Pirates, one or t'other was the competing team) of the British Elite League, or whatever it was called back then... People forget that UK hockey was high quality in the WW2 and Post War era, with so many transplanted Canadian Servicemen. Indeed UK actually won Olympic Gold in Hockey in 1936... Sure I'm biased, but Harold Schooley's overseas hockey exploits make for an interesting read, plus they deserve to be properly documented BEFORE they are lost forever to posterity PEACE OUT xxx EDIT: Seems the Powers that Be won't let me post anymore in this thread... Since we're never supposed to speak Truth to Power, 'Truth', to borrow from Pamela Geller, 'is the New Hate Speech' Let's see if we can't circumvent KZbin Thought Police, reminiscent of the officiating of Joseph Kompalla, ici xxx BLS... @HOCKEYFILES-sf8gv ... I never said the ENTIRE Soviet style comes from Canada', just that much of it originated in Canada and was the brainchild of one Lloyd Percival... READ 'The Hockey Handbook', the book Tarasov called his 'Bible', the book Tarasov had translated into Russian and 500 copies printed up, YOURSELF... THEN GET BACK TO ME... XXX Tarasov thought enough of Lloyd Percival, author of 'The Hockey Handbook', to travel all the way to Canada to see Percival when Percival was on his death bed, writing a glowing personal, hand-written note of thanks on the inside cover of one of Percival's book (Percival also wrote the book, 'How to Play Better Hockey'), likewise acknowledging the debt he (Tarasov, dubbed 'The Father of Soviet Hockey) and Soviet hockey owed Lloyd Percival... Again READ The Hockey Handbook for yourself... The proof is there, in black and white, that many, arguably most, of the so-called innovations attributed to Tarasov, actually original with, and were preached years earlier by Percival xxx PS: In this very thread, a clearly knowledge-able poster calling himself 'Vesterwax', a man who claimed to have dined with coach Herb Brooks, likewise opined (I'm paraphrasing) that he knew the 'Soviet' puck possession style really originiated, years earlier, in Canada...But that he didn't know said system originated with Percival... No offense, but for those in the know above a certain age, this stuff is OLD NEWS... In fact it was being written and spoken about, in mainstream Canadian newspapers and media, back in the days of the 1972 Summit Series... a series truly unparalleled, in terms of its historical impact... a series some have taken to calling, 'Cold War on Ice!' PEACE OUT

[@vestaxwax]

@@berryscott3590 Great info! I was aware the style originated in Canada, but was not aware of Percival. It's a shame muckers with low hockey IQs infiltrated the system and shaped the way the game grew to be played here. I try to imagine how dominant Canada would actually be IF they played the old-time hockey of 'skate, pass, shoot, score!'

[@jean-louislalonde6070]

As a Canadian I always felt Canada should have lost the 1972 series against the Soviets. We prefer pushing for individual talent whereas the Soviets/Russians never forget that hockey is a team sport.

[@vestaxwax]

@@jean-louislalonde6070 Bobby Clarke also took out their best player with a disgusting cheap shot.

[@berryscott3590]

With all due respect Kemosabey, you're NOT quite right... Not only what some construe as the classic NHL/Canuck Hockey Style... But also what others consider the classic CCCP style, which seems to insist on maintaining puck possession, come hell or high water, even when crossing the opponents blue line, can and has been countered quite effectively, even by comparative minnows... Case in point... Lowly Belarus did it to the Swedish Torpedo System which, like CCCP, shunned the dump and chase game back in the day, simply by standing incoming forwards up at the blue line ... And, of course, the Clarke and Shero led Broad Street Bullies made mincemeat out of Red Army, not only by roughing them up, BUT by presenting the Canadian version of the Berlin Wall, in the neutral zone, then going on fast-paced counterattacks ... THE BEST SYSTEM, Barr None, is a Hybrid classic Canadian and European/CCCP Style which Herb Brook's character, based closely on real life, replete with real hockey players in lieu of professional actors, made clear in the Movie Miracle ... Had the Swedes, for example, added a little dump and chase to their repetoire, stead of being so inflexible, NO WAY they lose to Belarus at Salt Lake City... NEWSFLASH: Soviet/Russian Hockey, moreso than any other hockey nation, has been slow to adapt... With all Russia's offensive talent, that's THE BIGGEST Reason they haven't won a true, best on best competition, since 1981... PEACE OUT

[@canuck_gamer3359]

The problem here was that the Soviets were a team that played together all year around. The Canadian team was not a team but an all star roster who didn't play together, except for this tournament. Canada was still the best hockey nation on Earth and developed (by far) the most players and the most elite level players. It was a deceiving score as the game was over half way through the third period and the Russians (as they were known to do) ran up the score to pad their stats. It's too bad that the NHL didn't cooperate to a higher degree so that the teams could have had more time to play together. It would have been a fascinating thing to watch Canada's best TEAM against that Red Army squad.

[@jean-louislalonde6070]

I was there. The third period killed the crowd which, as mentioned, started leaving before the game was over. Then we heard a door being closed with a loud noise to which someone said it must be Alan Eagleson leaving the Forum!

[@jb47vintage]

They had the wrong Dream Line. They should have had the Hanson brothers from "Slap Shot".

[@TOCC50]

This morning I was watching The New England Whalers beat the Soviets 5-2 at The Hartford Civic Center in 1976.

[@GuyCybershy]

That must have been one of the worst games they ever played. It looked like they were missing a lot of good players in that game.

[@basilcarroll9729]

Yes the whalers were great that night,the couldn't seem to do anything wrong.

[@daveyboy_]

Dump N' chase . Real great strategy

[@ahwien]

You never see the Russians dump and chase. They always carry it in.

[@jethro1963]

"Our coaches didn't allow us to shoot the puck into their zone. We were instructed to cross the blue line only by passing. The Canadians would dump the puck into our zone and chase after it. I don't know why our coaches thought this was a bad play. They scored a lot of goals this way." Gennady Tsygankov

[@trajancanada]

The Soviets had excellent discipline and conditioning-stamina. Very rigid training and practice/drills. The Canadians had more individual talent, 'farm boys playing shinny on a frozen pond', mixing it up, playing with more emotion. You can respect both. It was great hockey.

[@daniel213141]

There wasn't the emphasis on conditioning in the NHL at that time as there is today. The Soviets had a state supported, highly structured training program all year long.

[@trajancanada]

@@daniel213141 I know.

[@darkoanton5]

The original line was Lafleur, Perreault, and Gretzky. I think Perreault was injured, but I could be wrong.

[@berryscott3590]

Quite right... Gilbert Perreault (what a great player, I recall watching him as a kid, playing for the Montreal Jr Canadiens) was hurt and unavailable for the final

[@jpmzo]

The Red Army team was the best hockey team I've EVER seen... Period, End of Story. Soviets invented puck possession, the NHL will never admit that. Mike Liut was the best goalie Canada had to offer? Canada bitched and moaned for decades about not being able to field an NHL All Star Team against the USSR, while the United States TWICE won gold against them in 1960 and 1980. Just when I think that Allan Eagleson couldn't be more of an asshole, he totally redeems himself, lol!

[@keyguy4752]

Huh? Canada has won 9 of the 13 best on best tournaments, they beat Russia in 1972 and in 1976 Russia wasn't even good enough to reach the finals which Canada also won. Not sure what you're talking about saying Canada ws whining, you must have an overactive imagination.

[@Ron-zd1jo]

87 team Canada beat your red army squad with the best EVER assembled team put together with only a few weeks to prepare and How long had red army been playing together ?? not to mention they play 11 months out of the year back then as 1 permanent roster. I agree Red army was an incredible team and played an oustanding style KLM Fed and Konst line probably the most effective. Difference here was Gretz and Mario Messier and the smaller rink and the never say die heart Canada seems to always have even down to when the the Jr's play at xmas time

[@daveg6839]

If you think about the best Canadian goalies of the 1970's and 1980's Mike Liut's name probably wouldn't come up. Ken Dryden had retired. We were a few years away from Patrick Roy and Grant Fuhr. Either one of them would have made a difference.

[@user-tz6mk4xv5s]

@@keyguy4752 they only win these tournaments on goonery not sheer talent.

[@Kirneh63]

This game was played only 2 weeks after the greatest of all Soviet hockey greats, Valerij Charlamov, lost his life in a tragic traffic accident...

[@jean-louislalonde6070]

You meant Kharlamov?

[@Kirneh63]

@@jean-louislalonde6070 His name was always spelled Charlamov in Europe.

[@jean-louislalonde6070]

@@Kirneh63 OK.

[@berryscott3590]

@@Kirneh63 I never knew that... reminds me of 'Charlamagne the (Hockey) God!'

[@jeremy.fordavon4030]

I think the dream line was Trottier-Gillies-Bossy

[@chrisphillips348]

Great topic! Vaguely remember, but Wayne’s book reminded me of it. In 1980 I was 12 and lived in NY and witnessed the Challenge Cup wipeout And was 30 minutes away from Lake Placid during the game and we found out the US won (it was Not aired live) and outside the area no one knew who won! It was still exciting as we thought it was a fake rumor. No way in hell that would/could happen today!

[@drock8505]

I still think the final would have been different had Billy Smith been the starter in that game

[@chrisphillips348]

This was in late summer and the Canadiens didn’t get into shape like the Soviet players. Being an athlete I would have trained all summer, but after NHL season, they needed a break!

[@Nohandle2500]

Every dog has its day. When you calculate games that were absolute best of best - Canada has dominated USSR/Russia/The artist formerly known as USSR, etc.

[@feponcio]

Absolutely. The only best-on-best (country vs. country) tournament the Russians/Soviets ever won was the 1981 Canada Cup. Meanwhile, Canada won the 1972 Summit Series, the 1976 Canada Cup, the 1984 Canada Cup, the 1987 Canada Cup, the 1991 Canada Cup, the 2002 Olympics, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2010 Olympics, the 2014 Olympics, and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

[@jethro1963]

I was going to post this, when it's best on best the Soviets/Russians haven't fared well. I remember thinking (after smoking the Russians in the Vancouver Olympics) that the Russians would be loaded for bear when they get us back in Sochi. But it wasn't to be.

[@theoccasionalangels]

An otherwise excellent summary of the 81 series ruined by childish editorial comments

[@jeffreyirabernstein]

Now the NHL is organizing a 4 nation tournament set for February 2025. It only features U.S.A., Canada, Sweden and Finland. Russia is banned because of the invasion of Ukraine, but why is the Czechia team left out? In addition, some of the NHL's greatest players like Pasternak (Czechia), Kucherov, Ovechkin, Vasilevskiy, Bobrovsky, Shestyorkin, Panarin (Russia), Draisaitl (Germany) cannot play in this tournament. They are not even going to have a Team Europe. Absolutely, insane and an insult to the previous Canada Cup tournaments.

[@claudebuysse7482]

It's a shame !

[@daveg6839]

I've always wanted a Team Canada vs Team Europe match - like the Ryder Cup.

[@claudebuysse7482]

@@daveg6839 With mixed referees and in Olympic skating rink...

[@harleydavidson3586]

The Canadian team "belittled" the Russian team in the first series of international play in 1972 because their skates were a cheap brand....the Canadians quickly learned "its not the value of the skate that matters"...its the feet that are wearing them. To further disgrace themselves, Canada showed poor sportsmanship by "not shaking" the Russians hands after Canada lost the initial game in 1972. Canada has never regained its lost respect internationally since this initial disastrous display of cockiness..

[@berryscott3590]

The Canadian players, immediately following game 1, having no experience with International/IIHF traditions were NOT AWARE they were expected to line up and shake hands post game... In Canada that only happens in the playoffs AFTER the series is over... Did CCCP line up to congratulate the series winners after Game 8? I don't recall

[@WranglerJess97]

Great video!

[@ericoutofsight]

I would love to hear the story when John Vanbiesbrouck become a Vancouver Canuck. A forgotten Canucks tale.

[@frankfossella6863]

The better team won Canada 🇨🇦 was to cocky that's what happens but the changed in the 1984 Canada 🇨🇦 Cup.

[@pgriff20]

Jesus. Thanks for your take on this. Have you even played hockey?

[@LordBitememan]

Now for a palette cleanser let's hear about that '76 Flyers-Red Army game.

[@claudebuysse7482]

The worst game i ever saw...

[@rainyday5654]

I remember that tournament. I don’t know why they had Gretzky and Lafleur on the same line. There was a lack of chemistry as they both wanted and kept the puck from each other.

[@ALE_DRINKER]

Can you imagine the goals that line would have scored if they were paired up on a team first a full season?

[@livewithaffection6905]

Canada needed Bobby Orr. One book mentioned that during the previous Canada Cup, everyone was scared..until Bobby Orr showed up in the dressing room. They said it was like a parent had shown up to organize the kids and they knew things were going to be alright.

[@HellBentMonk2024]

That is a beautiful thumbnail

[@ronlangill8689]

Any idea of a Canadian hockey "dream team" is not valid. The Soviets were already playing at the same level. This was not like basketball where NBA stars could play against countries that barely had any NBA players at all.

[@nevenv8453]

love the Terry Fox statement thats why i subscribed

[@daveblock1688]

Tretiak vs Liut. Easy to predict the outcome.

[@jaria4745]

This game is most likely the biggest humiliation ever for Team Canada.

[@seansack609]

Liut was on the receiving end of that infamous Montreal Forum cheer....any save, however easy, was cheered sarcastically.

[@Po-pol-vouh]

We were greatly surprised knowing the score. It didn't reflect the real strength of excellent Canada team. Anyway such games influenced greatly the development of hockey. I remember the game like it was yesterday.

[@franklulatowskijr.6974]

Tretiak is certainly the greatest goalie to never play in the NHL. That Soviet team was a serious beast.

[@alexthelethal]

Hockey history is written by Canada. The Soviets were head and shoulders better than the Canadians back then. Most "hockey fans" haven't even heard half of these Soviet players names.

[@berryscott3590]

If the Soviets were BETTER, Why did they win SO FEW, Best on Best Tourneys vs Canada and the also rans, even back in the days when our best NHLers had far less team preparation time, compared with their Soviet counterparts? ... In other words... Why did Canada win 5 Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey Tourneys, compared to only one for the Russians (1981), one for the Yanks (1996), and none for the rest of the hockey world??? And why, with a more level playing field, hasn't Russia managed a single gold medal in Olympic Hockey tourneys featuring full NHL participation? Canada has Won THREE Olympic Gold Medals in tourney's featuring full NHL participation, compared to 2 for the Rest of the World... Hockey History is written by the Victors which, in Best on Best Tourneys, has MOSTLY BEEN CANADA... CASE CLOSED!

[@ZoranJankovic-p7s]

@@berryscott3590 calm down Russophobe and tell us the name of the Russian woman who dumped you. You sound like a toddler who rambles on and on about why he deserved to win on Xbox. For the record, I went to the junior game where Russia beat Canada 6-0 😀and I will never forget seeing so many shocked Canadians who looked like they were about to vomit.

[@ZoranJankovic-p7s]

@@berryscott3590 Serbia beat your Canada in basketball without Nikola Jokic while you had a whole team of NBA players. Canadians were so arrogant and overconfident they would win with their Gilgeous Alexander, and yet he lost to a team of Serbians who just played a better team game while not having any NBA superstars on the team. Oh and at least our team is made up of actual Serbians, while your team is just Africa relocated.

[@ZoranJankovic-p7s]

@@berryscott3590 Croatia also destroyed Canada in the World Cup for the whole world to see after the Canadian coach arrogantly said they were going to f*** Croatia up in their next game. 😆

[@ZoranJankovic-p7s]

@@berryscott3590 USA has been owning Canada at World Juniors for the past 2 decades. USA has beaten you in just about every final they have played you since 2004.

[@gerdgerman7936]

Gretzky hat wohl viel von den Russen gelernt, er spielte als einzigster später in der NHL modernes Eishockey. Es dauerte noch fast 20 Jahre, bis in der NHL ein Stilwechsel einsetzte. Wäre der eiserne Vorhang geblieben, hätte es die NHL noch heute schwer gegen Russen und Tschechen zu gewinnen.

[@justplainbrad7713]

Gretzky era um jogador unilateral. Ele esperava que os pontas o encontrassem livre e então passassem o disco para ele. Ele era um artilheiro incrível, mas esse era seu único jogo. Em um jogo de prorrogação, Gretzky é o último jogador que um técnico gostaria de ter no gelo! Ele não conseguia se proteger contra os piores jogadores no gelo. Até Ovechkin era um jogador melhor em todos os aspectos do que Wayne, o que é terrível, porque Ovi também é unidimensional... mas pelo menos, controlado.

[@billyrock8305]

Shocked 😮

[@tenniswilliam]

I was in Leningrad and watched this game with a whole group of Russians at the hotel I was at. It was a major embarrassment.

[@kdids]

shout out to Portage and Main at 10:00 for the trophy ceremony and what looks like Ben Hatskin Jets 1.0 original owner in the background. allen eagleson was such a tool.

[@Eric-v8q]

Yes, it's still extraordinary that an American university team, children, was able to beat this same team at the 1980 Olympics

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

Like the Canadians in this video, the Soviets are afflicted with Overconfidence every now and then.

[@saryphx]

@@Tiglath-PileserXIX Except the reason the US Olympic team won was because they adopted the Soviets style of hockey. Sure, they would've lost 9 out of 10 times, but that one game was all that mattered.

[@tonybenn1000]

This 1981 Canada Cup was the Greatest one ever in my opinion. But we should have had a player in the penalty box from start to finish, we were that dirty.

[@kevinharris5737]

Guy Lafluer went downhill faster than anyone I have ever seen.

[@68view6]

Love this vid :)

[@donaldleider7382]

I was at the challenge cup series game in 1979 at Madison Square Garden where the Soviet Red Army team shut out the NHL All-Stars 6-0.

[@berryscott3590]

That was the CCCP Nats, albeit with Red Army the biggest contributor... To be fair, our boys did win the first game of that Challenge Cup, 4-3... So technically 1-1 in wins and losses... Was there a third game in that series? I don't recall...

[@jeffmccoy1700]

​​@@berryscott3590the Challenge Cup was a 3 game series the second week of February that year, games on Thursday night, Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening. The teams split the first two games 4-2 NHL in game one then 5-4 Soviets in game two. For game three both coaches switched goaltenders the Soviets replacing the great Tretiak with the unknown Vladamir Myshkin and Scotty Bowman replacing his Montreal net minder Ken Dryden with Gerry Cheevers. The Soviets stunned the North American hockey world with a 6-0 win.

[@jeffmccoy1700]

​@@berryscott3590 I heard later that at the conclusion of the final game the Soviet captain Boris Maikailov skated over to Bobby Clarke the NHL captain like he intended to shake hands but instead the Soviet captain put his face in front of Clarke's and went "ha, ha ,ha!!" At the end of the broadcast Mikailov was asked through an interpreter what this victory meant for Soviet hockey and in response Mikailov grinned and said "Soviet hockey number one, NHL number two".

[@berryscott3590]

@@jeffmccoy1700 'East is East & West is West', notes Kipling ...'The West is the BEST', cries Morrison... 'An Iron Curtain has descended over Eastern Europe', laments Churchill... We are all stuck on one side, or t' other, of the Great, 'US vs THEM' Divide... Don't give us any Detente, Let's Shake Hands, Crap... This is still, take no prisoners, kick'em when they're down, Cold War on Ice-Time ... This is Mikailov, CCCP Kapo, confronting Team Canada Hit-man, and Broad Street Bullies' Captain-Clarke... There's no mending of fences, no forgetting of the love tap that broke Kharlavov's ankle... No DEEP SYMBOLISM ICI...But Plenty of HOCKEY KARMA xxx Kharlamov (RIP) is not long for this world... CCCP's Reign of Terror (He said, waxing Metaphorically) is Coming to an End... 'I'm sick of hearing what a great team the Soviets have... Screw em... Their time is over...done... This is Our Time'... The Coming of the Sedins and the Premeditated Collapse of the Twins in NYC, Notwithstaning... xxx I'd say more, but my answer to your post has been deleted 3 times by Cerebus, the 3 headed dog from hell, at the behest of KZbin Thought Police... Care to try for the trifecta Big Brother? Or are the 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse sufficient? Drop the Damn Puck Already... OH CANADA... BAByyyyyyyyj

[@kellyswayze2958]

The Russian style of game would become the Oilers style very quickly and now every single team in the NHL plays the Russian style of hockey. They refined and defined the game.

[@fifthbusiness1678]

Thank god for the Soviets - they changed the game of hockey for the better. PS With respect, there was no “dark and sinister aspect” to the Soviet national anthem. It was widely regarded as among the most beautiful pieces of music ever created for a national anthem.

[@bauerpowerca]

Tretiak vs. Liut...Nuf Sed

[@KadeRiley-hq8gc]

Billy Smith should have been in the finals. I don't think this would have saved Canada but maybe the final scorer would not have been as embarrassing. Also they should have done a best of 3 finals like in the 1976 Canada Cup. A team could have one bad game and still jump back to win. I wonder what would have happened if the 1981 final was a best of 3, instead of a 1 game final.

[@snowman22ism]

No point living for what ifs. We had a chance and we lost. No point trying to find scenarios where we "might" have won... We didn't.

[@robynhyman6749]

Another example of Alan Eagleson disgracing the game of hockey. The Soviets won, it was their trophy to take home.

[@curious2624]

I thought the line was Wayne Gretzky, Gilbert Perrault and Guy Lafleur.

[@WranglerJess97]

Isn't there a neat old term that was used to describe someone that gave something to someone else, only to ask for it back later? 🤣

[@David-dz2xj]

Not the dream team with Ron Duguay and Gillies are chosen over Sittler and McDonald. And, Liut was a weak link as a choker at 8-1 while we outshot them. We had Stanley Cup winner, Billy Smith, available to play.

[@justplainbrad7713]

Who's who! It was the status quo, before this game, with this game, and has been the way, ever since.

[@CoreySosner]

V. Tretziac best Goaile of all time. I saw him live he was the best period

[@EmptyNetClapper]

uggh. I was at that game. I still have the ticket here somewhere - $18.00. We walked in pretty confident. Canada had beat the Soviets 7-3 in the round robin, and then this. Sometimes, that the way it goes. It didn't help that Liut was simply terrible. It's always an interesting discussion about putting these teams together. Without reference to anything in particular about this team, do you put together what we might call a well round NHL style team - top lines, checkers, energy line etc., or do you simply put together what amounts to an all star team. 2014 in Sochi was great. Babcock, for all his faults, was able to convince otherwise offensive players that they were going to be on other than the top line and play a solid defensive game. The win over the U.S was the most convincing 1-0 win I've ever seen. The stats line is close, but the eye test shows that Canada was confident, controlled, and smart in not wanting to get into a goal scoring derby with the U.S side.

[@franklulatowskijr.6974]

And let’s be honest here. Modern teams play a lot more like the Soviet teams than those old Canadian teams. Systemic play rules the day.

[@ludwigbodmer7107]

No one of soviet players was sent to GULAG after the lost in 1972.Stop repeating this stupid propaganda cliche.

[@brandy1262]

I remember watching this game. You make it sound like USSR dominated the game. Tretriak dominated the game. For much of the game Canada was either equal to or out playing the USSR. But, they could not score on Tretriak and eventually got frustrated and did fall apart. The USSR style was much different than Canada’s. The Russian version of hockey was more of a football (soccer) game on ice. When hockey was added to the Olympics, they choose Canadian hockey. As to which playing style is superior, USSR won this game, but there were a number of one sided games for each side over the years.

[@thearsenalmisfit2414]

The 87 Canada cup was not the greatest international tournament ever held. That was the 72 series that led to all that came after it.

[@berryscott3590]

Yes and No... I watched both tourneys, either in person (I'm from the Hammer), or on TV... FYI, I'm a grandather of 2 and a great-grandpa of 2... While the 72 Summit Series was the most historically important hockey tourney, by far... Team Canada 72 was missing Orr due to injury, plus its WHA guys led by Bobby Hull (who Eagleson and the NHL brass wouldn't let participate)... Good as it was, great as its exploits were, Team Canada 72 wasn't our True A-Team... Compare that 72 roster with Team Canada 76 (Arguably, Team Canada's best ever team, ON PAPER), and it's not even close..and we could say much the same comparing 72, roster wise, to our 1987 Canada Cup Team, our 2014 Canadian Olympic Team, etcetera... Back in 72, TC's brain-trust, or lack thereof, were novices when it came to picking national teams (Less we forget, our out of shape NHLers, hockey pundits etcetera, were likewise totally confident of winning by lopsided scores going in)... Moreover, our top NHLers hadn't yet learned to set their egos aside for the good of the team... It was only with their backs to the wall, and after narrowly avoiding defeat, that Hockey Canada and company learned these crucial lessons...

[@Joseph-n4c5l]

'76

[@thearsenalmisfit2414]

@berryscott3590 In not talking about who and who was not on that Team Canada team as that is totally irrelevant to the games that were played, I'm talking about the actual games themselves and how the series played out. It was so close that during the intermission, after the second period, the Russians said they would claim victory if the score stayed tied at the end of the third period. They claimed as the records would be tied, they would win because they scored the most goals. That's how close it was and the drama the series had created. I remember watching that 3rd period full of dead that We were going to lose. When Herderson scored that winning goal, drinks and chips and anything else being consumed by everyone in our house went flying across the room as everyone threw their arms up in celebration. The feeling that the free world was safe again from communism.

[@berryscott3590]

@@thearsenalmisfit2414 Yeah I was in grade 9 in 72 ... I experienced that SUMMIT SERIES, those 27 days in September too... Recall that I called it the most historically significant hockey series, by far... xxx As for SAVING THE WORLD FROM COMMUNISM? Sure, we thought like that as naive kids.. Still, according to whistleblowers like Antony Sutton. Paul Warburg (likely working at the behest of the Rothschilds and Mirano Rockefellers) provided a fellow member of the NYC Babylonian Talmudic community , one Leon Trotsky, with 20 million in Gold bullion and safe ship's passage to St Petersburgh, to help bring about the fall of the Romanov dynasty in the days leading up to that 1917 so-called 'Russian' Revolution... Word is, Trotsky's passport was signed by none other than Woodrow Wilson who also signed the 1913 Federal Reserve Act into effect... In other words, the same Occult (don;t say Judeo Masonic) Hierarchy, the same 'Hidden Hand' (whose Masonic Star of Moloch graces the US Seal, and the back of the US dollar Bill), who controls the US economy, US fiat currency & Central Banking, also helped finance & foment the so-called 'Russian Revolution'', as everyone from Winston Churchill to Henry Ford, & Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn have tacitly attested... That you didn't appreciated any of this as a kid, during the height of the Cold War, and likely still don't... suggests to me that the True, Historical Significance of a good many things have mostly flown beneath your radar... PEACE OUT

[@basilcarroll9729]

The hockey was much better in 87 but the 72 series will never be topped.

[@canden-t7w]

Russia has alot of great hocky players !.

[@wombatwilly1002]

When a championship or trophy has been on the line this is the LAST time the Soviets defeated Canada's best.Look it up.I don't mean round robin games or where Canada's best weren't playing.

[@kevinmartin9180]

Beat by the other great super power in Hockey and arguably one of the greatest goalies in history. No shame Canada

[@Traumatree]

Lafleur and Bossy lost us this match... and Gretz was invisible. Worst 1-line in history.

[@chrisphillips348]

The goalies on Canada were not the Best they had, not even close

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

With the possible recent exception of Carey Price, they still aren't.

[@chrisphillips348]

@@Tiglath-PileserXIX yeah, they went from the best to avg then Roy then avg again. Speaking of goalies , what drugs is Hellybuck on?

[@kellymccann1193]

I went for a long walk after that game lol

[@willzimjohn]

They have to keep changing the passports for security purposes.

[@ianhowarth2656]

Nothing Allan Eagleson said at that time had anything to do with the truth.

[@jeffpope7811]

Love that later Scotty Bohmen recruited the Famous Russian 5 to win 2 cups with Detroit!!!

[@claudebuysse7482]

Very bad game of Mike Liut, that's all...

[@maluorno]

what is up with the blue pants in 87?

[@snowman22ism]

Sponsored by the Toronto Maple Leafs... LOL

[@hemawa]

Great and Mighty Won! So Beautiful, So Beautiful!!!

[@905JimRaynor]

Gretzky was a great NHL regular season player. He was not great during elite competition in the Stanley Cup late rounds and against the Soviet Union.

[@basilcarroll9729]

You did not watch the 87 Canada Cup.

[@wigglelikeelvis]

I think you've been misinformed. Quite the opposite.

[@905JimRaynor]

@@basilcarroll9729 i went to 3 games at Copps Coliseum. He was at the Apex of his career and above average in that tourney. However, many players had more raw explosive speed than he did. Watch the TV tapes of the games carefully and you will notice it. Watching the games LIVE where you see the entire ice surface at all times and it is very noticeable. That said, I will conceded he was an above average performer in that tournament.

[@feponcio]

I'm not clear how you came to the conclusion that Gretzky was "not great" during elite competition. In the 1987 Canada Cup, Gretzky led the tournament with 21 points in 9 games. In the final 3 games against the Soviet Union, Gretzky dominated with 9 points, including assisting on Lemieux's series winning goal. At the conclusion of this elite tournament, Gretzky won the "Tournament MVP" award. Note also that in the 1984 Canada Cup, Gretzky led Team Canada in scoring, and was voted to the tournament all-star team. And yes, Gretzky also led Team Canada in scoring in the 1991 Canada Cup.

[@905JimRaynor]

@feponcio i watched him play. Watch him in the '83 and '86 playoffs. In the '87 and '84 Canada Cup events he scored a total of 7 goals over 18 games. He was good but not great. He is probably the best NHL regular season player of all time.

[@robbpowell194]

Go ahead. Re-traumatize me. 🍁😏