Canada+Russia+hockey+series

=__Canada-Russia Hockey Series 1972__ =

It wasn't just a hockey series to decide the winner and who was the best at the game, it evolved into a battle of two political systems. Democracy versus Communism. "It turned out to be more than just a hockey series. A lot of pride came into play- pride in yourself, pride in your team, pride in your country", said Ed Johnston, a Canadian goalie. The Russian's style of hockey reflected their politics. "They are a disciplined society and they play disciplined hockey", said Team Canada's coach, Harry Sinden.

In 1972, the Canadian NHL stars and the Soviet Amateurs faced an eight game battle lasting from September 2 to September 28, twenty-six days in total. The showdown was called the Summit Series because summit means peak or top and it was to see which country has the better team. There were four games in Canada and four games in Russia. The games in Canada were held in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. The games in Russia were all held in the capital, Moscow. It was the first time that professional Canadian hockey players competed against the Russians.



The series took place just after the Cold War. There were still some tensions between Russia and the United States. Canada felt as though they were involved because they are the U.S.'s biggest supporter. The Canadians were playing because they wanted to proudly represent their country. However, the Russians played because they were forced to, showing little emotion. "I watched the games and tried to understand what made us different. There wasn't much difference in skills. The difference was in passion. The Canadians played every minute of every game until the final buzzer. I don't think they ever looked at the scoreboard", said Yuri Shatalov, a Russian player.



__Game 1: Montreal, Quebec: September 2, 1972__ The Canadians were surprised by how well the Soviets played. More than 100 million people watched the first game from their television sets. After the Canadians made their second goal, the slick Soviet machine kicked into gear. By the end of the third period, the Russians had 7 goals and the Canadians only had 3. __Game 2: Toronto, Ontario: September 4, 1972__ Despite the major defeat as the Canadians lost the first game, game two was a success with the Canadians winning with 3 goals in the last period. The final score was 4 to 1. __Game 3: Winnipeg, Manitoba: September 6, 1972__ With thirteen seconds left in the third period, Russia’s goalie, Vladislav Tretiak saves a crucial shot, robbing Canadians from a victory. The game ended 4 to 4. __Game 4: Vancouver, British Columbia: September 8 1972__ Unfortunately, Russia beat Canada with a 5 to 3 win in the fourth game. __Game 5: Moscow, Russia: September 22, 1972__ Team Canada had a lead of 4 to 1 with only fifteen minutes left. This is when the Russians came back, winning the game by one goal. By now the Russians have won 3 out of 5 games. It wasn’t looking good for the Canadians. __Game 6: Moscow, Russia: September 24, 1972__ The first period, there were no goals. In the second period, the Canadians scored 3 goals and the Russians got only 2. This was also the final score. __Game 7: Moscow, Russia: September 26, 1972__ Game seven was won by the Canadians, a 4 to 3 victory. Now the series was tied in victories by both teams. __Game 8: Moscow, Russia: September 28, 1972__ In my opinion, the eighth game was the most important. It was the tiebreaker. The Russians were ahead at the end of the second period. Then in the last period, the dedicated Canadians scored to even the game. With only 34 seconds left in the game, Paul Henderson scored the winning goal, making the score 6 to 5. He led the Canadians to the series’ victory and became a national hero.



This series showed every hockey fan that Canadians aren't the only ones who can excel at hockey. It means that they have to work and play harder to stay the best. Since the Summit Series was such a major event, hockey became a global phenomenon following 1972. Even to this very day, Canadian hockey players still consider themselves to be the best at the sport. The final game in this year's world championships in hockey involved Canada against Russia.

//__** Martine Feuer **__//