When the Summit Series came to town
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This article was published 07/09/2022 (271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
On Sept. 2, 1972, Canada and the Soviet Union played the first game of what has become known in hockey history as the Summit Series. Probably no hockey battle has been discussed and written about more than that eight-game series, which Canada won four games to three with one tied.
The Soviet Union shocked Team Canada in the first game at the Montreal Forum with a 7-3 victory. With a roster of 35 players, coach Harry Sinden made several lineup changes for game two in Maple Leaf Gardens two days later and Team Canada won 4-1. The 4-4 tie played at Winnipeg Arena on Sept. 6 is perhaps the game least remembered by Canadian and Russian hockey fans.
More than other Canadians, Winnipeg hockey fans knew the Russians deserved to be viewed with respect. From 1965 to 1969, this city was home to Canada’s national team, a group of talented amateurs who had played the Soviet Union at the Arena and in international competitions such as the annual IIHF world championship. In 1969, the Soviets won their seventh straight world championship, while he Nats won bronze from 1966 to ’68 and finished fourth in 1969.
From left, Bobby Clarke, Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden and Brad Park listen as Serge Savard shares stories from the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the U.S.S.R. during the ’72 Summit Series Tour at the Centennial Concert Hall in 2016. Game three of that series was played at the old Winnipeg Arena on Sept. 6, 1972.
One of the spectators in the overflow crowd of 11,000 at the Arena was Bobby Hull, the Chicago Black Hawks (as they were then known) superstar who had recently signed a million-dollar contract to join the Winnipeg Jets of the new World Hockey Association. Because of an agreement between Hockey Canada and the NHL, Hull and other players who had joined WHA teams were ruled ineligible to play for Team Canada. Hull’s former teammate, Phil Esposito, suggested the Canadian squad should be called Team NHL.
Flin Flon’s Bobby Clarke, who made his third straight start of the series in Winnipeg game, received a large ovation when he was introduced, something he wasn’t used to when he and his hometown Bombers battled the junior Jets in the ’60s. Sinden made one lineup change for game three, inserting centre Jean Ratelle for Bill Goldsworthy. With many players forced to sit out, the large roster was becoming an issue for the coaching staff.
On the ice, Jean-Paul Parisé beat Vladislav Tretiak less than two minutes into the game, but the Soviets quickly tied it with a shorthanded tally by Vladimir Petrov. Canada went ahead near the end of the first on a goal by Ratelle. Just over four minutes into the second, Wayne Cashman fed Esposito to put Canada up 3-1. A shorthanded goal by Valeri Kharlamov made it 3-2, but Paul Henderson soon restored the two-goal lead.
Coach Vsevolod Bobrov began to give his ‘Baby Line’ of Vyacheslav Anisin, Yuri Lebedev and Alexander Bodunov more ice time and the tactic worked. Lebedev made it 4-3 and Bodunov tied it before the end of the second. The trio had played university hockey the previous season. Tretiak, who was named the Soviets’ outstanding player, and Canadian netminder Tony Esposito both played well in the third period and the game ended 4-4. Henderson was chosen Canada’s player of the game.
“I haven’t seen any Russians who couldn’t play in the NHL,” Sinden acknowledged after the game.
Retired Brandon University professor Morris Mott played four seasons with the Nats and was with the NHL California Golden Seals in 1972-73. Earlier this year, Memories of Sport asked him how he thought the Russians would do against Team Canada.
“I thought the Russians would be competitive all over the ice, but I thought they would be weak in goal. Shows how much I knew,” said the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame member.
The Society of International Hockey Research publications database lists more than 25 books about the competition and numerous biographies and autobiographies of the players involved. In Scott Morrison’s new book, 1972: The Series That Changed Hockey Forever, players such as Phil Esposito, Clarke, Henderson and defenceman Brad Park offer their memories, along with coach Sinden
In Ice War Diplomat, Gary J. Smith, who worked in the Canadian embassy in Moscow, gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at hockey meeting Cold War politics. He makes it clear that Air Canada employee Aggie Kukulowicz played an important role in the relationship between the two competitors, beyond his travel and interpretation duties. Kukulowicz, who grew up in Winnipeg’s North End, played pro hockey before joining the airline and serving as its representative in Moscow for several years.
On Sept 7 at 7 p.m., McNally Robinson Booksellers will host a virtual evening with Team Canada goalie Ken Dryden, who will be talking about his new book titled The Series: What I Remember, What It Felt Like, What It Feels Like Now. Greg Mackling of 680 CJOB will lead the discussion.
T. Kent Morgan
Memories of Sport
Memories of Sport appears every second week in the Canstar Community News weeklies. Kent Morgan can be contacted at 204-489-6641 or email: sportsmemories@canstarnews.com