45 years ago today there was a hockey game played in North Elba, New York

[KillerMillerTime]

I knew the Baker boys a bit when I was growing up. Jay managed a restaurant that I worked at. When the Lightning won their first cup, Steve brought it to Cohasset for everyone to see. Wasn't a huge crowd.

Baker was first US Goalie to win a PO Series since Brimsek. He got a groin injury against Boston in Boston Garden and had to be carried out. Impacted his career.

 

[sarge88]

I'm so jealous. I had just tuned 10. Bed time was strict in my house. My mom told me they won, and let me stay up to watch the first period on the delayed broadcast. I was fuming that I couldn't watch the whole game.

it’s funny what we remember.

I was always under the impression that the game was played around noon, but broadcast around 6pm.

But others have said it was in prime time.

My dad did work late sometimes, so it’s definitely possible that we’d be eating that late, especially on a Friday,

 

[22Brad Park]

You know the last two times the US faced Tretiak was in the 1978 Worlds and 1980 Olympics. The US scored 5 goals on Tretiak in the 1978 Worlds, including the 4th goal evening the game about halfway through the 2nd period. So in the last 4 periods Tretiak faced US Teams that scored 7 goals off him. Wonder if that was in Tikhonov's mind after watching Myshkin shutout the NHL All Stars in the deciding game of the Challenge Cup? Mark Johnson and Ken Morrow were on that 1978 US Team.

The highlights of the game are on YouTube and is a neat thing to watch.

Thanks I will take a look.

it’s funny what we remember.

I was always under the impression that the game was played around noon, but broadcast around 6pm.

But others have said it was in prime time.

My dad did work late sometimes, so it’s definitely possible that we’d be eating that late, especially on a Friday,

I always think I remember stuff then find out later it was not like I thought lol.Time is a funny thing.

 

[Fenway]

 

[Fenway]

The new Channel 25 carried the game with Harvard and the person who put the telecast together stiffed everyone. At the time Channel 25 was owned by a religious network and he had sold the ads to Budweiser and 25 would not run them.

ESPN which was also brand new carried the game with Chris Berman doing play by play. However no cable system in Boston carried ESPN then.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

The new Channel 25 carried the game with Harvard and the person who put the telecast together stiffed everyone. At the time Channel 25 was owned by a religious network and he had sold the ads to Budweiser and 25 would not run them.

ESPN which was also brand new carried the game with Chris Berman doing play by play. However no cable system in Boston carried ESPN then.
View attachment 981842

Thanks Fenway, that explains my not recalling ESPN doing the broadcast.

I remember watching that game and being impressed with the two WCHA players I hadn't seen in Mark Pavelich and John Harrington of UMD.

 

[SPB2776]

I watched "Miracle" Saturday night for the first time in years to celebrate. Almost in protest of Felger's complaining last week. Such a storybook situation. Just thinking about it brings a smile to your face

 

[Ludwig Fell Down]

One remarkable footnote that I read in Al Michaels' book. He and Dryden had to stay and call the Finland - Sweden game because ABC was going to cut to that if they had any trouble with the tape-delayed broadcast of the US-USSR game. I have no idea if anyone got the feed of that game. And it must have been tough to refocus after watching the U.S. victory.

 

[RoccoF14]

Thanks Fenway, that explains my not recalling ESPN doing the broadcast.

I remember watching that game and being impressed with the two WCHA players I hadn't seen in Mark Pavelich and John Harrington of UMD.

I grew up on WCHA hockey. Mark Johnson was the best of the bunch and I’d argue he was the best player on that ‘80 squad.

Leading scorer and got 2 of the 4 against the Soviets. Including that crucial goal at the end of the 1st that got Tretiak pulled. As a young hockey player growing up in Wisconsin, that guy was my hero.

Weird thing is that he hardly ever gets mentioned when people talk about that ‘80 Team. It’s always Eruzione this and Eruzione that….

 

[BMC]

2 weeks earlier the USA played a friendly against the Soviets at Madison Sq Garden and tanked the game. - Brooks had no intention of showing his hand until he had to

I remember reading about this in the paper. USA got massacred something like 11-2 and looked really, really bad doing it. Herb Brooks really messed with the Russians' heads didn't he?

I was a 17 year old HS junior. I didn't pay much attention to hockey although I kinda followed the Whalers in the sports section. The only reason I watched USA-USSR was because we were watching the Games every night & all weekend long mainly to see if Eric Heiden could pull off winning all 5 speed skating races ( he did & not many people remember today), he was the big story going into the Games.

 

[RoccoF14]

I remember reading about this in the paper. USA got massacred something like 11-2 and looked really, really bad doing it. Herb Brooks really messed with the Russians' heads didn't he?

I was a 17 year old HS junior. I didn't pay much attention to hockey although I kinda followed the Whalers in the sports section. The only reason I watched USA-USSR was because we were watching the Games every night & all weekend long mainly to see if Eric Heiden could pull off winning all 5 speed skating races ( he did & not many people remember today), he was the big story going into the Games.

Heiden’s 5 golds (another Wisconsin guy, BTW) and the US Hockey team were the only gold medals the US won during the 80 Olympics IIRC.

 

[Fenway]

I remember reading about this in the paper. USA got massacred something like 11-2 and looked really, really bad doing it. Herb Brooks really messed with the Russians' heads didn't he?

Brooks was obsessed with trying to break the Russian system.

He was certain of one thing, if the game was close or if the US could get the lead the Soviets would panic and that indeed happened as they pulled Tretiak after the first period.

The legacy of the 1980 team was opening up the NHL for NCAA players. A few players in the 70s made the jump (Ken Dryden, Mike Milbury for example), and by 1996 the USA had closed the gap.

 

[Fenway]

Thanks Fenway, that explains my not recalling ESPN doing the broadcast.

I remember watching that game and being impressed with the two WCHA players I hadn't seen in Mark Pavelich and John Harrington of UMD.

ESPN in late 1979 had only been on the air for a couple of months and back then they would pay cable companies to carry them.

Berman told me years ago that he first understood what ESPN could become when they showed the 1980 Beanpot and fans in Buffalo cheered Northeastern's first win that nobody in Boston saw.

ESPN in 1979-80 relied heavily on showing Washington and Hartford games to show anything live. @Aussie Bruin ESPN's big breakthrough would come in 1983 when they aired a boat race in Newport, Rhode Island working with Network 7 and 10 , WJAR-TV in Providence, and WBZ-TV in Boston. I seem to recall that was a big event down under.

 

[Fenway]

The 1980 USA/Norway game was a defining moment in my career.



We thought at best we would get some highlights on ABC but never in a million years be live on the full network.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

ESPN in late 1979 had only been on the air for a couple of months and back then they would pay cable companies to carry them.

Berman told me years ago that he first understood what ESPN could become when they showed the 1980 Beanpot and fans in Buffalo cheered Northeastern's first win that nobody in Boston saw.

ESPN in 1979-80 relied heavily on showing Washington and Hartford games to show anything live. @Aussie Bruin ESPN's big breakthrough would come in 1983 when they aired a boat race in Newport, Rhode Island working with Network 7 and 10 , WJAR-TV in Providence, and WBZ-TV in Boston. I seem to recall that was a big event down under.

Aw yeah, it was a moderately big deal you could say!! Not to be repeated unfortunately. Our 1995 boat ignominiously sank in a race off San Diego and we've never been back at the top level since. Those Kiwis across the pond on the other hand, they're pretty good.

 

[Ludwig Fell Down]

Brooks was obsessed with trying to break the Russian system.

He was certain of one thing, if the game was close or if the US could get the lead the Soviets would panic and that indeed happened as they pulled Tretiak after the first period.

The legacy of the 1980 team was opening up the NHL for NCAA players. A few players in the 70s made the jump (Ken Dryden, Mike Milbury for example), and by 1996 the USA had closed the gap.

Interesting take on Tikhonov pulling Tretiak. I always though that was a hubris move rather than a panic move. I figured Tikhonov probably thought that he could roll over team USA with a mite player in goal.

I will say the Soviets didn't seem to know how to play from behind. Kept rolling all 4 lines and never pulled the goalie.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

I grew up on WCHA hockey. Mark Johnson was the best of the bunch and I’d argue he was the best player on that ‘80 squad.

Leading scorer and got 2 of the 4 against the Soviets. Including that crucial goal at the end of the 1st that got Tretiak pulled. As a young hockey player growing up in Wisconsin, that guy was my hero.

Weird thing is that he hardly ever gets mentioned when people talk about that ‘80 Team. It’s always Eruzione this and Eruzione that….

Johnson was the best forward for sure but best player has to be Craig.
Johnson was unbelievabley clutch in the 2 Medal Round games.

Produced 3G\1A in them and all 3 Goals were huge including the insurance goal against Finland. He also made a nice misdirection play behind the net to set up McClanahan's game winner.

Johnson played 11 games with the 1976 US Olympic Team was still 18 years old
and a HS Senior in Madison, WI. and averaged a PPG...lol. He played with
future Bruin Bobby Miller (UNH\Billerica) who was still 19.

Those two met again at the 1977 NCAA Semifinals and those were the best teams
along with BU who were in the Semi Finals against Michigan, for US grown talent I saw for maybe a decade or two at the FF.

There were 6 US Gold Medalists, a NHL HOF (Langway), 4 US Olympians from the
1976 Olympics (Alley, Mille, Taft and Lamby) and 15 future US NHL players in Detroit.

The UNH vs Wisconsin game was great to watch with Wisconsin winning in OT
with a shot by I think Mike Eaves right of the faceoff. You didn't know it at the time but that NCAA group of US Players were the deepest US group ever produced until then and the players like Johnson, Christoff, Pavelich, Craig, Silk, and O'Callahan were the top So\Fr that year.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Interesting take on Tikhonov pulling Tretiak. I always though that was a hubris move rather than a panic move. I figured Tikhonov probably thought that he could roll over team USA with a mite player in goal.

I will say the Soviets didn't seem to know how to play from behind. Kept rolling all 4 lines and never pulled the goalie.

The Soviets had close games against Canada and Finland in pool play. Brooks and Patrick must have seen that and had to have felt they would have a chance if they gave that type of effort and Craig was at his best. I think Tikhonov may have pulled Tretiak to send a message to the team? I know they destroyed Sweden for the Silver.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Interesting take on Tikhonov pulling Tretiak. I always though that was a hubris move rather than a panic move. I figured Tikhonov probably thought that he could roll over team USA with a mite player in goal.

I will say the Soviets didn't seem to know how to play from behind. Kept rolling all 4 lines and never pulled the goalie.

I posted earlier here that the last two times the Soviets played the US at the 1978
Worlds the US put 4 past Tretiak midway thru the 2nd to tie the game 4-4 before the USSR put the game out of reach winning 9-5, then the 1st period at the 1980 Olympics 2 more goals, so Tretiak gave up 7 goals in 4 periods of hockey to the US.
Both Mark Johnson and Ken Morrow were on the US Team and Johnson got a couple assists in that game. Soviets could be guilty of some hiccups at the World Championships as they lost to Poland in 1976 and beat W. Germany only 3-2
in the 1979 Worlds.

Think they were fat & happy most of the tourney being actually challenged by
Finland, Canada & USA.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Interesting take on Tikhonov pulling Tretiak. I always though that was a hubris move rather than a panic move. I figured Tikhonov probably thought that he could roll over team USA with a mite player in goal.

I will say the Soviets didn't seem to know how to play from behind. Kept rolling all 4 lines and never pulled the goalie.

Actually the 1969-70 Chicago Black Hawks had 4 NCAA players playing
important roles in Tony Esposito, Keith Magnuson, Cliff Koroll and Lou Angotti.
A 5th NCAA player in Jim Wiste saw time in 1969-70. All five came from Denver and Michigan Tech the Western powers.

The 1980 US Team put the ultimate exclamation point on the arrival of NCAA players, but especially US NCAA ones. There were some good young US players in the NHL in 1978-79 in Reed Larson, Rod Langway, Mike O'Connell, Tom Rowe, Mike Fidler and Paul Holmgren. Then you had Mark Howe in the WHA with Ftorek. Rick Chartraw was the first US Player taken in the 1st round as far back as 1974.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Actually the 1969-70 Chicago Black Hawks had 4 NCAA players playing
important roles in Tony Esposito, Keith Magnuson, Cliff Koroll and Lou Angotti.
A 5th NCAA player in Jim Wiste saw time in 1969-70. All five came from Denver and Michigan Tech the Western powers.

The 1980 US Team put the ultimate exclamation point on the arrival of NCAA players, but especially US NCAA ones. There were some good young US players in the NHL in 1978-79 in Reed Larson, Rod Langway, Mike O'Connell, Tom Rowe, Mike Fidler and Paul Holmgren. Then you had Mark Howe in the WHA with Ftorek. Rick Chartraw was the first US Player taken in the 1st round as far back as 1974.

Meant for Fenway post #41.