The Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 1968–1978 – Games & Highlights

[VMBM]

Enthused by all of the old international hockey games that have been uploaded on YouTube recently (I guess some thanks should go also to the Czech TV and CSKA Moscow's 'organization'?), I wanted to take a closer look at the available Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia games that I could find. I chose the time period of 1968–78, because during those 10–11 years you could say that the USSR and the CSSR were genuine rivals, especially head to head (the Soviets could dominate other teams usually a little better). This rivalry has always been an underrated piece of international hockey history in my opinion.

So, somewhat similarly to my 1979 Challenge Cup thread, I will review USSR vs CSSR games from 1968–78 and present the highlights (the ones I didn't miss), including links to them. Unlike in that other thread, though, I won't do any deeper analyses on the games/tournaments, nor will I categorically rate the performances of every forward line/player on either side. However, I will try to name the tops and flops, or rather disappointments, of each game, based on what I see and, if there is a lot of footage/scoring plays missing (like often there is), on statistics too. My opinions should be taken with a little grain of salt; I sometimes feel that I pay too much attention to the 'superstar' players rather than lesser-known ones, and that I don't give defencemen or defensive forwards enough credit (unless they are flashy and impossible to miss à la certain Jan Suchy).

The games' lineups were done with a help from Czech Wikipedia; unfortunately, sometimes when watching a game, I noticed there was e.g. spare player(s) on the ice that according to Wiki weren't supposed to be in the lineup (like in the 2nd game of the 1973 WHC), so I had to add them. I'd still think that the basic lineups are at least mostly correct, but please notify if you see something wrong.

By the way, I have no idea which team was the "home" team and which "away" team in whatever game; I just decided that when the Soviets are wearing red jerseys, they are the home team and when white jerseys, they are the away team. Then again, they wore the white jerseys in both of the games at the 1969 World Championships, as well as red in both of the games at the 1973 World Championships... Oh well!

1968 Winter Olympics (France)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 4-5

USSR
B. Mayorov-Starshinov-Zimin
Firsov-Polupanov-Vikulov
Moiseyev-Ionov-Mishakov
Davydov-Kuzkin
V. Blinov-Ragulin
Romishevsky-Zaitsev
Konovalenko

CSSR
Jirik-Golonka-Sevcik
Jiri Holik-Nedomansky-Hrbaty
Cerny-Hejma-Havel
Horesovsky-Suchy
Masopust-Machac
Dzurilla

The video of the game has only one full - or near full - period, which is the 2nd. However, at the start, the goals from the 1st period are shown (by using some alternative footage); so, Czechoslovakia leads the game 3-1 after the opening period; the goal-scorers for the CSSR were Sevcik, Hejma and Havel and for the USSR Boris Mayorov.

Almost right at the start of the 2nd period, the CSSR has a decent scoring chance, when Jirik goes to behind the net in the Soviet zone, and sets up Sevcik in the slot, and Sevcik shoots, but Konovalenko saves. After that it goes back and forth with no major chances, and then Masopust offends Mishakov, and the USSR gets the first power play of the 2nd period; Starshinov’s line pressures well, but then Suchy makes a good play in front of the net and clears, but the USSR has a really good chance just before Masopust gets back on the ice, when Starshinov deflects a Mayorov pass from close range, and Dzurilla has to make a great save. A little later, Ragulin shows surprising aggression, as first he takes a shot on goal, and then runs at Dzurilla, even though there is no rebound to pursue. Intimidation tactics?
Suchy gets another Team CSSR penalty; right after the faceoff, Kuzkin gets a good shot away and the rebound is there, but the Czechoslovaks win the puck, and Golonka rushes up the ice and tests Konovalenko with a slapshot. After struggling with their PP a bit, Firsov passes the puck to the defenceman Blinov, who lets a shot go from the point and scores. The USSR 2, the CSSR 3. After the goal, somewhat action-less few minutes follow, but then Polupanov’s line has a good attack, and after Nedomansky is stripped off the puck in the CSSR’s zone, Firsov lets one go from the high slot, and the USSR continues to press, so much so that the big Czech center Hejmar has to put a bear hug on Zaitsev, and the Soviets get another PP; nothing much happens on it, though, and there is a fairly quiet period in the game after that also, but at least Machac offers a good hip-check on Mayorov. Then Blinov offends the rushing Hrbaty, and finally also Czechoslovakia gets a PP chance; good pressure and some dangerous-looking shots (e.g. by Suchy) from the CSSR, but then Moiseyev receives a pass from Kuzkin and has a clean breakaway, but he shoots slightly wide. Czechoslovakia gets their power play back into operation, however, and right after Blinov gets back on the ice, Suchy sets up Golonka in the right circle, and Golonka beats Konovalenko on the short side. (Konovalenko’s goal? To be fair, the shot was fired from a prime scoring area.) Before the end of the period, there is one good shot by Masopust. And then the deciding period follows…

Unfortunately, much of the 3rd period is missing, so we are almost straight in the final seven-eight minutes of the game. Then, with about four minutes left, Golonka and Jirik get a (sort of) 2-on-1 attack, and the latter scores, and so the score is rather decisive-like 5 to 2 for the CSSR. But hold on, the Soviets come to life; just about 30 seconds after the goal, Polupanov’s line is on the attack, and the centerman himself shoots from the left circle and scores. Still, the time seems to be running out, but the Soviets get another goal, when Starshinov wins a faceoff in the Czech zone and Mayorov deflects a Kuzkin shot into the net. The USSR has 2 minutes and 24 seconds to score the equalizer (and the game-winning goal while they’re at it!). Polupanov’s line gets the next chance if not quite shot on goal, and somewhat later there is a scramble in the crease after Machac’s intercepted pass. Then before the following faceoff, the Soviets pull the goalie (which according to a myth they never did). There are Starshinov, Mayorov, Firsov, Vikulov, and Blinov and Ragulin on defence. Starshinov manages to win the faceoff, and a couple of shots are fired, by Ragulin and Firsov respectively, but the first one is blocked and the other is from a bad angle. And then the game ends, so close, but no cigar.

It was great to see this game, the true start of the Soviet Union-Czechoslovakia rivalry. Two years earlier at the 1966 World Championships, the Soviets and the Czechs – both undefeated – met in the final game of the tournament, and I’m sure there was some anticipation for a close and exciting game, but the USSR destroyed the CSSR by a score of 7-1. But now, finally! And as we witnessed, it didn’t stop here. While the USSR would nearly always be the stronger team overall (and this helped them to win most of the tournaments, like gold at this Winter Olympics too), head to head they were almost equal for about ten years.

Based on the available footage and statistics, the biggest stars for Team CSSR were Jozef Golonka (a goal and assist, other good plays) and his line, Jan Suchy (defence & playmaking) and Hejma’s line (two goals). Vaclav Nedomansky and his line was not such a big factor yet, but that would definitely change in the future.

For the USSR, there were at least e.g. Boris Mayorov (two goals) and his, or rather Starshinov’s line and Anatoly Firsov (good playmaking & other plays).

1969 World Championship (Sweden)

Czechoslovakia vs Soviet Union 2-0

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Jaroslav Holik-Hrbaty
Cerny-Golonka-Sevcik
Augusta-Nedomansky-Klapac
Havel
Horesovsky-Suchy
Pospisil-Machac
Bednar,
Dzurilla

USSR
Yakushev-Starshinov-Zimin
Firsov-Maltsev-Vikulov
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Mishakov
Davydov-Romishevsky
Lutchenko-Ragulin
Paladyev,
Zinger

There is probably no need for me to go through the political tensions surrounding this game. However, it is obvious that the audience is heavily on Czechoslovakia’s side in this game. (Then again, what else is new?) On the ice, the off-ice happenings aren’t blatantly obvious at least in the beginning, but Czechoslovakia starts the game with aggressive forechecking. Then Zimin offends Cerny, and the CSSR get their first power play; the Soviets do a good job on the penalty kill, so there are no clear-cut chances, and maybe the main highlight is the big defenceman Horesovsky’s good moves and rush in the neutral zone, but even that ends in him losing the puck to Vikulov.
A couple of minutes after the penalty, followed by Mikhailov and Petrov’s good work around the Czechoslovak blue line, Paladyev passes to Kharlamov and the latter has the first truly good chance of the game. The USSR players even celebrate a goal, but in vain. After a somewhat quiet period, Petrov gets another penalty for the Soviets. On the PP, the Czechs are stymied at first; in fact, it is the Soviets who get a couple of shots on goal, first Zimin and then Vikulov. Things get more lively near the end of the PP; Nedomansky enters the offensive zone by showing some great moves and the Czechs get a couple of good shots away, and then Petrov, just out of the penalty-box, rushes up the ice and sets up Kharlamov in front of the net, but Dzurilla handles his backhand shot.
Shortly after, Horesovsky takes a penalty, but the Soviets’ first PP is fairly action-less. Then Czechoslovakia begins to press a little; Augusta and Suchy get shots away, and a littler later Jaroslav Holik has a chance too after Hrbaty’s setup. A couple of minutes later, Augusta wins a draw, and there is a hard shot by Suchy, but it goes a bit wide. Later on, a battle on the boards leads to Petrov’s penalty; on the PP, Nedomansky plays with the Holik brothers (plus Suchy and Horesovsky), and they get a little pressure, but then the period ends.

At the start of the 2nd period, the CSSR PP still continues, but their best chance comes seconds after Petrov gets back on the ice, as Hrbaty tests Zinger with a shot from a close range. The play continues and the Soviets still have problems to get past the Czech blue line; the CSSR players just don’t give them any room. Still, not much happens in the other end either, until Czechoslovakia begins to press again, and Golonka has a couple of good chances, and later Jiri Holik gets a shot away but misses the net. Then Starshinov’s line has a good shift and put on the pressure; Yakushev e.g. pickpockets Machac and passes to Zimin, but Zimin’s shot from the slot is blocked by Pospisil. The tide seems to be turning somewhat. A few minutes later, after a good shift by Petrov’s line and a good defensive play by Petrov, he and Yakushev combine for an attack, but Petrov’s fairly weak (and wide) shot ruins the chance. Then, the good period by the Soviets ends, when Yakushev gets a penalty. On the PP, Czechoslovakia applies good pressure, so much so that Ragulin is also sent to the penalty-box for smothering the puck. So, it's a 5-on-3, and it doesn’t take very long for Team CSSR to score; eventually, Suchy shoots & picks his own rebound & puts the puck in the net, and then there is Nedomansky’s defiance when celebrating the goal (aside from the audience reaction, maybe the first real indication of the tension and politics that surrounded this game).
At this point, Yakushev seems to have been replaced by Mishakov on Starshinov’s line. A couple of minutes after the goal, the speedy and powerful skater Zimin makes a good play, but again the USSR’s finishing isn’t very strong, as Starshinov’s shoots wide. Then, after Nedomansky’s dangerous-looking rush, the Soviets are on a counter-attack and Maltsev shoots from the slot, and a little later it is Nedomansky’s turn again, when he steals the puck and blasts a long shot on Zinger. Team USSR gets the second PP chance, when Jaroslav Holik is penalized; they have Firsov as the point man with Ragulin plus the Petrov’s line. Kharlamov, behind the goal, sets up Petrov, but Dzurilla saves (or the shot misses the net?); after that there is decent pressure but no clear-cut chances, as the CSSR players guard their net well. Firsov, playing big minutes in the game, continues with Starshinov’s line and Davydov, but then Suchy steals the puck from him as well as from Davydov and has a scoring chance. Soon the period ends.

The 3rd period starts with back-and-forth, tight-checking kind of play with no super chances at first. Then, for Team USSR, there is e.g. Davydov’s backhand shot, but the Czech defence takes care of the rebound and clears. In the other end, after Lutchenko’s bad pass, Nedomansky has a good chance but the shot is wide, and somewhat later, after good forechecking, Nedomansky sets up Suchy in the slot, but Zinger makes a save on Suchy’s shot. The second Team CSSR goal comes when the Soviet defenceman Romishevsky, who had just a little earlier showed some good playmaking, makes a somewhat weak pass on the boards, and he and Petrov fail to stop Suchy at blue line, and Suchy feeds another small and speedy player Josef Cerny, who then beats Paladyev and eventually the goalie Zinger, and it’s 2 to 0 for Czechoslovakia.
Things look fairly bad for the Soviets, as they still have problems to enter their offensive zone and create controlled attacks. Then, after a faceoff on the CSSR’s zone, Ragulin can’t keep the puck in, and Golonka breaks away and shoots but Zinger saves; right after that, Kharlamov shows one of his fairly rare good solo plays in the game and he gets a shot away from the high slot, but it goes wide. After that there is another one, but Petrov’s sloppy pass breaks the attack (Petrov sort of redeems himself with a good defensive play vs Horesovsky, though).
At the start of the last ten minutes, the USSR begins to press again; first Maltsev takes a good backhand shot, and later Kharlamov has a chance in front of the net. Then, precise passing (that the Soviets mostly lack at this stage) gives Sevcik and Golonka a chance on 2-on-1, but Zinger makes a good save. Soon Cerny gets a penalty; on the Soviet PP, Kharlamov is out there initially with Firsov (who again acts as a point man), Maltsev, Vikulov and Paladyev. There is a good shot by Firsov, and later a decent one by Paladyev, but not much after that, as the Soviets once again struggle to get past the blue line (would’ve a bit of good old dump & chase helped?). However, when Cerny gets back, the Soviets provide some pressure near the goal, and again it is Cerny who gets penalized, with just over two minutes left of the game. The Soviet PP unit is Starshinov’s line, and Firsov (who else?) and Paladyev as the point men. Eventually they get a few dangerous-looking plays in front of the net. Too little, too late. Then Cerny gets out of the penalty-box, and the game ends a few seconds later.

So, is this an all-time classic game? In a sense, certainly, but I really like games where both teams play excellently, and whereas the CSSR were at their best, or close to it, the USSR were not even near that (credit for that also to the Czechs, of course). Definitely worth to see, though.

All of Team CSSR deserves high marks for this game. Still, I have to name Jan Suchy the best player here; he was all over the ice and scored the first goal and assisted on the other. Vaclav Nedomansky didn’t score, but he was dangerous and made good plays throughout. Josef Cerny took those two penalties near the end, but he did score the other goal and made other good plays as well. The defenceman Josef Horesovsky also caught my eye, but maybe it is just because he looked quite agile for a man of his size. Jan Hrbaty looked good too in the game. I also have to mention Vladimir Dzurilla; recording a shutout against the Soviets was a terrific achievement, even though the USSR players’ shooting wasn’t very good in the game.

As for the USSR, it is hard to name the best performers, but maybe the young Alexander Maltsev deserves a mention, since he made a few good plays and I don’t remember terrible blunders from him. On defence, Vitaly Davydov seemed the most reliable Soviet player, and I even remember a good hit or two from him. In goal, Viktor Zinger had a pretty good game; it could have been even a clearly worse final score. It is easier to name the biggest disappointments; Anatoly Firsov played big minutes, displayed his terrific skills on occasion, but he just wasn’t that good in my opinion. Petrov’s line started out promisingly, but later were often reduced to ineffective regrouping; much of it was about Petrov, he simply did not have a good game passing-wise or shooting-wise. In his book, Valeri Kharlamov writes that their line had never played against Czechoslovakia before this game, and offers this partly as an explanation why they weren’t so good against them as maybe was hoped. Then again, couldn’t that also be considered an advantage, i.e. Team CSSR didn’t quite know what to expect either?

Czechoslovakia vs Soviet Union 4-3

CSSR
Jirik-Golonka-Sevcik
Jiri Holik-Jaroslav Holik-Hrbaty
Cerny-Nedomansky-Klapac
Farda
Horesovsky-Bednar
Pospisil-Machac
Dzurilla

USSR
Yakushev-Starshinov-Zimin
Firsov-Maltsev-Vikulov
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Mishakov
Davydov-Romishevsky
Lutchenko-Ragulin
Paladyev,
Zinger

(Only the 3rd period of the game is seen anywhere near complete in the video…)

The Czechoslovakia has suffered a big loss, since arguably the greatest performer in the first game, Jan Suchy, is not in the lineup. As far as the limited footage from the 1st period goes, first there is a little pressure by the USSR and then by the CSSR. Jiri Holik then gets a penalty, but the PP unit of Petrov’s line plus Firsov and Ragulin don’t get much done, and the same goes for other combinations. Not too long after the penalty, Machac goes deep into the Soviet zone, and it pays off; he gets the puck to Jaroslav Holik, whose shot is blocked, and his brother Jiri picks up the rebound and scores; it looks like a bad goal (Zinger) to me, but the picture quality is fairly poor, so it is hard to say anything definitive. (À propos, so much for that claim in a Finnish hockey book that Firsov was never on the ice for goals against in the tournament!) The Czechslovaks get on the scoreboard again before the period is over; Firsov gets a penalty, and on the PP, Jiri Holik makes a nice pass to Nedomansky in the slot, and the latter scores. And then into the highlights of the 2nd period…

At the start, Sevcik steals the puck from a Soviet defenceman (Davydov?) and Jirik has a good chance. Then in the other end, Firsov sets up Maltsev who shoots, and Dzurilla saves, and they get another shot away as well. Then the KPM line puts on a good pressure inside the CSSR’s zone, Paladyev shoots and Kharlamov deflects the shot in, and it is 1-2. Next in the video is the USSR’s 2-2 equalizer; on Soviet PP, Firsov scores with a super slapper from the point. Dzurilla said about the shot something like this: “I saw the puck on Anatoly’s stick and then I saw it in the net.” The 3rd period follows…

The Soviets have a great start of the period, when Starshinov and Zimin combine for a beautiful play, but Dzurilla either makes a great save or Zimin somehow misses the net. There is good pressure by Starshinov’s line afterwards too.
Then Ragulin gets penalized for offending Jaroslav Holik; the story goes that Holik spat at him during the game (or the previous one?), so maybe Ragulin’s relative aggression here had something to do with that? On the PP, there is some nice penalty killing exhibitions by Firsov et al. Then near at the end of the penalty, the Holik brothers create a great chance in front, but they miss the net (or Zinger saves?) and right after that Mikhailov has a very good chance in the other end, after being set up by Petrov, and there are some other chances too. A little later, it’s the CSSR, when Farda has a great rush and a shot. The Soviets provide some good pressure a couple of minutes later, but then Kharlamov makes a mistake in his own zone; he falls and gives up the puck to Farda, who passes it to Horesovsky who scores with a long shot. On a side note, in his book, Kharlamov tells that he took that goal very badly and blamed himself, but then Arkadi Chernyshev came and comforted him.
Shortly after the defection/start of the last ten minutes, Petrov and Romishevsky fight for the puck against the Holiks; Jaroslav Holik wins it and he beats the only Soviet defenceman back, Paladyev, as well as Zinger, and it’s 4-2.
A few minutes later, Jaroslav Holik has another good chance, but Zinger makes a nice save.
About three minutes before the end, the KPM line put on some pressure in the CSSR’s zone, and Petrov passes the puck back to Davydov who passes it to Ragulin who beats Dzurilla with a shot from the point (with Kharlamov screening). Quite an unlikely scorer (Ragulin) and a setup man (Davydov), but everything counts! Interestingly, the roles on the KPM line didn’t seem quite as defined yet as later on, so you would see Kharlamov (instead of Mikhailov) often near the crease too. The USSR have now 2:23 left to even the game. In the next shift, however, it is the CSSR and Nedomansky who has a decent chance. Firsov together with Petrov’s line and a defenceman(?) are on the ice during the last minute or so, but are pretty much forced to work in the corner(s) and don’t get a shot on goal. And so Czechoslovakia has beaten the Soviet Union for the second time in the tournament.

Even though there is a lot of the footage missing and the picture quality is not good, I prefer this game to the first one; more goals, and it seemed more evenly played. In any case, quite a feat by Czechoslovakia to beat the Soviets twice in the same World Championships; even they didn’t manage to do that again (only Sweden did in 1977)…

Based on the available footage & stats, the obvious Czech stars of the game were the Holik brothers; they scored two goals and were involved in Vaclav Nedomansky’s goal as well. Speaking of whom, he was arguably one of the best players in this game as well. Richard Farda played a strong game too.

On the Soviets’ side, this time Anatoly Firsov played very well, as he scored a goal, and showed some good playmaking and penalty-killing. Also this time the Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov line had a good performance; although they were on the ice for two goals against, they were also for two goals for. Maybe the biggest disappointment was Viktor Zinger, since he seemed to let in a couple of weak-ish goals.

1971 World Championship (Switzerland)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 3-3

USSR
Firsov-Maltsev-Vikulov
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Mishakov-Starshinov-Martinyuk
Lutchenko-Ragulin
Davydov-Kuzkin
Romishevsky-Tsygankov
Konovalenko

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Nedomansky-Kochta
Cerny-Farda-E. Novak
B. Stastny-Hlinka-Martinec
Panchartek-Suchy
Pospisil-Machac
Horesovsky-Bubla
Holecek

(The video that I’ve used for reviewing this game is quite frankly a mess; as far as I can see, the first period is there without any major abnormalities (though probably some seconds/minutes missing and the picture quality is not very good). However, the first period seems to be followed by footage from the first ten minutes of the 3rd period (starting at about 29:50), and then the 2nd period follows after that (at about 46:30), but is missing some footage [like one CSSR goal] plus one short section is shown twice near the end. All this made me lose my enthusiasm [and almost my mind] a bit, so the 1st period is probably a little more thoroughly reviewed than the rest. Also, it doesn’t help that my French is a little rusty - and has always been that! But here goes…)

Overall, the Soviets have a slight edge in play during the first minutes, and the first really good scoring chance is in the second shift, when Kharlamov sets up Petrov and Petrov’s shot/pass from a weak angle is stopped by Holecek, and Kharlamov can’t quite get to the puck. A couple of minutes later, Nedomansky and others provide some good pressure and slightly later Kochta combines with defenceman Panchartek, who has a good chance, but Konovalenko saves (or the shot is wide?). Then, Petrov does a good setup work for Mikhailov, who shoots but Holecek prevails, and right after that the centerman himself deflects a Mikhailov shot but again Holecek saves. A few minutes later, Tsygankov gets the first penalty in the game; following some good pressure and chances on the CSSR’s power play, Eduard Novak scores when set up by a great pass by Cerny just after the USSR’s penalty had been completed. After the goal, Czechoslovakia has the edge in play, and e.g. Nedomansky has a good chance when being set up by Suchy, but Konovalenko saves the backhand shot. The CSSR’s pressure finally ends after Starshinov’s good individual effort past the Czech defensemen and a shot from a bad angle, followed by Martinyuk’s backhand shot. Then, there is a somewhat quieter period, until Hlinka and Martinec combine for an attack, and Martinec gets a shot away and Hlinka has a chance too, and then there is some action in the other end, and a faceoff follows. Right after the faceoff, Nedomansky makes a great rush, and fires a good shot, but Konovalenko makes a glove save.
Then, at the later stages of the first period, the USSR scores the 1-1 equalizer, when Martinyuk deflects a Tsygankov shot into the net. That’s about it for the period.

At the start of the second period, Czechoslovakia have changed their blue jerseys to white. What was the mix-up? There is some good, if somewhat sloppy and tightly-checked two-way action. Then, the Soviet defenceman Romishovsky gets a good shot away and Holecek saves. The biggest star defenceman on the ice for either team, Jan Suchy, shows his attacking skills, when he offers some good playmaking and Jiri Holik gets a shot on goal. (After 6 minutes and 28 seconds of the second period, Nedomansky scores a goal, but like said, it isn’t seen in this video.) However, the first goal of the period that is seen, is scored by the USSR; Panchartek offends Firsov, who then plays as a point man on the Soviet PP, playing with Kharlamov, Petrov and Mikhailov. It pays off, as Firsov scores after Petrov’s pass (Mikhailov is near the crease with his stick, but it is impossible to see whether he touches the puck or not).
Then, Nedomansky’s line and Suchy and Panchartek provide some good pressure inside the Soviet zone, and get a few scoring chances. Later on, Petrov gets a penalty; the CSSR provides some pressure, but no super chances, and Mishakov also shows some excellent penalty-killing and gets even a scoring chance. After that there is a good Martinec shot from the point, but that’s about it for that PP. However, just moments later, Holik makes a great individual effort, as he starts a rush from his own zone, beats the Soviet defencemen and even Konovalenko but unfortunately misses the open net. Soon after the period ends.

Early in the 3rd period, Nedomansky is offended and Romishevsky gets a penalty; on the PP, Kochta deflects a Holik shot – or the other way around – into the net, and it is 3-2 for the CSSR. Czechoslovakia has a great opportunity to extend their lead, as not too long after the PP goal, Ragulin makes a terrible pass in the Soviet zone right to Cerny who shoots from a close range and another lesser one a little later, but Konovalenko handles them. Then, Maltsev is “offended” (man, he was a master diver, wasn’t he?), and it is the USSR’s power play. The Soviet PP works well, and after a faceoff, Kharlamov sets up Petrov who scores with a low wrister from the side of the net. After the goal, there are long periods of really good coast-to-coast action with both teams having some fairly close calls, but it’s just lacking that finishing touch plus it has good defending all-around. Worth to watch anyway. I really would like to review also the last ten minutes of the game, but what can you do?

What an entertaining game! I mean, what could be seen of it.

Based on the video (and the stats), the Soviet top performers were e.g. Vladimir Petrov (this time he looked a little better than his linemates in my opinion), Viktor Konovalenko (good saves), and of the lesser-known players, Alexander Martinyuk caught my eye; one goal and some good plays. The Firsov-Maltsev-Vikulov line’s play looked a little disappointing, despite Firsov getting one PP goal.

Team CSSR’s big players were Vaclav Nedomansky and Jan Suchy (apart and especially together), and also e.g. Jiri Kochta, Josef Cerny and Jiri Holecek.

Czechoslovakia vs Soviet Union 5-2

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Nedomansky-Kochta
Cerny-Farda-E. Novak
B. Stastny-Hlinka-Martinec
Brunclik
Horesovsky-Suchy
Pospisil-Machac
Bubla,
Holecek

USSR
Firsov-Maltsev-Vikulov
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Shadrin-Starshinov-Martinyuk
Mishakov
Lutchenko-Ragulin
Davydov-Kuzkin
Tsygankov,
Konovalenko

The game starts with lively, if somewhat nervous, action, but there are no big scoring chances in the first few minutes or so. That changes when Kochta rushes up and shoots from the left side but misses the net. After that, Maltsev’s line gets good pressure and chances around the net. The next notable chance is when Kharlamov and Mikhailov combine for a pretty attack, but Holecek saves Mikhailov’s shot. A couple of minutes later, Firsov finds Vikulov with a terrific pass, and Vikulov has a great chance, but Holecek’s save is equally great. Then after somewhat quieter period, Martinyuk strips Martinec off the puck near the Czechoslovak goal, and Shadrin gets a chance. A little later, we see the first goal of the game, as Ragulin makes a bad pass straight to Kochta who then sends Nedomansky on a clean breakaway and he scores. Then, there is a period of close checking, sloppy play with no truly good chances, but at least there is e.g. Firsov’s great pass to rushing Maltsev, but Maltsev misses the net. Things then liven up a bit; Nedomansky makes a good move and shoots, and Konovalenko struggles but saves, and a little bit later Pospisil makes a nice rush and also gets to test the USSR goalie.
Then, the USSR also gets on the scoreboard, when after pressure by the CSSR, Firsov clears the puck out of his own zone and Maltsev picks it up, rushes up the ice and beats Holecek with a slapshot on the short side. A kind of weak goal, I have to say. Almost right after the goal, Petrov’s line has some good pressure, and a scoring chance in front of the net. Unfortunately, it looks like Petrov’s shot out of the air is blocked by Mikhailov (?), so no goal there. And so into the 2nd period…

A couple of first minutes of the period are quite quiet; then Maltsev’s line has a chance, as Firsov gets a good shot away, but Holecek makes a good save. Not too long after that, Kharlamov makes it 2-1, when he deflects a Kuzkin shot past Suchy and Holecek. (Unfortunately, that goal can only be seen on replay in the video.) A while later, the USSR has a good period of pressure and chances, starting with Firsov’s nice moves and an attempt to set up Maltsev in front of the net, and later Mikhailov combining with Maltsev , followed by Kochta’s chance in the other end. After that, there is not much happening for quite a long time, but then Petrov’s line makes a great play and Mikhailov has a very good chance in the crease. Then it is back to relative ‘dullness’. Near at the end of the period, Ragulin gets a penalty; on the CSSR’s PP, first Hlinka has a terrific chance, and later on, after great work and a shot off the boards by Nedomansky, Suchy scores the 2-2 equalizer on the rebound. Shortly after, Cerny has a good chance too.

The 3rd period starts fairly quietly, then Bubla checks Kharlamov (illegally? Hmmm); on Soviet PP, Firsov again plays as a point man with Petrov’s line plus Kuzkin, and they have some good pressure but no huge chances, then some other line combinations follow, but it’s the same story. Very soon after the CSSR’s penalty is over, Starshinov is sent to the penalty box; defenceman Horesovsky scores 3-2 for Czechoslovakia, but unfortunately the goal is missing from the video. Shortly after that, Maltsev and Vikulov create some havoc near the CSSR’s goal, but that moment of the Soviet pressure ends soon, and on the counter-attack, Hlinka and Martinec (and Suchy is involved too) set up Stastny in front of the net, and it’s a goal. The next chance for Czechoslovakia is fairly soon after the goal, as the rushing Hlinka gets a shot away; after that, there is a counter-attack and pressure by the USSR, but nothing major. A couple of minutes later, Cerny, going around Maltsev, first has a chance and moments later, Firsov makes a seemingly rare blunder at the Soviet blue line, and Farda breaks out and scores the final score 5-2. After that, there isn’t much to tell; however, there is a good chance by Maltsev and a great save by Holecek, also a Soviet PP with some pressure and Suchy’s shotblocking, and finally, one more very pretty play by Mikhailov and Petrov which leads to Mikhailov’s great chance in front of the net, but again he is stymied by Holecek. The goalie just seemed to have Mikhailov’s number! The game ends fairly soon after that.

This was another good match… Although there were occasionally some dull moments, there were some truly brilliant ones as well.

I’m beginning to repeat myself, but what can you do? Vaclav Nedomansky played another excellent game. Of the young players, Ivan Hlinka was very good in my opinion. Good game again also by Jan Suchy (playmaking, shot blocking), Josef Cerny (dangerous throughout) and Jiri Holecek (despite one weak goal many excellent saves). I also noticed Frantisek Pospisil more than in the earlier games, which probably means that he showed a little more offense/playmaking than previously (?).

As for the USSR, Maltsev’s line had a good game, especially Firsov (despite his mistake near the end) and Maltsev. Petrov’s line was also good – the other goal & some truly beautiful plays – and I guess I would have to include their (usual) defence pair Davydov and Kuzkin, since the unit did not allow any goals - at even strength at least. Unfortunately, Viktor Konovalenko couldn’t really help his team this time, although I wouldn’t say that it was a totally poor game from him.

1972 Winter Olympics (Japan)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 5-2

USSR
Kharlamov-Firsov-Vikulov
Y. Blinov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Mishakov-Maltsev
Ragulin-Tsygankov
Davydov-Kuzkin
Romishevsky-Lutchenko
Tretyak

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Jaroslav Holik-Nedomansky
Cerny-Farda-Kochta
B. Stastny-Hlinka-Martinec
Tajcnar-Bednar
Pospisil-Machac
Horesovsky-Vohralik
Dzurilla, Holecek

Like with the USSR-CSSR game from the 1968 Olympics, this video is also missing the 1st period, but some glimpses from the scoring plays and other footage are shown. The goal-scorers for the USSR in the period were Yuri Blinov and Boris Mikhailov and none for the CSSR.

The 2nd period starts with a power play and some pressure from Czechoslovakia. However, just after Davydov gets out of the penalty-box, Firsov takes the puck from a Czech player (possibly Cerny?), and blasts a shot from the right circle and the puck eventually bounces past the confused Dzurilla, and it’s 3 to 0. In the next shift, Petrov’s line also has a potential scoring chance when Blinov tries to set up Mikhailov in front, but Martinec makes a good defensive play, but half a minute later Petrov has an excellent chance in front of the net after some nifty passing. Then finally there is a goalie change, as Dzurilla (who had become the CSSR’s starting goalie in the tournament due to Holecek’s apparently nightmarish game vs USA) skates to the bench, and Holecek finishes the game. Soon after, Kochta makes a good play and Cerny (and Farda) have a chance in front but can’t get a shot away. Then there is a somewhat quieter period, with first Czechoslovakia pressing a bit, followed by the Soviets, but no super chances for either. The next good chance comes after a gutsy and skillful play by Martinec in the Soviet zone; he is dumped by Petrov but gets up and takes the puck again, and then Hlinka sets up Stastny who shoots a little wide. A couple of minutes later, the CSSR gets a PP chance, as Romishevsky is penalized; the Czechs (first the Holik’s line plus Kochta & Horesovsky) have good pressure and some near-chances in front. After the PP, the action goes back and forth without any major scoring chances. Then, after Nedomansky’s playmaking attempt, the Soviets have a counter-attack, and after Maltsev’s shot and a rebound (and Yakushev charging Holecek!), Mishakov scores with a wrister from the slot. 4-0, oops. There is some lively coast-to-coast action after the goal, but the first really good chance comes, when Maltsev and Yakushev get a 2-on-1 but Maltsev’s shot fails a bit, but he gets another chance from the slot, and Holecek gloves the ricocheted puck. A little later, after some action in front of the Soviet net, Kharlamov gets an excellent chance in the crease, but Holecek prevails. Kharlamov tests Holecek with another shot in the same shift, but it’s the Czechs who score the next goal; after a faceoff, Hlinka passes back to the point to Stastny (I think?) who shoots and Martinec bangs in the rebound off the boards (or a Soviet player?); it took them 38 minutes and 43 seconds. The period soon ends.

From the 3rd period, only the last ten minutes or so can be seen. Unfortunately, the remaining goals in the game were scored during the first ten minute period. Like in the case of the 1st period, there is some alternative footage showing the scoring plays; Cerny scored the Czech goal, and Mishakov the Soviet (and his second) goal. The final score 5 to 2.
In the available footage from the 3rd, there is e.g. a good attack by Hlinka’s line, but Martinec and Hlinka can’t quite set up Stastny in front. Later, Cerny combines with Pospisil, and the latter gets a couple of shots away from a close range, and after the Soviet counter-attack and Kharlamov’s shot from a weak angle, Farda blasts a shot, but Tretyak saves. Then, Martinec shows his pickpocket skills in the Soviet zone, and sets up Hlinka in the crease, but Tretyak prevails again. After a faceoff in the CSSR’s zone, Kharlamov tries to get on the scoreboard in the game, but his backhand shot goes slightly wide. Mishakov manages to get himself a penalty with just 22 seconds left of the game, and on the PP, Nedomansky gets one last shot on goal, and that is it.

Not quite ‘the final’ that I’m sure was hoped for, as it was a surprisingly easy win for the Soviets; of course, Vladimir Dzurilla’s weak performance, and also maybe the fact that they had already secured the gold medal before the match, helped a lot in their task.

Based on the video and statistics, the stars for the Soviets were e.g. Yevgeny Mishakov (two goals) and Alexander Maltsev (good playmaking & was dangerous throughout) and Vladislav Tretyak (many excellent saves). I’d also like to name Petrov’s line, since until this game, they had not had a really good tournament, except maybe for Yuri Blinov; here they scored two goals and Vladimir Petrov and Blinov seemed to have pretty good chemistry together. The top line scored one goal (Firsov), but the big star of the tournament, Valeri Kharlamov, did not particularly shine in the game in my opinion.

On Team CSSR, I think Farda’s and Hlinka’s lines looked stronger in the game than Holik’s line, and unlike in the games from the 1969 and 1971 tournaments, I don’t think Vaclav Nedomansky was among the very best Czech performers in this match. Frantisek Pospisil, Ivan Hlinka and Vladimir Martinec deserve a special mention, as they all seemed to get a little better and more important for the team year by year. I’d especially like to highlight Martinec; he hadn’t been a massive factor in the 1971 WHC games yet, but in this game, he showed the persistence and skills in the Soviet zone (as well as occasionally in the other areas), which made him such a ‘nuisance’ for Team USSR for years to come. And that awkward transition leads us to…

1972 World Championships (Czechoslovakia)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 2-3

USSR
Kharlamov-Maltsev-Vikulov
Y. Blinov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Solodukhin
Ragulin-Tsygankov
Gusev-Kuzkin
Lutchenko-Vasiliev
Tretyak

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Jaroslav Holik-Klapac
Palecek-Nedomansky-Kochta
B. Stastny-Farda-Martinec
Pospisil-Machac
Horesovsky-Bubla
Tajcnar
Holecek

(The video does not quite have the full game, but much of it anyway…)

The game starts with good tempo and even play. First really good scoring chance features a rush and a shot by Yakushev, and there is also good pressure by the USSR after that. Before the next faceoff, the CSSR makes a tactical line change and puts Martinec on the line with Nedomansky and Palecek; I don’t know how carefully they had planned this, but it pays off, as after a decent chance by Mikhailov, Martinec steals the puck from Kuzkin at the blue line, rushes up and sets up Nedomansky in the slot, who scores. After the goal, Martinec still stays on the ice with his regular linemates Stastny and Farda, and soon enough he does his other great setup of the game, this time for Farda, who shoots the puck basically into an empty net. They didn’t call Martinec “The Fox” for nothing! Then, the Soviets get a power play chance, when Blinov is tripped by Bubla; Kharlamov is shortly reunited with his old (and future) linemates Mikhailov and Petrov, but they don’t get anything done. Kharlamov carries over with Maltsev and Vikulov, but it doesn’t get much better, as the CSSR does a good job on the penalty kill. Soon after, it is Czechoslovaks’ turn, when Petrov has to offend Martinec. Jaroslav Holik’s line gets a decent pressure going, but there are no major chances. Then the period ends.

The 2nd period starts with fairly even play, but nothing much happens inside the first 2-3 minutes; then suddenly Jaroslav Holik makes a terrible pass near his blue line, and Vikulov takes the pass, Maltsev carries on and scores. Holik redeems himself a little later, though, as he wins the puck in the neutral zone, and scores with a low wrister to the left corner (Tretyak also had to watch Klapac, as it was a 2-on-1 situation). Then, there is a Soviet PP, as Jaroslav Holik (who seems to be here, there and everywhere, in good and bad) is sent to the penalty box; early on, Vikulov has a great chance, and after good pressure, Kharlamov scores , assisted by Vikulov and Maltsev. Almost right after the goal, Blinov gets a good chance after a good setup by Petrov, but he shoots wide. After that, Petrov’s line provides more good pressure if not actual super chances.

Then in the video we jump into to the last ten minutes of the game… the first notable play comes when Martinec wins the puck from Gusev and passes it to Stastny who gets a shot away, and soon after that Horesovsky is stripped off the puck in the other end and there is some dangerous-looking action in front of the Czech net, but no really big shot on goal.
A couple of minutes later, there is good pressure by the USSR’s top line and plenty of self-sacrificing defence by the CSSR players. Later Martinec has a nice rush and a backhand shot in the other end and moments later another good chance, set up by Stastny; soon also Farda gets a great chance (Martinec is involved in that play too), as he hits the post. The play is fairly wild at this stage!
Soon after that, Machac gets a penalty, and Kharlamov-Maltsev-Vikulov line has some good pressure, but again the CSSR players show some good, self-sacrificing penalty-killing. Then Ragulin gets a penalty with just 2:46 left of the game, and soon it is Czechoslovakia’s turn to have a PP. When Ragulin gets out and there is an icing call against the CSSR, the Soviets try to get the tying goal in the last 25 seconds with six players (Kharlamov, Maltsev, Vikulov, Petrov, Ragulin and Tsygankov), but can’t make a dangerous play, as the forward-defenceman co-operation doesn’t work. And that is it.

The Czechoslovak performers that caught my eye the most were Vladimir Martinec (he did not just ‘assist’ on two goals, he created those chances, plus other good plays) and his line with Richard Farda & Bohuslav Stastny. Like said, Jaroslav Holik was a standout in both good and bad, but he seemingly had a knack at scoring important/game-winning goals (remember the 2nd game of the 1969 WHC too). The Czech Mikhailov? Basically all of the CSSR’s defence and self-sacrificing defensive play deserves credit, so there. Jiri Holecek was a rock in the nets.

On Team USSR, Alexander Maltsev and his line was arguably their best (they scored both goals and had other chances). Maybe I should also mention Yuri Blinov, who would not be seen very long at this level; he looked pretty talented, though, and as mentioned previously, he seemed to have good chemistry with Vladimir Petrov (also in the following September in the 1972 Summit Series).

1973 World Championships (The Soviet Union)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 3-2

USSR
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Maltsev
Lebedev-Anisin-Volchkov
Bodunov
Gusev-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Paladiev
Lutchenko-Tsygankov
Tretyak

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Jaroslav Holik-Klapac
Palecek-Nedomansky-Kochta
B. Stastny-Farda-Martinec
Hlinka
Pospisil-Machac
Vohralik-Kuzela
Horesovsky-Bubla
Holecek

(The video clip of the game lasts only 26 minutes, 50 seconds. However, I’ll try to say and show something…)

The video starts from the 2nd period; in the 1st period, Volchkov and Nedomansky had scored a goal for the USSR and the CSSR, respectively. The first notable play in the clip is when Nedomansky passes to Palecek and he lets a shot go. But the first and only goal of the period is scored by the Soviets; on a counter-attack, first Anisin sets up Bodunov who shoots, and then Tsygankov makes a long pass to Bodunov in the side of the net, and Bodunov scores. 2-1 for the USSR.

Then we move into the 3rd period. Vasiliev is penalized for his hip-check on Kochta; nothing particularly interesting happens. Then Kharlamov starts a rush and is offended. After initially struggling on the PP, Kharlamov passes to the rushing Mikhailov, who goes in deep and makes a pass to Vasiliev in the slot; Vasiliev shoots and Kharlamov shoots in the rebound. Then there is Kochta’s goal in the other end about three minutes later, but can only be seen on the replay. Then we move to a Soviet PP, and the top unit get some shots at goal. After that, the Czech defenceman Kuzela also gets a shot on goal after a sloppy pass by Vasiliev, but that is followed by a great opening pass by Vasiliev and an attack by Kharlamov and Mikhailov. However, as Mikhailov decides to charge at Holecek after the goalie gloves his shot, there is a big scuffle behind the net. Penalties are dished out to both teams, and the play continues 4-on-4. After some near-chances by the USSR, Maltsev gets a 10 minute misconduct penalty. As if that wasn’t enough, Jaroslav Holik slashes Mikhailov and he is also penalized, but before that the Soviets have a good attack with the extra attacker (Petrov has the best chance). Quite frankly I’m slightly confused at this stage! In any case, the Soviets have a 4-on-3 PP, and soon Petrov has great chances again but at best can only hit the crossbar. Then Vohralik elbows Mikhailov on the boards and gets another penalty for the CSSR. After that, there’s a good Soviet chance by Shadrin, later some other chances in front of the net, plus Mikhailov’s shot from the slot. The end.

Because of the limited footage, I won’t name any top players from either team, but I just say that Petrov’s line seemed to get big minutes in the game, and Boris Mikhailov and Vladimir Petrov were almost constantly on the ice during the final minutes. And especially Petrov had such good chances that they probably should have scored even more. But kudos to Holecek, who was clearly in good form.

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 4-2

USSR
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Maltsev
Bodunov-Anisin-Volchkov
Martinyuk
Gusev-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Paladiev
Lutchenko-Tsygankov
Tretyak

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Jaroslav Holik-Klapac
Palecek-Nedomansky-Kochta
B. Stastny-Farda-Martinec
J. Novak
Pospisil-Machac
Vohralik-Kuzela
Horesovsky-Bubla
Holecek

The game starts with pressure and a couple of shots from the blue line by the Soviets, but not anything major. It already looks based on the shift like the USSR’s top unit will play big minutes in the match. Then, after a few minutes, Tsygankov receives the first penalty; on the CSSR’s power play, Petrov, Mikhailov, Ragulin and Vasiliev do a good job on the penalty kill, so there are no great chances for Czechoslovakia. Near at the end of the penalty, Yakushev gets to test Holecek with a backhand shot. Yakushev stays on the ice with his line also at even strength, and when Machac plays carelessly near his own goal, Maltsev steals the puck, feeds it to Yakushev, who scores the first goal; Yakuhev in the slot = danger. After the goal, Anisin’s line also gets a good pressure going in the CSSR’s zone. Then, after a failed rush by Martinec, Kharlamov gets a shot on goal, and the USSR’s top line continues to pressure, and Martinec has to clear. Right after that, Yakushev and Mikhailov combine on an attack, and Mikhailov shoots from a weak angle. The Soviets look clearly the stronger team during the early stages, and already in the next shift, there is a good chance, when a pretty passing play ends in Maltsev’s shot from the left side. Still, it is Czechoslovakia who gets the next goal, as Jiri Holik suprises Tretyak with a ricocheted shot from the left circle, assisted by Klapac. The goal seems to boost the Czech attack somewhat, and Nedomansky’s line puts on a little pressure in the Soviet zone. Soon, however, the USSR begins to dominate the play again, and e.g. the top unit has some near-chances in the CSSR’s end. The next really good chance, however, is by Maltsev who again combines with Yakushev and soon after also Shadrin gets to shoot from the slot, but Holecek handles both chances. Then, Bubla gets a penalty; almost right at the start of the PP, Mikhailov deflects a Gusev shot into the net. Not too long after the goal, Maltsev and Yakushev again get a good scoring chance, but Holecek saves. Then the Czechs also get a good chance, as Nedomansky takes a failed pass from Lutchenko and shoots from the right circle, but Tretyak prevails.

Then we’re in the 2nd period. The first notable play is when Kharlamov receives a long pass from Petrov and gets a shot away from a bad angle. A couple of minutes later, Holik’s line puts on a little pressure, but that is erupted by Anisin’s chance in the CSSR’s zone, and a little later it's Jiri Holik again in the other end. The game seems slightly more even now than in the 1st period. The next near-chance is when the USSR’s top line are on a counter-attack, but Gusev can’t quite get a good shot away due to good back-checking job by Martinec, and a little later Petrov also takes a shot from the point, but it is partly blocked and goes wide. The top unit stays on the ice, and the next chance is by Mikhailov after a brilliant work by Kharlamov on the boards, but Holecek makes a good save; Jiri Holik also gets a penalty on the play. Petrov’s line works on the PP, and after good pressure, Kharlamov starts an awesome rush from his zone, dipsy-doodles his way through the CSSR’s defensive players, passes the puck to Mikhailov, who scores from the side of the net. A terrific goal, and it is 3-1 for the Soviets. A couple of minutes after that, Farda’s line have their seemingly first good chance in the game, when after a nice passing play and a bouncing shot, Farda is suddenly alone in front of the net and gets a backhand shot and another shot on Tretyak, but the netminder displays excellent goaltending. Then, Petrov is penalized; on the CSSR’s PP, Nedomansky’s line fails to get much going, although the center himself nearly has a great chance (but is pulled down just as gets ready to shoot). Farda’s line finishes the PP, and get a few shots at the net, but there are no big chances. After that the play continues fairly evenly, but the next notable chance comes, when Yakushev gets a breakaway, but Holecek handles it. The rest of the period is mostly even, but quite uneventful…

The 3rd period starts with some back-and-forth action, but there are neither great chances nor plays at first. That all changes when Lyapkin makes a terrible play near his own goal, as he tries to pass to his teammate (Maltsev, I think), but Nedomansky, skating in between them, takes the pass and scores with a quick wrister on the far side; Tretyak didn’t stand a chance. The CSSR has narrowed it to 3-2. After that, the Czechs have also a decent attack, and Novak, who now centers the third line, gets a shot away. Shortly after the next faceoff, though, when Volchkov steals the puck from Novak, he and Bodunov combine for an attack and have a near-chance in front of the USSR’s net. The play is fairly even but sloppy at this stage. Vasiliev gets a penalty, when he offends Palecek. On the following PP, the CSSR doesn’t get anything going, as first Yakushev and Shadrin and then Mikhailov and Petrov do a good job along with the defencemen. Shortly after that, Kuzela makes a terrible pass in the neutral zone, and Yakushev and Maltsev have a 2-on-1, but somehow fail to score, and a little later Nedomansky gets a good shot away in the other end, but Tretyak makes a save.
Soon after the start of the last ten minutes, Petrov’s unit puts on a good pressure inside the Czech zone, and Stastny is penalized, but before the play is stopped, the Soviets (e.g. Petrov) get good chances with the extra attacker. On the actual PP, after some good opportunities by first Maltsev and then Mikhailov, Kharlamov rushes into the Czech zone, and makes a play and then scores from the side of the net, assisted by Gusev (how they awarded that to Petrov I’ll never know). Some time later, Bodunov gets an excellent chance after a weak play by Kuzela at his own blue line, but Holecek makes a very good save. The Soviets also get a PP opportunity, as Kuzela slashed at the breaking Bodunov; the Soviets’ top unit have good chances and some shots from the slot, but Holecek deals with them, and so the USSR can’t extend their lead. After that, there is still at least one good chance by Martinyuk, but that’s about it for this game.

The USSR’s top unit had a terrific game, scoring 75 % of the team’s four goals. It is clear that Mikhailov and Petrov enjoyed playing together again with Kharlamov – and vice versa – after the breakup in the previous season (and at the start of this season). Alexander Maltsev, Alexander Yakushev and Vladislav Tretyak all played a very strong game too.

From Team CSSR I would choose Jiri Holik and Vaclav Nedomansky, and Jiri Holecek was pretty good too, the loss not his fault at all. The clearest disappointment was Vladimir Martinec, especially since this was between brilliant performances in 1972 and 1974. From my understanding he was not even near 100 % healthy and missed a couple of games in the tournament, but even his ‘mind’ didn’t seem to work in this game. Also, Milan Kuzela made some terrible plays.

1974 World Championships (Finland)

Czechoslovakia vs Soviet Union 7-2

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Nedomansky-Kochta
B. Stastny-Farda-Martinec
Augusta-Hlinka-Ebermann
Pospisil-Machac
Kuzela-Bubla
Neubauer-Suchy
Holecek

USSR
Yakushev-Shadrin-Maltsev
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Kapustin-Anisin-Bodunov
Kuznezov-Lutchenko
Gusev-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Tsygankov
Shatalov,
Tretyak

There is a good shot by Holik in the first shift, but things really start to happen when Petrov’s and Farda’s lines face each other for the first time; first there is Gusev’s breakaway pass to Kharlamov, who has a good chance, and soon in the other end, Stastny gets to test Tretyak with a shot. Already during the first couple of minutes, the Czechs look sharper and they forecheck better. The next good chance is by the ever-dangerous and fast Bohuslav Ebermann, who gets a good shot away. Then fairly soon we see the first goal of the game, when Nedomansky steals the puck from Yakushev, breaks away and scores. After that there’s a slightly quieter period in the game, during which there is e.g. a good check by Machac on Maltsev. Things liven up, when the Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov and Stastny-Farda-Martinec lines provide good end-to-end action; first there is pressure by the Soviets, then Gusev is stripped off the puck in his own zone and Martinec gets to shoot, and soon after Mikhailov has a good chance.
Then, both Ebermann and Kuznezov are penalized, but not much happens on 4-on-4 or immediately after that either. Suddenly Stastny, set up by Farda and Martinec, has a brilliant chance vs Tretyak, but the goalie makes a great save. Moments later, Hlinka, combining with Ebermann, has another great chance, but Tretyak shows great goal-tending still at this stage. However, very soon after that, Machac scores 2-0 after a faceoff. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a couple of minutes later Petrov has a true blackout moment and makes a terrible pass in the Soviet zone; Martinec says “thank you” (diký?) and blasts a shot past Tretyak. You could say that Petrov made two bad plays there, since he also decided to take the puck-less Farda out of the play, maybe thinking that the defenceman/-men would take care of Martinec. Wrong. After the goal, nothing of note happens in the period.

The 2nd period starts with pressure from the Soviets, but there are no great chances. Then we see another entertaining shift with coast-to-coast action between the second lines (in this game, anyway), even if there is no absolute mega chances. Later on, after some pressure by the CSSR, Shadrin gets to test Holecek with a shot. Then Pospisil is penalized, and a somewhat wild PP follows; first there is Martinec’s good defensive effort vs Petrov, and he clears the puck, then Holecek makes a great save on a Petrov shot, and soon Farda, set up by Martinec, nearly gets a breakaway, but there’s good defending by Gusev for a change. Then there is some pressure by the USSR at the end of the PP. When the CSSR is again at full strength, Kapustin gets a chance, but then Hlinka breaks out of his zone and scores a goal, set up by Augusta. The CSSR also gets a PP chance, when Shadrin is penalized; Petrov and Mikhailov and their defencemen make a good penalty-killing effort, though, and the Czechs don’t get much going, and Petrov even has a scoring chance after a terrible pass by Bubla. Later on, Czechoslovakia gets another power play; first Nedomansky’s line doesn’t get much done, but after a line-change, Stastny scores after a nice setup by Martinec. A few minutes later, Nedomansky’s line has good pressure in the Soviet zone, with Holik getting a couple of good shots on the net. Then Farda’s line plays an excellent shift vs KPM, ending in Martinec’s goal after a somewhat bad play by Vasiliev and a good effort by Farda at the Czech blue line. Had any team ever scored six unanswered goals against the USSR? I’m not sure, but I doubt it. Before the end of the period, there is good domination by Hlinka’s line too.

Not much to say about the 3rd period. Except that Kharlamov has been replaced by Kapustin on the line with Petrov and Mikhailov. I don’t think it’s because Kharlamov had played worse than anybody else, but maybe the coaches (Bobrov & Kulagin) just wanted to shake things up a bit. And what did it really matter at this stage? In any case, that move proves successful, since early in the period, Kapustin rushes towards the CSSR’s goal, and after some confusion, Mikhailov scores on a rebound. It only took 40 minutes and 37 seconds for the USSR to get on the scoreboard! Mad about such insolence, Hlinka soon scores the seventh Czechoslovak – and his second – goal of the game after, surprise surprise, a bad pass, this time by Bodunov (I think?). Then, there is the other consolation goal by the Soviets, when Mikhailov assists and Petrov scores after the CSSR defenceman Kuzela overskates the puck near his own goal. What else is there? Well, Augusta almost makes it 8-2 after Tretyak’s fumbling, and late in the period, Martinec and Stastny make another good play and Stastny gets an excellent chance . But there is really mostly “let’s just finish this game” mentality by this stage. One incident could be mentioned; Tsygankov trips Holik on the boards, and Holik seems to hurt himself, although I think he was able to play all the games in the tournament. Tsygankov would of course show up in same kind of circumstances the next time these teams met...

Was this the worst game by the Soviets ever? I don’t think it’s even the worst that I’ve seen; that would be game 2 of the 1974 Summit Series against the WHA’s Team Canada, which ended 4-1 for the Canadians. It’s just that the CSSR players were much better finishers than the WHA players, at least in this game. The worst world championship game the USSR ever played? Probably. Of course there is the incredible 6-4 loss against Poland at the 1976 WHC, but there was arguably some arrogance involved in that; I don't think the USSR underestimated Czechoslovakia.

I guess you could say that every Czechoslovak player was a star in this game, but you just have to name Farda’s line, since they faced the USSR’s best line throughout the game and quite frankly did a number on them; on paper, actually both lines scored two even strength goals (Farda’s line also a PP goal), but it was already 6-0 when the Soviets got on the scoresheet. And of course you have to especially praise Vladimir Martinec, who scored two goals, assisted on another, and simply played a super game. The other most notable players were Ivan Hlinka (two goals, strong game throughout), Vaclav Nedomansky (very good performance once again, and his goal sort of ‘set the mood’ for the game), and maybe Bohuslav Ebermann (his speed always seemed to give the Soviets problems). And last but not least, there was Jiri Holecek; to stymie the whole Team USSR for two periods in a fairly wild offensive game like this was a terrific effort. Oh yeah, Jan Suchy was back in the lineup after a few years. I didn’t notice him much – that could be a good thing too?

I will not name any Soviet stars (or culprits) in the game; there was certainly some good offense by them, but when you collectively play poorly in all the other arias, it doesn’t much help. What could they do to turn the tide for the other game?

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 3-1

USSR
Kharlamov-Maltsev-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Lebedev
Kapustin-Anisin-Repnev
Petrov
Gusev-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Tsygankov
Lutchenko-Shatalov
Tretyak

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Nedomansky-Palecek
B. Stastny-Farda-Martinec
Augusta-Hlinka-Ebermann
Veith
Pospisil-Machac
Kuzela-Bubla
Neubauer-Suchy
Holecek

A fairly big change in the Soviet lineup in this game; Petrov has been replaced by Maltsev on the Soviets’ top line. In the first two periods, Petrov seems to play mostly on the penalty kill and power play, but later on, he plays right wing on Shadrin’s line.
The game starts with pressure from the USSR’s top line, but they don’t get great chances. Then there is the first controversy of the game, when Tsygankov tries to drive his fist through Martinec’s face; he gets a 5-minute penalty (I guess only something like saying “f**k you” to the ref or threatening him with a stick would get one thrown out of the game back then?). On the CSSR’s PP, after some decent pressure, Holik scores with a sharp snap shot after Palecek’s(?) ricocheted slapshot. Tsygankov’s penalty still goes on for a few minutes, but there are no truly great chances anymore. After that, the game continues with the USSR dominating slightly, but nothing major happens for a while. Then there is a good rush by Ebermann who tests Tretyak with a slap shot, followed by Farda's 1-on-1 situation vs Lutchenko and he shoots, but Tretyak saves, and after a faceoff, it is followed by good solo work by Hlinka. Then the USSR gets their first PP chance, as Machac is penalized, and Petrov is shortly reunited with Kharlamov and Mikhailov. Kharlamov gets a good chance but just can’t get a shot away, and the USSR fails to score on the rest of the PP too. Later on, Kapustin and Machac both get a penalty, and during the 4-on-4 play both Maltsev and Yakushev nearly score. Then, when both teams are back at full strength, Nedomansky steals the puck from Tsygankov and rushes into the Soviet zone but shoots slightly wide. Then there is another joint penalty (Maltsev and Kuzela), but nothing much seems to happen for the rest of the period.

The 2nd period also starts fairly quietly, but at least there is the Soviet defenceman Lyapkin’s good chance after some neat moves. Another boring stint in the game follows; maybe the most noteworthy happening is the sight of the legendary Finnish president Urho Kekkonen on the stands (can you guess which one of them he is!). Then the game livens up, when Shadrin’s line has a great shift and have great chances around the net, especially Lebedev, with Holecek down and basically out, and there’s excellent work by Lyapkin again. Then we have yet another somewhat action-free period, but then the USSR strikes, although not without another controversy; namely, Maltsev’s pass goes into the net through Mikhailov’s (both!) skates. To be fair, he doesn’t seem to kick the puck in deliberately, but still, should it have been allowed? I don’t know. In any case, the goal seems to boost the Soviet attack, and just under a minute of the first goal, Yakushev scores a fairly typical ‘Big Yak’ goal; a rush followed by a big slapshot, and it’s in the net. Soon after that, the CSSR get a PP, as Shatalov is sent to the penalty box. There are some good chances, especially by Nedomansky after Lutchenko’s failed clearing attempt, and by Holik. Later in the period, Martinec is also back in the game, although maybe a little worse for wear. During the final moments of the 2nd period, the USSR scores another goal, when Kharlamov retrieves his own rebound and passes the puck back to Maltsev in front of the net.

At the start of the 3rd period, Kharlamov trips (or at least is penalized for it) the rushing Veith (I think?); on the PP, neither Nedomansky’s unit (with Hlinka) nor Farda’s line get much done. In fact, the best chance is by the USSR, when Maltsev makes a nice individual effort and almost scores, and just after Kharlamov gets out of the box, Maltsev has another terrific chance but somehow manages to miss the net. Very soon after that, the breaking Ebermann nearly scores in the other end. Then Repnev gets a penalty for tripping Holecek in the crease; on PP, though, the CSSR doesn’t get anything going. However, there is still some fire left in the Czechoslovak players during the later stages too; even though Martinec is not quite the player he was in the first match, he makes a very good play when he sets up Stastny with a great pass, but the latter can't score. Then there is a nice time-killing exhibition from the top unit. The Soviets generally dominate the final minutes too, but then Kharlamov takes a penalty with about two and a half minutes left of the game. On the CSSR’s PP, first it is Maltsev who almost scores a SH goal, and then on the counter-attack, Martinec makes another great play and a pass to Farda, who nearly narrows the score. There is still another excellent chance by Hlinka, set up by Nedomansky, but Tretyak makes one more good save. And then it’s already too late, as the game ends.

I will say this for the Soviets; they did play much better than in the first game, and at face value, they deserved to win, since they were the better team in this match. However, I can’t help it that the Martinec incident (and less so, Mikhailov’s goal) is ‘nagging’ somewhere in the background; we’ll never know how much his absence (for about 30 minutes or more, plus quite understandably he wasn’t as effective as he had been) affected the outcome; it’s not just about Martinec’s own contribution, but also the mental effect the incident undoubtedly had on his team.

Anyway, the Soviet stars in the game were e.g. Sashas Maltsev (a goal & assist, many good plays) and Yakushev (a goal & dangerous throughout), and Yuri Lyapkin, who showed some excellent playmaking and offense. In fact, there was occasionally some shades of the 1972 Summit Series and the games in Moscow where Shadrin’s line and Lyapkin played incredibly well together. Vladislav Tretyak also gave one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from him.

Czechoslovak players that most caught my eye were Vaclav Nedomansky (many good plays), Ivan Hlinka (he always seemed to play well against the USSR) and Jiri Holik (a goal plus other chances).

1975 World Championships (West Germany)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 4-1

USSR

Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Shalimov
Kapustin-Anisin-Maltsev
Lutchenko-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Tsygankov
Fedorov-Tyurin
Tretyak

CSSR

Augusta-Novy- E. Novak
Jiri Holik-Kochta-Ebermann
B. Stastny-J. Novak-Martinec
Pospisil-Machac
Kajkl-Bubla
Dvorak-Kaberle
Holecek

(The video is missing most of the 1st period, but I think contains most of the other two. By the way, what an annoying commentator!)

Firstly, a few words about the lineups of both teams; finally Milan Novy (b. 1951) has been ‘lifted’ to the national team, although he had been a force in the domestic league already for years; it’s a good thing here also because Ivan Hlinka did not play in the game. One interesting aspect in the Soviet lineup is the third defence pair; Yuris Tyurin and Fedorov did not usually play for the national team, even though especially the latter had a good, maybe even very good, domestic career.

In the beginning of the available footage there is somewhat uneventful, close checking type of play. Then Yakushev is penalized; on Czechoslovakia’s power play, e.g. Augusta gets to test Tretyak with a shot, but mostly the Soviet penalty killers do a good job, and there are no major chances, and near the end of the PP, Dvorak gets a penalty for the Czechs. Then, Martinec offends the rushing Maltsev, and the USSR soon has a 5-on-3 advantage. It doesn’t take them very long to score; after a nice passing play, Petrov scores with a wrist shot from the slot. The period soon ends after that.

At the start of the 2nd period, the USSR’s PP still continues; after about a minute, Petrov carries the puck into the CSSR’s zone and makes a sly pass to Lutchenko, who easily scores the second goal for the Soviets. (If I heard the MC's announcement correctly, Petrov doesn't even get credit for the assist!) A little later, Shalimov gets a shot away after a great pass by Shadrin, but it goes wide. After that even a better chance follows, when Dvorak makes a poor pass near his goal, but Maltsev’s shot is also wide. Just moments later, an excellent backhand pass by Martinec gets Stastny a 1-on-1 situation versus Tyurin, but the defenceman provides a nice hip-check. Then, Novy has a decent chance in the slot, but he doesn’t seem to get really good wood on his shot. Right after that, Kharlamov and Vasiliev get a 2-on-1 chance, but Vasiliev decides to take a shot himself and it goes wide, and then it’s the same story in the other end, when Novy shoots instead of passing. The play has perked up now!
Then in the video we move to a Czech PP, where the CSSR has a two-man advantage; Pospisil and Machac set up Eduard Novak, who scores from the left circle. Novak and Petrov have a little ‘discussion’ after the goal. When the play continues, the Czechs still have a one-man advantage, but don’t get anything going for the rest of the PP. The play also seems to get a bit chippy now. Then after a face-off in Team CSSR's zone, the Stastny-Novak-Martinec line get a quick attack, and Stastny shoots from the slot, but there are too many players in front for the shot to get through. Then we move to another PP for the CSSR; the Czechoslovak top line get a good pattern play going and especially Augusta and Eduard Novak have excellent chances, but no goal, even though they celebrate it. Novy is offended by Lutchenko (high stick) after that play, and he gets mad at the referee since no extra penalty is given. However, not too long after that, Kapustin offends Martinec, and it’s yet another Czech PP. Novak’s line doesn’t get anything going, and then after a faceoff, the top unit gets a couple of shots away at first, but even they are stymied for the rest of the PP. Good penalty-killing by the USSR! Soon after that, Kajkl slashes Maltsev in the face, and the USSR gets a PP chance for a change, but the 2nd period ends before any meaningful chances.

The first notable play in the 3rd period is when after a nifty pass by Yakushev, Shalimov gets a chance of sorts, but is pulled down by Kajkl, and doesn’t get to shoot, and both players end up sliding towards the goal. The first real chance is by Novak’s line in the other end, though; Tretyak gives away the puck to Stastny after a weak Martinec ‘shot’, and Stastny shoots from the slot and then there’s Martinec’s ricocheted backhander from a bad angle, but Tretyak handles both. After that, yet another Soviet penalty; on the PP, there is some nice penalty-killing by Petrov and Mikhailov at first (e.g. Petrov gets a long shot on the net), but later the Czechs get shots on/at the net (the best chance by E. Novak again). When the Soviets are back at full strength, nice passing gives Shalimov a very good chance from a close range. A little later, Holik offers a nice stickhandling exhibition and not too long after that Anisin makes a good individual effort and has a chance in the other end.
Then in the video, we’re in the second half of the 3rd period, and there is a scoring play; Shalimov gets a breakaway and beats Holecek with a shot that just trickles through. Unfortunately, there is no sight of how that play evolved. The next notable play is by Maltsev, who, after good work by Kapustin, goes past the defencemen but falls/is pulled down just as he gets ready to shoot. Slightly later, Machac lets a shot go from the point, but Tretyak saves. The next goal is by the Soviets again; Tsygankov intercepts a long cross-ice pass by Stastny (meant for the defenceman Dvorak, as the Czechs are taking more chances now), and gets the puck to Shalimov, who scores with a slap shot and it’s 4 to 1 for the USSR. Moments later, Maltsev has a good chance when set up by Anisin, and a little later Kapustin too, but Holecek handles both shots, and then Novy gets a shot on goal in the other end. After that, Anisin gets a breakaway, when Maltsev skillfully deflects Fedorov’s long pass to him, but Anisin’s finishing isn’t very good. Then the Czechs have some dangerous-looking plays around the Soviet net, but suddenly Tretyak loses his balance, the goal moves and the play is stopped. The CSSR get one more PP, when Shadrin is penalized; first, Martinec has a decent chance when he tries to jam the puck past Tretyak from the side of the net, and later on Jiri Novak on a sort of 3-on-2 attack but he can’t get a shot away. The CSSR’s top line, however, provides the best chances, first by Novy on a rebound, and somewhat later by the Czech goal-scorer in the game, Eduard Novak, set up by Novy. Soon after that, though, the game ends.

This was a somewhat disappointing game; the other CSSR vs USSR matches are often quite chippy too, but here it sometimes felt that there was constantly somebody in the penalty box, and also because of that the game didn't have a great flow.

It is also hard to name single players, since I don't think anyone played a super game, but for Team USSR, the top and second lines/units have to be mentioned, since they scored two goals each. If push came to shove, maybe I'd name the two-goal scorer Viktor Shalimov the best player. While the third line players didn't score, I think especially Maltsev and Anisin gave a perky performance. This time the Soviet defence also played well, and Valeri Vasiliev seems to emerge more and more as a force. Vladislav Tretyak gave up only one goal, so he had a good game too.

From the CSSR, the top line was arguably their best and scored the lone Czech goal. I liked especially Milan Novy and Eduard Novak's cooperation. Jiri Novak's line played okay too, but Jiri Kochta's line didn't seem to get much done, and the CSSR's defence and Jiri Holecek didn't have the greatest night.

1976 Winter Olympics (Austria)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 4-3

USSR
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Shalimov
Kapustin-Zhluktov-Maltsev
Gusev-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Lutchenko
Babinov-Tsygankov
Tretyak

CSSR
Augusta-Novy-E. Novak
Jiri Holik-Hlinka-Ebermann
B. Stastny-J. Novak-Martinec
Pouzar
Pospisil-Machac
Kajkl-Bubla
Dvorak-Chalupa
Holecek

Czechoslovakia needed to win this game to get the gold medal, since due to Frantisek Pospisil's doping case (codeine) their 7-1 victory over Poland turned into a 1-0 loss, and well, the USSR had much better goal differential too, so the situation would have been like that anyway. I think many of the Czechoslovak players were also suffering from flu (Pospisil said he used medicine which had codeine for that reason), so it was not the greatest starting point for this game.

The game starts somewhat nervously, and there is some sloppy passing especially by the Soviets. Fairly early, Chalupa gets the first penalty in the game. On the power play, the USSR have some problems to get started; then Gusev, suddenly thinking that he is a Kharlamov or a Gilbert Perreault, tries to beat the forechecking Novy 1-on-1 in the neutral zone but fails miserably, and Novy breaks away and scores easily. Not a good start for the USSR! Soon after the goal, though, the Soviets have a great chance, when Mikhailov makes a breakaway pass to Petrov, who tries to beat Holecek with a wrist shot but the goalie makes a good save. After that, nothing of note happens on the PP. A little later, Yakushev intercepts Martinec's pass in the Czech zone, Shalimov carries on and passes back to Yakushev who has a great chance, but Holecek makes another excellent save. Then, Pospisil sends Eduard Novak on a breakaway, but Tretyak handles it, and this is soon followed by some action in front of the CSSR's net. Then the USSR gets another PP when Pospisil trips Petrov behind the goal; the Czech players do a good job on the penalty kill, and there are no clear-cut chances, except for Yakushev's blast from the right circle. A couple of minutes later, the CSSR get their first PP opportunity; Jiri Novak scores a goal, when he and Martinec create a play in front... Except that they don't score, since the referee disallows it. As far as I can understand, it is because Martinec is inside the crease when the puck goes in. I don't know what the rule book exactly said back then, but it is noticeable that Soviet players don't seem to make any sort of protest gestures, even though they hardly all saw right away that the ref was going to disallow the goal. So I don't know. In any case, the PP continues, but not much happens on it, but when Petrov gets back on the ice, there are some chances in the other end. A couple of minutes later, Bubla finds the dashing Hlinka with a breakaway pass, and Hlinka scores with a wrist shot. After that, the Soviets' top unit has a decent chance, and that ends in Vasiliev's shot and Mikhailov's scream, as apparently someone (Holecek?) hits him in the face when he tries to get the rebound. (Those Mikhailov shrieks can be heard in some other games too; surprisingly he seemed to be a bit of a drama queen!) There is still one notable play in the period, when Ebermann gets a good screened shot away from the right side.

The 2nd period starts with a slight Soviet domination, but overall the first few minutes are fairly quiet. Then almost by accident, Novy gets a decent chance, and he shoots a quick wrister from the left circle. After that, the CSSR continues to pressure, and then the Soviets get a double penalty, as both Zhluktov and Babinov trip Czech players simultaniously. On the 5-to-3 PP, the CSSR struggles right from the start, as Shadrin, Lyapkin and Tsygankov do an excellent penalty killing job. At the end of the PP, they get some kind of pattern play going, but still no good scoring chances. After that, however, the CSSR puts on a little pressure, and after a setup by Eduard Novak, Pospisil gets to shoot from the high slot. In the other end, Petrov also gets a good long shot away, but Holecek makes a glove save. Somewhat later, after Hlinka's backhand shot, Petrov makes a blunder in his own zone, as Ebermann intercepts his weak pass and then gets a chance versus Tretyak; to be fair, Petrov does hinder Ebermann so that he doesn't get a good shot away. Shortly after that, Shalimov makes a very good individual effort, and after his and Lutchenko's shots and a rebound, Shadrin narrows the score to 1-2; maybe Holecek went down a little too easily there? A somewhat quieter period in the play follows, but at least there is a good backchecking effort by Martinec on Shalimov and on the counter-attack some dangerous-looking action in front of the Soviet goal. Then, the USSR's top unit offers some pretty passing and a chance for Petrov, but Holecek handles his wrist shot. Moments later, however, Kharlamov, Petrov and Mikhailov buzz around the Czech goal, and finally Petrov puts the bouncing puck in the net. 2-2. In the next shift, Shadrin's line also get good chances in front of the net, and in the other end, Ebermann tests Tretyak with a good slapper. The period ends soon after that.

The first minutes of the 3rd period has mostly the Soviets pressuring slightly. Then Kapustin takes a penalty. On the PP, Novy has a good chance when a defenceman (Vasiliev) is out of position, and slightly later Eduard Novak nearly has a great chance, but he fans on his shot. Back on the ice, Kapustin, after demonstrating his strong skating, takes another bad penalty. Unfortunately for the CSSR, not too long after the start of the PP, Holik gets penalized too. In the 4-on-4 play, first Shalimov gets a chance, followed by Kharlamov's deflection that goes wide and a decent shot in the next shift.
In the latter half of the period, the CSSR strikes first; Pospisil gives the puck to the breaking Eduard Novak, who scores with a long shot between the Soviet defenders. Maybe Tretyak should have taken it, but perhaps he didn't see the shot well enough or it changed direction slightly. The next notable play is Holik's terrific rush, moves and a pass, but then Pouzar doesn't get a good shot on goal. After that there is good pressure by Hlinka's line, but no actual chances. In the other end, Gusev lets a good shot go from the point, and Holecek slides back in his goal, but luckily for him, the puck doesn't get past the goal line. Then the USSR gets a PP opportunity; Shalimov makes a good play, as he splits the defence, passes back and, after some action in front of the net, Yakushev scores the equalizer (a fairly similar goal to the one this forward line previously scored). In the very next shift, Kharlamov - maybe according to plan - carries the puck into the Czechoslovak zone, and forces a faceoff. Petrov then wins the faceoff vs Hlinka 100-0, passes the puck to Kharlamov, who has been left alone in front of the net, and Kharlamov scores easily, as Holecek is also badly out of position.
The Soviets lead 4-3 with only about four minutes left of the game. During those last minutes, the Czechs don't get any great pursuit going, as the Soviets protect their lead well; in fact, the best chance is probably by Yakushev, who breaks away and shoots, but Holecek handles it. That is it for this game.

For the USSR, like in the 1975 WHC game above, the top and second units scored all the goals, two each, so they were again the key players for the Soviets; still, again I would perhaps choose Viktor Shalimov as the best player, he was just very difficult for the Czech defencemen to contain in this game. Valery Kharlamov deserves a special mention too. Vladislav Tretyak also played pretty well.

For Team CSSR, it is a bit hard to name players, but the goal-scorers Milan Novy, Ivan Hlinka and Eduard Novak all probably deserve a mention. However, I think the most dangerous Czech player in this game was Bohuslav Ebermann, even though he didn't score a goal. Frantisek Pospisil's playmaking also caught my eye a few times. This wasn't Jiri Holecek's greatest night, but then again, he did make some big saves too.

1976 World Championships (Poland)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 2-3

USSR
Kharlamov-V. Golikov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Shalimov
A. Golikov-Zhluktov-Balderis
Lutchenko-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Korotkov
Babinov-Tsygankov
Tretyak

CSSR
Cernik-Novy-P. Stastny
Jiri Holik-Hlinka-M. Stastny
B. Stastny-J. Novak-Martinec
Pouzar
Pospisil-Machac
Kajkl-Bubla
Chalupa-Kaberle
Holecek

On Team USSR, Vladimir Petrov was out of the lineup for the whole tournament. His replacement on the top line Alexander Maltsev was soon injured, and so Vladimir Golikov and later his brother Alexander played with Valeri Kharlamov and Boris Mikhailov. On Team CSSR, there are a couple of young and very skilled new additions, namely Marian Stastny and his 19-year old brother Peter. Frantisek Cernik is another young forward too.

In the video for the game, there is a little pressure by the Soviets at first, but the first really good chance is by Czechoslovakia; Machac lets a long shot go and Novy gets the rebound in front of the net and shoots, but Tretyak saves (or it goes a little wide?). Almost right after that, Alexander Golikov has an opportunity in the other end. Then there is some end to end action between the Soviet top and Novak’s lines but good chances are lacking. The same continues with other line formations for a while, the checking is close and the defending good. Balderis then makes a good individual effort, as he almost manages to split the defence and gets a shot away from the slot, but Holecek handles it. Cernik is penalized; the Soviets struggle during most of their power play, and get no major chances. A little later, Peter Stastny does some good forechecking and passes to Cernik in the slot, who takes a shot, but Tretyak makes the save. Shortly after, Cernik and Novy combine on an attack, and the latter gets to shoot from the slot; a very good save by Tretyak again. Then Balderis takes a pass from Alexander Golikov and again shows his speed by splitting the defence, but can’t fool Holecek this time either. Then the CSSR (Novak’s line) puts on a little pressure but there are no scoring chances, and a little later, Novy and Pospisil have a dangerous-looking attack, but get no shot away. The Soviet top line have their first scoring chance, when Vladimir Golikov gets the puck to Mikhailov, who then passes it to Kharlamov, who goes around Bubla and takes a shot, but Holecek shows excellent form and saves. Just shortly after that, Vasiliev sends Mikhailov on a breakaway, but Mikhailov can’t quite show Balderis-like speed and Kajkl makes an excellent defensive play, so there is no shot. Then Shalimov takes a penalty; on the PP, first Novak has a good chance in front of the net and later Bohuslav Stastny has even better chance(s) when set up by Martinec. A goal, though, is scored by Peter Stastny; he takes the puck from Shalimov (who has just returned to the ice) in the offensive zone, passes it to Martinec, who shoots, and then bangs in the rebound. Shortly later, Alexander Golikov makes another good play and gets to test Holecek from a close range, but the goalie continues to frustrate the Soviet attackers. The 1st period ends soon after that.

The first scoring chance in the 2nd period is when Lyapkin gets a shot away from the point and Yakushev is there near the crease, but Holecek handles it and a little later there is another shot after a faceoff. In the other end, a couple of nifty passes (by Holik and, Peter Stastny?) get Hlinka a good opportunity, but Tretyak also displays good goaltending in the game. Then Vasiliev takes a penalty, and the bombardment continues; especially Novak’s line has excellent chances and near-chances in front of the goal, but every time either Tretyak saves and/or a forward can’t quite get to the puck. A few minutes later, that line nearly strikes again, as after good passing by Martinec and Bohuslav Stastny, Novak gets a shot away from a good scoring area, but it goes a bit wide. Almost right after that, when Martinec falls/is offended in the neutral zone, Balderis and Shalimov have excellent chances in the other end, but Holecek makes great saves again. Then nothing much happens for a while, until the USSR’s top line get a dangerous attack, and Mikhailov gets to shoot from the slot, but Holecek makes another save (I think?). Vladimir Golikov then wins the next faceoff, and Vasiliev shoots and scores from the point. A surprisingly easy-looking goal when compared with the many other chances. Another quieter period follows, but then Mikhailov rushes up, makes a good move at the blue line and passes/shoots the puck out in front, but Kharlamov doesn’t get to it, and right after that Novy’s line provides some good pressure in the Soviet zone. A short time later, Korotkov makes a good play in his zone and makes an excellent long pass to Shalimov who gets a 1-on-1 chance versus Holecek, but the netminder makes yet another terrific save. Then Shalimov and Balderis get shots away from the slot, but good goaltending and defending (Bubla) continue. Alexander Golikov makes a brilliant individual effort, as he starts a rush from his own zone and goes through Czech players, and Bohuslav Stastny has to trip him. The period ends before anything happens on the USSR's PP.

When the Soviets continue their one-man advantage in the 3rd period, they get good pattern plays going and some chances in front. A couple of minutes after that, Korotkov and Holik are both penalized; during the 4-on-4 play, Novak and Martinec (and their defenceman) do some good forechecking and grinding around the boards at first, so the Soviets are reduced to playing in their own/neutral zone, but then Chalupa falls (maybe slightly offended, Martinec too before that) in the Soviet zone, and Vasiliev and Mikhailov get a quick counter-attack, and the former has a good chance in front of the net; Holecek saves and the diving Novak crashes into the net, and the play is stopped. The play livens up, as first the Soviets provide some action in front of the Czech goal, and then Novy gets a shot away in the other end, but Tretyak makes a nice kick-save. A short time later, Hlinka makes a nice play (with Pouzar) and has a good chance. In the next shift, after a good pass by Novak, Bohuslav Stastny rushes up and tries to scoop the puck past Tretyak with one arm, and just moments later, Martinec makes an excellent pass to Stastny from the point, who scores the go ahead goal for the CSSR. Almost right after the goal, Shalimov has a good chance in front of the Czech goal, set up by Yakushev. A little later, Kharlamov (it seems that Kharlamov and Alexander Golikov now take turns centering the second line instead of Shadrin) has also a chance in front, but Holecek is like a wall. They get another near-chances, when Yakushev does some great grinding on the boards and gets the puck in front. After that, Hlinka’s line provides some pressure in the other end for a change.
At the start of the second half of the period, Martinec makes a good play and gets a shot away from the slot, but no big problems for Tretyak to stop it. Shortly after that, Shalimov gets to shoot from the slot as well and hits the post, but unfortunately for the USSR only the outer side of it. Then, Bohuslav Stastny and Martinec get a 2-on-1 break (good work also by Novak again), and the latter feeds Stastny seemingly perfectly, but somehow Stastny either misses the net or fans on his shot. (Unfortunately the director of this broadcast is a little too, er, selective in his replay choices, so it is sometimes hard to tell.) Anyway, moments later Martinec also gets a shot away from the high slot, but misses the net, and Balderis then has an excellent chance in front after taking a pass from Alexander Golikov, but what can you do versus a goalie that is just ‘in the zone’ like Holecek is in this game – a very good glove save there. Kharlamov lets a good shot go in the next shift too, but it provides no huge problems, and it is the Czechs who get the next goal; Holik makes a drop pass to Hlinka, who beats Tretyak with a shot from the left circle. It is 3 to 1 with just about six minutes to go. The Soviets, however, get one back already in the next shift; Novak’s unit does some good grinding in the Soviet zone, but then they lose the puck, and Balderis rushes after a clearing pass by Shalimov and goes past the fallen Chalupa and finally solves the Holecek mystery and scores. After that, the action goes then back and forth for a while, but checking is close. Then, Martinec nearly gets a great chance, but Novak’s breakaway pass goes slightly too far, and Tretyak beats him to the puck and clears. During the last couple of minutes, there is some end to end action, and shots at/on the net, but no big scoring chances for either team, and so Czechoslovakia is the close but deserved winner by 3 goals to 2.

A very well-played game this was; lots of good offense, great goaltending and despite the numerous scoring chances, some good defence also.

In fact, both teams played so well that I’m a bit reluctant to name the stars for the teams… Except that it is impossible to not mention Jiri Holecek; he gave one of the best goalie performances at least in these USSR-CSSR games, if not all-time. The other superstar players played mostly excellently too, but I would really like to mention a couple of lesser stars that do not get much praise often; firstly, from Team CSSR, Jiri Novak gave a quite gutsy, persistent and skillful performance (good forechecking, passing etc). From Team USSR, Alexander Golikov caught my eye numerous times with his excellent plays; less smooth as a skater than his brother and maybe a little more one-dimensional, but at least in this game he impressed maybe the most of all players (not named Holecek).

1976 Canada Cup (Canada & United States)

Czechoslovakia vs Soviet Union 5-3

CSSR
Augusta-Novy-P. Stastny
Jiri Holik-Hlinka-M. Stastny
B. Stastny-J. Novak-Martinec
Pospisil-Machac
Kajkl-Bubla
Dvorak-Chalupa
Holecek

USSR
Shalimov-Maltsev-Balderis
Kapustin-Lebedev-Repneyev
Skvortsov-Kovin-Belousov
Alexandrov-Zhluktov-Vikulov
Gusev-Lutchenko
Bilyaletdinov-Vasiliev
Babinov-Krikunov
Tretyak

DISCLAIMER: I was not all that enthusiastic about this game to be included; firstly, the Soviet Canada Cup 1976 team is not even nearly their best possible team, although it's fairly interesting one in the sense that it has some young and fairly new players on the national team level (e.g. Balderis, Kovin, Skvortsov, Bilyaletdinov, Babinov), who would make some waves during the following years. Secondly, the footage from period 1 in the video is not really even watchable, and unfortunately so, because it sounds like a very entertaining period; there is a good chunk missing from the 2nd period too. Lastly, I had real difficulties especially with the Soviet lineup, since I couldn't find much help from anywhere and also because of the problems with the picture, so there might be some misinformation regarding that.
But heck, in the words of the Scottish comic Arnold Brown: "And why not?"

It did not make much sense to 'show' highlights from the 1st period, but a couple of things can be said; the period is quite chippy with lots of penalties, but there is some good end to end action and both teams have good chances. Good goaltending too. The Czechoslovaks even score two goals, one by Novy, set up by Pospisil, when the teams are playing 4-on-4, and one by Pospisil himself (unfortunately, the latter goal is missing completely from the video). It seems the Soviets' power play is poor/the Czechs' penalty-killing is very good, and there is more of that in the following periods too.

Early in the 2nd period, Maltsev scored a shorthanded goal, but that too is missing from the available footage.
The first piece of action that can be seen has the USSR on a PP; Kapustin nearly has a good chance, when he splits the defence at the blue line and skates after the puck, but Holecek beats him to it, and Bubla takes care of the rest. Other than that, it is another fairly poor PP by the Soviets. A couple of minutes later, they get a good chance in front of the net when Belousov lets a shot go, but there are too many players in the way. Soon the USSR gets yet another PP opportunity, but again they are stymied by the Czechs. Then in the Soviet end, Bohuslav Stastny takes a good long shot, but it goes a little wide. After that, the action goes back and forth, but there are not too many true scoring chances for a while. Then it is Bohuslav Stastny again, when he intercepts a pass and shoots, but Tretyak makes a good save. Shortly after, Novy scores his second goal of the game with a big slap shot. 3-1 for Czechoslovakia. Then the period ends.

Fairly early in the 3rd period, there is some exciting end to end action; first Martinec blasts a shot after a good forechecking job by Novak, and a little later Novak gets a chance too, then Lebedev has a breakaway in the other end, but somehow he manages to miss an open after a good fake on Holecek. No worries, though, as after an excellent pass by Shalimov, Balderis scores a goal about half a minute later (Holecek slightly out of position there?). Speaking of Shalimov, unfortunately he soon injures his shoulder or arm, and is out for the rest of the tournament. A fairly big loss, especially for this already greatly weakened team.
The next scoring play is by the CSSR, when Martinec bumps Bilyaletdinov off the puck and sets up Bohuslav Stastny, who scores from a close range. Then after a faceoff, Hlinka's line provides some good action and pressure too in front of the Soviet net. After that, Lutchenko takes a penalty; on the PP, the CSSR has some near-chances but isn't able to extend their lead. Then Augusta is penalized, but there is a poor PP by the USSR again, and it is the Czechs who get the best chance while shorthanded when Novy hits the post with a snappy wrist shot after a weak pass by Babinov. It was close, but no third goal for this skilled centerman. When the Czechs are back at even strength, Augusta makes a clearing pass off the boards, and Martinec gets a breakaway and beats Tretyak with a nice move. The Soviets soon get one back, though, as Gusev shoots from the point, and Holecek saves and goes down and still manages to handle Skvortsov's backhanded shot but not Kovin's rebound out of the air. The score is now 5 to 3 for the Czechs. The closing few minutes are mostly dominated by the CSSR; in the next shift, there is e.g. Marian Stastny's shot from the left circle, and later on Novak's line puts on a good pressure, though doesn't get actual shots on goal. And then the game ends.

There is no doubt about the Team CSSR star of the game; Milan Novy with his two goals ans an assist plus other good plays. The other defenceman behind him, Frantisek Pospisil also played a strong game, a goal and an assist. Another defenceman Jiri Bubla did some good work out there too, as well as his defence partner Milan Kajkl. The more the game went ahead, the more also Vladimir Martinec as well as his line with Novak and Stastny began to shine; this time also Bohuslav Stastny deserves a special mention, since in addition to a goal, he was dangerous almost throughout the game. Jiri Holecek made many good saves.

Team USSR, then, the play-by-play man Ron Reusch mentions Alexander Maltsev as the Soviet offensive star a few times during the game, but I didn't notice him that much in the available footage. I have a hard time naming other players either, so maybe the goal-scorers Maltsev, Helmut Balderis and Vladimir Kovin all deserve a mention. Vladislav Tretyak was not particularly good, but not very bad either; a fitting description for the whole Soviet team as well?

1977 World Championships (Austria)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 6-1

USSR
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Shalimov
Kapustin-Zhluktov-Balderis
Gusev-Tsygankov
Lutchenko-Babinov
Pervukhin-Vasiliev
Tretyak

CSSR
Ebermann-Novy-Martinec
Jiri Holik-Hlinka-Lukac
Pouzar-P. Stastny-M. Stastny
J. Novak
Pospisil-Machac
Kajkl-Bubla
Dvorak-Chalupa
Kaberle,
Holecek

On paper, these were possibly the best teams that both countries had ever had previously, at least on offense, even though Maltsev did not play in this game. It is interesting that Team CSSR had built a true super top forward line for this tournament; Martinec was playing together with Novy and, well, the third forward Ebermann wasn’t too shabby either. I wonder if the line-mixing that was seen at the 1976 Canada Cup had given them some ideas for this tournament too; there e.g. Martinec had also played with Novy at least one full game (game 1 of the final vs Canada) and occasionally in other games too (they were both involved in the scoring play that earned them the 1-0 victory over Canada in the round robin). Martinec had also played with Hlinka and Holik in game 2 of the final. Usually, though, on the Czechoslovak national team they liked to spread their superstar talent more evenly on different lines, making use of the club lines when possible too.

Already during the first seconds of the game, Ebermann’s speed gives the Soviets problems, as when Novy wins the draw vs Petrov, Ebermann skates past Tsygankov and gets a shot away from the left circle. The Czechs continue to pressure a bit for the rest of that shift too. The next notable chance, almost by accident, is by Yakushev from the side of the net, but he shoots a little wide. Then, after a faceoff, Zhluktov shoots a long shot on the net and Holecek gives away a rebound, but the Soviets can’t capitalize on it. Ebermann continues to cause problems for the USSR, and again he gets loose and approaches the net, but Mikhailov gives him a little hook and so he doesn’t get a decent shot away; no penalty, though. After that, Bubla takes a good shot from the point and a rebound is there, but the newcomer Lukac can’t quite get to it. Then Kapustin makes an excellent play, as he steals the puck, uses his terrific skating to go around the defenders and eventually sets up Zhluktov in front of the net, who scores easily. In the next shift, however, Petrov’s line and their defencemen still struggle with Ebermann’s speed; first the Czech left winger intercepts Mikhailov’s pass behind the Czech goal and starts a rush, but they don’t get a shot on goal. Soon after, when Mikhailov makes a sloppy pass inside the Soviet zone, Martinec lets a shot go, but doesn’t quite get good wood on it. In any case, Team CSSR’s top line looks sharper and more dangerous at the early stages of the game! After that, Not much of note happens for a couple of minutes, but the Czechs continue to dominate the play somewhat. Then, finally Petrov’s line seems to get warmed up for the occasion, and they apply good pressure inside the CSSR’s zone, and there is dangerous-looking action in front of the Czech goal, even though no actual good shot on the net. Before stepping off the ice, Petrov even makes a good long pass to Shalimov, who then shoots wide from the right side. After that, there is a period of slight domination by the Czechs, and Kapustin takes the first penalty of the game. The Czechs struggle to get the power play into a proper operation but have some near-chances at the end of it. And just after Kapustin gets back on the ice, Pospisil takes a shot that is blocked, but Martinec gets the rebound and, through a mass of players, scores the equalizer with a slap shot. After the goal, the USSR begins to press a bit, and Pouzar takes a penalty. During the first minute of the PP, though, the only accomplishment by the Soviet top unit is that they get a faceoff in the Czech zone. It gets slightly better with the second unit, but there are no really dangerous chances for the rest of the PP either. A couple of minutes later, Marian Stastny sets up Pouzar, who gets to shoot quite undisturbed from an excellent spot, but unfortunately the shot is wide, but there is another chance right after that. The rest of the period is fairly quiet, but Hlinka gets one good shot on the net during the last minute.

Almost right at the start of the 2nd period, Ebermann again causes problems for the USSR, as he dipsy-doodles past the opponents and gets a shot away but it goes wide. A littler later, Lukac has a good chance, when he lets a shot go from the high slot, but he also shoots a bit wide (I think?). Almost right after that, Yakushev gets a nice chance in the other end, but Holecek handles it. Then, the Soviets score their second goal in the game, when Chalupa can’t stop Kapustin in front of the net. Not too long after that, Petrov and Mikhailov get a good 2-on-1 attack, and Petrov takes a backhand shot from the left circle, but Holecek takes care of it, and Kharlamov can’t quite get to the rebound. A little later, Kapustin again gets a decent chance and moments later intercepts a weak pass by Peter Stastny (who had also collided a bit with the referee) and passes the puck to Zhluktov out in front, who then shoots, but Holecek makes a very good save again. In the very next shift, however, Mikhailov scores for the USSR, when he skillfully deflects a Tsygankov shot between his legs into the net. Preceding that there was good work also by Petrov. So it is 3 to 1 for the USSR, and it looks like the tide has begun to turn. A couple of minutes later, Peter Stastny’s line puts on fairly good pressure inside the Soviet zone, but that ends abruptly, when Balderis and Kapustin break away and the latter scores a fairly easy goal. The defence (Dvorak & Chalupa) didn’t play very well there, but then again, in that type of situation there are not many other players who you would like to face less than Kapustin and Balderis. In the next shift, Mikhailov intercepts Machac’s pass and the Soviets have a 3-on-2 attack, but Petrov shoots instead of passing, so no major problems for Holecek to make the save. Then Kharlamov gets penalized. Soon after that, both Zhluktov and Kajkl are also sent to the penalty box; the Czechs continue their PP 4-on-3 but can’t utilize it, partly due to Hlinka’s selfish playing, and when the Soviets get one player (Kharlamov) back, Shadrin has a good chance in front of the net. A few minutes after that, Ebermann is penalized, and it doesn’t take the Soviets very long to score; Shadrin wins the puck near the boards and passes it to Babinov who lets a good slap shot go and beats Holecek cleanly. Holecek should have come out of his net more, I guess. Already in the next shift, Shadrin has a great chance to further extend the Soviet lead when set up by Yakushev, but he can’t get the shot high enough, and Holecek prevails. Slightly later, a couple of nifty passes give Petrov’s line a 3-on-1 attack of sorts, but while the Soviets were sometimes (rightly) criticized for overpassing, here they can be criticized for ‘underpassing’; Mikhailov gets a shot on goal, but if he had passed the puck to Petrov, I think it would have been a goal. After that, Shadrin’s line get a similar type of attack and Shalimov has a good chance, but Holecek makes a save. In the other end, Marian Stastny breaks away, but is hindered by Pervukhin (I think?) so that he can’t really get a shot away. Nothing much happens during the rest of the period.

The first notable play in the 3rd period is when Shadrin’s line provides some dangerous-looking plays around the Czech net. After that, nothing much happens for a long time, as the Soviets are often just basically playing for time, and the Czechs don’t get a whole lot done. The play livens up near the end of the first half, when there is nice coast to coast action (and even the defencemen are taking part on the offense), and Pouzar has the best chance but he shoots a little wide.
Early in the second half of the period, the teams’ top lines (and others) have attacks back and forth, but they are missing the finishing touch, and there is also some good defending from both sides. Soon, however, there is a scoring play, when Novak makes a weak-ish pass in the Soviet zone, and Yakushev breaks away and beats Holecek with a similar kind of fake that he used on Ken Dryden in the first game of the 1972 Summit Series (!). It is 6 to 1 for the USSR. In the next shift, Shadrin’s line has another chance in front of the net but can’t score. Then the Soviets get one last PP opportunity, as Martinec trips Balderis. Nothing of note happens on it. After that, the Stastny brothers create a good scoring chance, as Peter sets up Marian, who blasts a shot from the slot, but Tretyak makes a fine save. The word that describes the rest of the game well is pretty much ‘ho-hum’.

I was going to say that the final score flatters the Soviets a bit, but then I thought about it for a second, and I’m not so sure about that anymore. Whereas the play was quite even during the first period and a bit, the Soviets were indeed clearly better for the rest of the game. And they were simply the better finishers.

From the Soviet team, the star of the game was arguably Sergei Kapustin, two goals and an assist. Shadrin’s line played well too, especially at the later stages. Petrov’s line appeared somewhat shaky at first, but were good after that, although they didn’t show much in the 3rd period anymore (and didn’t need to either). I think that the Soviet defence played collectively, dare I say, a near-flawless game; where did their form disappear later in the tournament? Vladislav Tretyak was obviously excellent too. But if I had to name one disappointment, I would choose Helmut Balderis; he would get the Best Forward award later but was fairly invisible in this game.

From the Czech team, it is hard to name any highlights. Milan Novy’s line started out promisingly, but didn’t get much done later on, and that includes Bohuslav Ebermann, who looked so dangerous at first. Ivan Hlinka and his line were disappointments too. Peter Stastny’s line seemed to provide most of the later Czech chances, but overall weren’t very good either. Obviously Team CSSR’s defence didn’t impress. Jiri Holecek didn’t shine, although I can’t really think of many bad goals that were scored on him (Babinov’s goal?).

Czechoslovakia vs Soviet Union 4-3

CSSR
Ebermann-Novy-Martinec
Jiri Holik-Hlinka-J. Novak
Pouzar-P. Stastny-M. Stastny
Pospisil-Machac
Kajkl-Bubla
Dvorak-Chalupa

USSR
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Maltsev
Kapustin-Zhluktov-Balderis
Gusev-Tsygankov
Lutchenko-Babinov
Pervukhin-Vasiliev
Tretyak

Maltsev plays with Yakushev and Shadrin instead of Shalimov in the game. No major changes for Team Czechoslovakia.

The game starts with a bang. The Soviets get a faceoff and put on a little pressure in the Czech zone and get a couple of shots at goal. Then Ebermann wins the puck on the boards vs Tsygankov, scoops it ahead to Novy and the CSSR gets a 2-on-1 attack (Petrov is just a little late to be truly involved); Novy makes a nice pass to Martinec, who scores the first goal. The game continues with a slight Soviet domination. Then both teams get a penalty (Balderis and Dvorak); Ebermann shows his speed again and nearly gets a good scoring chance, but the Soviet defenders take the puck. Slightly later, Pospisil hits Ebermann with a good long pass and Ebermann “scores”, but the referee (rightly) calls it offside. After that, the Czechs put on a little pressure in the Soviet zone, but then the Soviets get a quick attack, and Zhluktov tests Dzurilla with a shot. The action goes back and forth for a while, but the checking is close. Then Marian Stastny gets a chance , set up by his brother, but Tretyak makes a good save on his shot. Kapustin is penalized; on the CSSR’s power play, first Novy’s line manage only to get a faceoff in the Soviet zone. Then Hlinka starts a terrific rush behind his own goal, skates behind the Soviet goal and passes the puck out in front to Novak, who scores with a little fake. While Hlinka’s setup was very good, one has to wonder how they just left Novak totally alone like that; Mikhailov and Petrov, for example, are both a few feet away and just look on as Novak scores the goal. Not too long after the goal, Kharlamov and Mikhailov nearly get a 2-on-1 chance, but it is off-side. Then, Yakushev almost gets to shoot from a close range, but Ebermann makes a good defensive play, and right after that, Martinec too. Maltsev takes another penalty for Team USSR; on the PP, Holik gets offended by Vasiliev, but he gets up and soon scores on a rebound after Tretyak fails to glove Hlinka’s wrist shot. After just 12 minutes and 14 seconds it’s already 3-0 for the Czechs. A little later, Kapustin sets up Zhluktov who gets a shot away from the slot. Then Ebermann gets penalized; the Soviets have some dangerous-looking action near the CSSR net, but no big chances. Somewhat later, Mikhailov makes a good individual effort for a change, as he goes around the defence, comes out in front of the net and shoots, but Dzurilla doesn’t have huge problems making the save. Then Kharlamov and Petrov do a nice maneuver in the neutral zone and Petrov gets to face Dzurilla 1-on-1, who then makes a good save on Petrov’s wrist shot. The USSR’s top line is finally waking up a bit!? Apparently, since very soon also Kharlamov has a great chance after a setup by Mikhailov, but he isn’t able to jam the puck past Dzurilla. Almost right after that, the Czechs (Bubla, Novak) have good chances in the other end. Just before the end of the first period, Peter Stastny also gets a shot on the net, but Tretyak prevails.

The 2nd period starts with a similar kind of bang as the first. And again it is the Czechs who score; after Pospisil breaks the Soviet attack before it even begins, Ebermann carries the puck behind the net, passes it back to Martinec, who shoots, and Novy gets the rebound and buries the puck behind Tretyak. Although neither Gusev nor Tsygankov nor even Tretyak (who was playing very deep in his net) played that very well, again you’ve got to wonder Mikhailov, Petrov and Kharlamov’s disregard for defence on the play; they are just floating and looking on. Strange, since I’m sure they already got some heck from Kulagin during the break. Anyway, it is 4 to 0. Some time after the goal, Kapustin and Maltsev set up Yakushev in front of the net, and Yakushev nearly scores, but his shot goes a little wide. On the play, the USSR’s unofficial diving master, Alexander Maltsev, gets the Soviets a PP opportunity; on the penalty kill, e.g. Martinec displays good diving ability too, but this time it has defensive purposis. The Soviet PP isn’t very good either. However, soon after that, the Soviets score one of my favourite goals ever; they recover the puck near their own goal, and then begins a great pattern play, where the puck goes through every player on the top unit, ending in Kharlamov’s goal. There is really no speed involved, but it is (almost) continuous passing from one goal to the other. A few minutes later, Novy gets a decent chance after terrific work by Ebermann, but Tretyak saves, and then Tsygankov, behind his own goal, makes a long pass and almost by accident Petrov and Mikhailov get a 2-on-0 attack and the latter scores. The Soviets’ pursuit has truly begun. There is a fair bit of close checking and sloppy play during the next couple of minutes, but then Balderis shows his terrific skating and skills, when he takes a pass from Kapustin, goes into the CSSR’s zone and beats Dzurilla with a wrister between the goalie’s legs; Czechoslovakia has now only one-goal lead, and there is still about a half of the game left. Holik takes a penalty; the USSR’s top unit get a good pattern play going and some shots at the net, but then Novak makes a good defensive play and clears; Kharlamov gets one more shot away, but Dzurilla doesn’t have huge problems with it. After that, Stastny(s) line get some chances around the Soviet net, and later in the other end, Kharlamov, combining with Mikhailov, takes a good shot on goal, but Mikhailov can’t get to the rebound. Then for the rest of the period nothing much happens, at least in terms of really good scoring chances.

Early in the 3rd period, Petrov offends Holik, and is sent to the penalty-box; during the CSSR’s PP, Shadrin offends Hlinka, who is hurt a bit, but there is no further penalty for the USSR; then the Czechs get some long shots by Machac at/on the net, but their only near-chance is when Martinec tries to set up Novy in front, but the latter just misses his pass. When Petrov gets back, the Stastnys also provide some action around the net, but no actual shot on goal. Still, good for the CSSR to get some offense going too. After that, however, it is back to the Soviets dominating the play and the Czechs protecting their lead, but for a few minutes, nothing overly interesting is happening (or maybe Yours Truly is just getting tired). Then, just before the first half of the period ends, there is nice coast to coast action with some near-chances, first by Peter Stastny and Pouzar, followed by Babinov (who should have passed instead of shooting), and then we see some playmaking from Dzurilla (!), as he comes out of his net and passes the puck to a Czech forward (Marian Stastny?) who gets a good long shot away.
Soon after the start of the second half, the Soviets get a great chance to equal the score; Zhluktov makes a breakaway pass to Balderis, who is alone with Dzurilla but is unable to fool the netminder. After a faceoff in the CSSR’s zone, Petrov’s unit also have dangerous plays near the goal, but again Dzurilla, playing also outside his crease, frustrates them. The Czechs show some offense too, when e.g. Pouzar makes a good play and gets to test Tretyak with a shot. After the next faceoff, Hlinka deflects Bubla’s shot and the Soviet goalie is forced to make a good save. Then, after a failed attempt by Pospisil to clear the puck, the KPM line create a dangerous play with beautiful passing in front of the net, but Mikhailov is just unable to set up Petrov, and the chance is missed. The Soviets get a PP opportunity, though, as Dvorak is penalized; first Maltsev has a decent chance from the right circle, but the CSSR players show some self-sacrificing defense (e.g. Pospisil), and most of the shots are either blocked or they miss the net. Then the last few minutes of the game are mostly spent in the Czech/neutral zone and the Czechs ice the puck quite a lot, but the Soviets are pretty much rendered to play in the corners or to regroup. Good defensive playing by Team CSSR. However, with about 40 seconds left, Petrov makes a good (if maybe somewhat illegal) play on the boards and gets the puck out in front to Mikhailov, but the latter’s one-timer fails and Balderis can’t get to the puck either; it would have been a sure goal, if Mikhailov had got good wood on his shot. Then just before the end Holik nearly scores for the Czechs, but Tretyak makes an excellent save. That is it.

Despite the loss, the gold medal was still possible for the USSR, since the Czechoslovaks allowed the Canadian goons to soundly beat them 8-2 in their last game. But alas, in the game against Sweden, where a tie would have been enough, the Soviets failed once more (Sweden had already beaten them previously in the tournament), and so the Soviets only managed to get bronze.

For Czechoslovakia, the biggest hero in the game was undoubtedly Vladimir Dzurilla; there is no question that the USSR dominated overall – also due to the CSSR protecting their lead – and he had to make quite a few good saves in the match. Of the skaters, I don’t think anyone was head and shoulders above anybody else; the top line of course deserves credit for two goals as well as occasionally for their defensive play, and especially Vladimir Martinec and Milan Novy got a lot of ice-time (actually Ebermann was injured during the game and did not play all of the last period, I think). Hlinka’s line also scored two goals; I’d especially like to mention Jiri Novak, since he scored a goal and made some other good plays. Stastny’s line might not have scored, but I think they played quite well. I can’t lift any particular player from the Czech defence, but it was a good performance from them overall.

Team USSR, then… You have to name Petrov’s line, both in good and bad; they scored two goals and created other good chances, but they also showed defensive weaknesses. And although they got better in that department later in the game, it was too late. Partly thanks to his speed, Helmut Balderis scored a goal and had a great chance to score another, but I don’t remember him otherwise that much. Vladislav Tretyak was OK, but Dzurilla undoubtedly outperformed him. The Soviet defencemen failed to impress initially. However, I liked some of their work later on, although I can’t name single player(s).

1978 World Championships (Czechoslovakia)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 4-6

USSR
Kharlamov-Maltsev-Mikhailov
Kapustin-Zhluktov-Balderis
Lebedev-V. Golikov-Makarov
Fetisov-Tsygankov
Lutchenko-Bilyaletdinov
Pervukhin-Vasiliev
Tretyak

CSSR
Ebermann-J. Novak-Martinec
Cernik-P. Stastny-M. Stastny
Pouzar-Hlinka-Richter
Augusta, Novy
Dvorak-Machac
Kajkl-Bubla
Zajicek-Kaberle
Holecek

A couple of big losses since the last year for Team CSSR; Frantisek Pospisil and Jiri Holik didn’t play for the national team anymore. The home-ice and support as well as the rise of young players like Peter and Marian Stastny probably helped a little, though. The Soviets were not without their problems either; in his book, the coach Viktor Tikhonov (for whom this WHC was extremely important) laments that the Soviet team was plagued by injuries and illnesses; for example, Vladimir Petrov is not in the lineup for this game (Maltsev his replacement on the top line). But Team USSR had also two young players on the roster who would become arguably their two best players in the 1980s, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Sergei Makarov.

The video doesn’t have the full game, but still a good chunk of it.
The first couple of minutes are a fairly quiet and evenly played. The first good chance that can be seen happens when Martinec, circling around in the neutral zone, hits Cernik with a breakaway pass and Cernik takes a backhand shot, but Tretyak handles that, and Novak’s shot on the rebound is way wide. Moments later, Cernik stops Maltsev at the Czech blue line, and on the counter-attack he scores his first goal of the night after Marian Stastny’s setup, with Tsygankov looking on near the crease. The Soviets’ first decent scoring chance (at least in the video) is by Bilyaletdinov after Kapustin sets him up, but Holecek has no major problems with the shot. The first USSR goal is then scored by Balderis, when Kapustin passes the puck to him and he gets a breakaway and beats Holecek with a nice fake. Then Machac offends Makarov; on the PP, Pervukhin (playing first at the point) manages to rush towards the net unnoticed and Maltsev finds him with a perfect pass, and Pervukhin scores easily. After that, Peter Stastny has a good chance, when set up by his brother, but Tretyak saves. That’s that from the footage of the 1st period.

Early in the 2nd period, Fetisov is penalized. First on the PP, there is Novak’s blast from the right circle, and a little later Cernik scores his second goal with a backhand shot when a rebound from a Peter Stastny shot comes right to him. The Soviets strike back fairly quickly, as Kaberle is stripped off the puck (and maybe offended a little) behind the Czech goal, and a beautiful passing play follows, and it is Balderis’ turn to score his second goal of the game into an open net. 3 to 2 for the USSR. After the goal the Soviet top line gets some good pressure in the Czech zone, but some weak passing denies them any meaningful chances. Cernik is still giving the Soviets trouble, and Peter Stastny gets to shoot from the left side, and the Czechs provide some good pressure. Then also Novy shows up, and he tries to beat Tretyak with a wraparound, but the goalie is alert enough to handle it. A little later Mikhailov gets a hooking penalty; during the one-man advantage, the Czechs have some near-chances around the slot and shots from the point, but nothing overly dangerous. The USSR’s second line/unit continues to play strongly, and Lutchenko lets a good shot go from the blue line, but Holecek saves and the defence takes care of the rebound. Novak’s line has a decent attack, when the centerman takes a shot and Tretyak does not know where the puck is, but luckily for him, it’s not in the net. However, after a faceoff at the Soviet blue line, Cernik makes a great play, as he ‘outspeeds’ Tsygankov and scores his third goal of the game; he is, er, happy about it, and it is 3-3. Some controversy follows, as Kapustin slashes Pouzar in the face/head, and after confusion, the Czechs get a PP opportunity; very soon Hlinka manages to score on a rebound.

Fairly early in the 3rd period, there is some good end to end action, and after a somewhat sloppy play by Kaberle at the CSSR blue line, Zhluktov has an excellent chance to score, but Holecek saves. Vasiliev then takes a penalty, and on the PP, after a fight for the puck (which Mikhailov loses to Marian Stastny), Cernik passes it to Peter Stastny who scores. After the goal, Fetisov trips the goal-scorer and Maltsev charges at him too, and then there is a big melee on the boards, although only a few players are throwing punches around. Penalties are dished out, and the game continues with 3-on-3 play. Nothing overly interesting happens on it at first, as both teams play very cautiously, but then Bubla makes a good cross-ice pass to Ebermann, who rushes up, first fakes a shot and then shoots past Tretyak who had already made his move. It is 6 to 3. Right after the next faceoff, though, the Soviets get one back, as Kapustin makes a good play and sets up Lutchenko and the defenceman scores with a wrister from the slot. When the play continues 5-on-5 again, the Soviets get some good pressure in the Czech zone, but the CSSR players show again some self-sacrificing defence, like have been seen in many other games too. Then Makarov makes his first really notable play, when on a 1-on-1 situation vs a defenceman near the goal he suddenly turns around and lets a backhander go, but shoots just a little wide. The Soviets continue to pressure, and Pervukhin takes a good shot from the point. Then Vasiliev takes a bad penalty; the Czechs don’t get much done during the PP, and it looks like they are not even trying that hard. And why should they be, I guess? Some time later, though, after good forechecking, Novak gets a shot on the net, but Tretyak saves. Not too long after that, both Augusta and Pouzar have chances, but Tretyak shows some good goaltending still at this stage. So does Holecek In the other goal, when Vasiliev gets to shoot from the slot. During the final moments, Peter Stastny has one decent chance, but his shot is blocked by Fetisov, and soon after that the game ends.

Not one of my favourite games by these two teams, I have to say. Even by the USSR-CSSR standards, it was a quite mean-spirited one, resulting in a lot of penalties, plus there were all kinds of breaks and ‘negotiations’ hindering the game’s natural flow. Furthermore, the second half of the 3rd period was quite boring, since the USSR’s pursuit was somewhat moderate in the end.

To name Team CSSR’s, and the game’s, best player isn’t a very tough choice; Frantisek Cernik scored a hat-trick and got one assist too. I wonder if any other Czech player(s) managed to score four points in one game versus the Soviets? His linemates Marian and Peter Stastny played very well too. Of the other players, e.g. Bohuslav Ebermann gave a fairly strong performance (and for once, Ebermann not only looked dangerous, but scored a goal as well). Jiri Holecek played quite well, and I guess won the battle of the goalies.

The Soviets’ second line or rather unit had a very good game, as Helmut Balderis got two goals and Vladimir Lutchenko one. Even though Sergei Kapustin didn’t score a goal, I think he was equally good as anyone else, or maybe even better. Vladislav Tretyak was okay, but nothing more. Still, the greatest disappointment was the top line/unit, although I liked some of e.g. Vyacheslav Fetisov’s and Alexander Maltsev’s work. Boris Mikhailov played probably the worst game I’ve seen from him; made bad passes, did not shoot well and lost battles. Since he was arguably the most important player on the team (the captain, arguably the best goal-scorer) after Tretyak , he would certainly need to step up the next time these teams would meet.

Czechoslovakia vs Soviet Union 1-3

CSSR
Pouzar-Hlinka-Richter
Ebermann-J. Novak-Martinec
Cernik-P. Stastny-M. Stastny
Novy, Augusta
Kajkl-Bubla
Zajicek-Kaberle
Dvorak-Machac
Holecek

USSR
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Kapustin-Zhluktov-Balderis
A. Golikov-V. Golikov-Maltsev
Makarov, Lebedev
Fetisov-Tsygankov
Lutchenko-Bilyaletdinov
Pervuhkin-Vasiliev
Tretyak

The name of the game was this: if Czechoslovakia wins, ties or loses only by 1 goal, they are the world champions. I wonder how many (would have) made a bet on a Soviet win, regarding the previous game, the home-ice advantage for the CSSR and the injuries that the USSR players had suffered from... Furthermore (although not known at the time) Tikhonov says in his book that one their big stars in the tournament Sergei Kapustin had a high fever (Sergei Makarov plays many shifts instead of him on Zhluktov's line), and Valeri Vasiliev was not all that well either.

The Czechoslovaks start lively; miscommunication between Petrov and Fetisov in the Soviet zone leads to Czech pressure, and Pouzar and Hlinka get decent chances. In the next shift, Novak's line also has the upper hand vs Zhluktov's line, although there are no dangerous shots on the net. After that, the play evens out, and the Soviets have their first good chances by Alexander Golikov (twice). Then Bubla dumps Petrov in the neutral zone and the USSR get their first power play opportunity. Late in the PP, Balderis gets to shoot from a close range, and there is another chance a little later. Then, a period of nice action follows, and some chippiness begins to emerge too. After this, Martinec blasts a good shot from the slot, but Tretyak is well-positioned and makes a save. A little later, Alexander Golikov dumps Martinec, and Team CSSR get their first PP; Marian Stastny has one good chance, but other than that, the PK unit of Petrov, Mikhailov, Fetisov and Tsygankov (that would be seen a lot in the game) do a very good work, and Mikhailov manages to even get Bubla penalized before Golikov's penalty is over; first the play continues 4-on-4 and then there's the USSR's short PP, but nothing major happens. Then Bubla lets a good shot go from the point, but Tretyak makes a good save (although he makes it look harder than it needed to be in my opinion!). A little later, Balderis gives one of the most devastating exhibitions of speed ever, as he takes a pass from Zhluktov at his own blue line, splits the defence and scores on Holecek. In the following shift, Martinec steals the puck (like so often especially in this game) and Vladimir Golikov gives him a little hook, and the CSSR gets a PP, but the period ends before anything can really happen.

The Czechs continue their one-man advantage early in the 2nd period, and Marian Stastny has a very good opportunity, but Tretyak saves and nothing overly interesting happens for the rest of the PP. In the other end, Zhluktov gets a shot away after Zajicek's weak pass. After that, the CSSR gets some decent pressure going, and it gets very chippy between Bilyaletdinov and Augusta, and both are sent to the penalty box. 4-on-4, there is Peter Stastny's chance and a great save by Tretyak, and soon, after Pervukhin's fine setup, Vladimir Golikov nearly scores, but Dvorak stops the puck on the goal-line and clears. After the penalized players get back on the ice, it doesn't take much time before another pair is penalized (Zhluktov and Augusta, again); during the penalties, the USSR suffers a big loss, as Maltsev is injured after a shot on goal when being hip-checked by a CSSR forward (Pouzar?); Lebedev is his replacement for the rest of the game. After this, there is another quieter stint in the play, with some could-have-been-dangerous-chances, like Kharlamov's good moves when combining with Mikhailov, and Martinec's dipsy-doodling and a shot that goes slightly wide. Then things get livelier, when there is Peter Stastny's chance, set up by the hero of the previous game Cernik, and a little later Vasiliev in the other end. Alexander Golikov takes another penalty; the aforementioned PMFT unit do an excellent job at stymying Novak's line. Stastny's line does a little better with another penalty-killers, but they have no major opportunities either, and when the teams are again at even strength, Alexander Golikov gets a great chance, when he is allowed to skate right into the offensive zone and the slot and blast a shot, but Holecek makes a big save. Some time later, Martinec gets the Czechs another PP opportunity, again offended by Vladimir Golikov; once again, Petrov's unit does another excellent PK effort, so much so that after great play by Mikhailov and Petrov (Fetisov is involved too), Petrov scores a short-handed goal. Just after the PP, there is some lively action in front the Soviet net, and we see Novy the first time in the game, I think. Then Balderis takes a nice pass from Bilyaletdinov and has a breakaway; just as he is ready to make a move, however, Bubla slashes and breaks his stick on Balderis' shoulder (Balderis still gets a shot away, but Holecek saves). Obviously Bubla gets another penalty; during the early stages of the USSR's PP, Martinec yet again steals the puck (from Pervukhin) and he gets a breakaway, but just like Balderis moments earlier, he is disturbed when ready to makes his move, as the diving Vasiliev makes him lose his balance and he collides with Tretyak and they both crash into the net. But did the puck go in as well? Now, I agree on the decision to not call it a goal, but I think the color commentator Tom Watt is wrong to declare that the puck never went over the line; the first time we see the puck it is not behind the goal-line, but it could have been before it became visible. Anyway, the 2nd period ends soon after this.

At the start of the 3rd period, the Soviet PP continues and there are some decent chances, like Petrov's shot and the aftermath. A few minutes later, Kharlamov makes a very good play, as he sets up Mikhailov with only one arm free, but Mikhailov's shot is blocked by Kaberle. All in all, the first few minutes or so are somewhat uneventful, but that changes when a bit luckily the Golikov brothers get a 2-on-1 break; Alexander makes a nice move, passes to his brother and Vladimir scores. It is 3-0, and now the Czechs would have to score at least 2 goals to win the world championship. In the next shift, Martinec makes a good play and sends Novak and Augusta on a 2-on-1; Augusta gets a weak shot away and is tripped by Tsygankov; the CSSR's PP follows. Petrov's unit does another terrific job on the PK, but when both teams change the players, things eventually start to happen; Novy's quick shot from a sharp angle gives Hlinka a juicy rebound in front and he scores, and the game is a true thriller again.
After the 10-minute switcharoo, Hlinka again has a good chance, when he gets his own rebound and shoots, but Tretyak saves. Some lively action follows, with the best chance maybe by Peter Stastny, set up by his brother, with Fetisov looking quite sluggish on the play. After that, there is some pressure by the USSR, and they do a good job at protecting their lead. During the last few minutes, the Czechs dominate the play somewhat, but are mostly forced into the corners and so forth. Then suddenly Kapustin steals the puck for Balderis, who, for once, reacts and plays a little too slowly and doesn't get the puck back to Kapustin, so they lose a potentially great opportunity. During the last minute, the best chance is by the USSR, if by accident; Holecek mishandles the puck, and Alexander Golikov nearly puts it in. During the final moments, Petrov's unit does a great job at stymying the CSSR players.

Viktor Tikhonov later said that this victory was his happiest moment as a coach ever, and it is easy to understand why; he probably wouldn't have been allowed to continue if the team had lost the gold medal, or at least Lake Placid would have been the final nail in his coffin.
As for Czecholslovakia, this basically marked the end of an era; ie. when they could play vs the USSR on even level and regularly beat them. Just a year later at the 1979 WHC, the final scores in the USSR-CSSR games were 11-1 and 6-1, and it didn't get much better for the Czechoslovaks in the 1980s (the defections of some young players didn't help either, most notably Peter Stastny), basically the one exception being the 1985 WHC as far as big tournaments go.
However, this game was a great final act for the most intensive phase of the rivalry; sure it was chippy and meanish like the first game, but it had a better flow, some truly great goals and scoring chances and brilliant goaltending throughout.

The Stars on the Soviet team... Well, it was a team effort, but I have to mention the top unit, and although not wanting to leave Kharlamov out, the penaly-killing and defensive play of Petrov, Mikhailov, Fetisov and Tsygankov. For Petrov, overall this was probably the worst WHC tournament ever, but in this game he might have been the best player on the ice. Then there was Helmut Balderis, of course, a great goal and other good plays, and I guess I should for once mention his linemate Viktor Zhluktov (definitely had a good match) too. Alexander & Vladimir Golikov played an excellent, if a little chippy, game too. Vladislav Tretyak was brilliant in the nets.

From Czechoslovakia, I would choose the goal-scorer Ivan Hlinka (strong game overall) and Vladimir Martinec (numerous puck-steals, dangerous throughout), and the Stastnys, especially Peter, played very well. Jiri Bubla was certainly a some kind of figure in the match, but not always in a positive sense (penalties). Milan Novy played only about a half of the game, but he & his shooting played an important role in the lone CSSR goal. Jiri Holecek didn't play the best game of his career, but could hardly be blamed for the goals.

Epilogue

1985 World Championships (Czechoslovakia)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 5-1

USSR
Krutov-Larionov-Makarov
Svetlov-Gimaev-Skvortsov
Khomutov-Bykov-M. Vasiliev
Varnakov-Tyumenev-Drozdetsky
Fetisov-Kasatonov
Pervukhin-Bilyaletdinov
Gusarov-Starikov
Myshkin

CSSR
Sejba-Pasek-Lala
Pivonka-Kames-Valek
Richter-Ruzicka-Hrdina
Liba-Rusnak-Lukac
Uvira-Benak
Horava-Kadlec
Musil-Stavjana
Sindel

(Unfortunately, the picture quality in the video is not great, and sometimes it is hard to see who is doing what…)

Like said, from the 1979 on, the so called rivalry between the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia was quite one-sided, and also with the emergence of the Green Unit in the early 1980s, the Soviets reigned supreme at the World Championships. There was maybe some hope for some kind of rekindling at the 1984 Winter Olympics, where the undefeated Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia met in the final game of the tournament. The Soviets won fairly easily, however. Later at the 1984 Canada Cup, the Czechs played an absolutely poor tournament, and they lost all of their games with the exception of the draw vs West Germany. With hindsight, though, their clear main goal was the World Championship held in Prague in the spring of 1985. There were some clouds in the Soviet camp too; Vladislav Tretyak had ended his career at a fairly young age, but Vladimir Myshkin had played very well at the 1984 Canada Cup, and so there was no reason to expect that the Soviets would not continue their supremacy at the 1985 WHC too.

The first game starts with a fairly even play and the action going back and forth, but there is no what you could call a great scoring chance during the first few minutes. Then Fetisov is checked near his own blue line by Ruzicka, and Hrdina gets a great opportunity in front of the net, but Myshkin makes an excellent save on his shot. A little later on, Pasek’s line provides good action around the Soviet net. The next really good chance is by the CSSR too, when Uvira makes a great pass to Pivonka, who blasts a shot that goes a little wide (possibly Myshkin got a piece of it). Soon after that the Soviets also have a dangerous-looking play in front of the CSSR's net, and there is a shot by Svetlov after a nice setup by Skvortsov. Then also KLM get their first good chance in the game, as after Krutov’s rush, Larionov tests Sindel with a shot but the netminder handles it. Right after that, though, Pasek’s line puts on a pressure in the other end, and Lala gets a good shot away on Myshkin. In the next shift, Gimaev has a decent chance, but his shot is blocked by Sindel. The pressure in the Czech zone continues for a bit, though. Then Khomutov takes the first penalty in the game; the Soviets show good penalty-killing (Krutov & Makarov etc), so the CSSR doesn’t get the power play going. Later on, Svetlov and Skvortsov make another good play, and the latter has a near-chance in front, but fails to get a good shot on goal. Then there is the first goal in the game; after Krutov’s sloppy pass in his own zone, the Czechs start to press and soon Pasek finds Lala with a brilliant pass and Lala scores with a snappy wrist shot from the left side. Right at the beginning of the next shift, Bykov has a decent chance, but Sindel saves. Shortly after, the first period ends.

Early in the 2nd period, Krutov has a pretty good chance , but Sindel handles his backhand shot from the slot. Then Hrdina gets penalized, and the Green Unit goes to work on the PP; however, very soon Larionov and Musil also take penalties, and the play continues 4-on-3. The Soviets get a good pattern play going, and Krutov feeds Makarov in front of the net, and the latter scores the equalizer. It doesn’t take much time for the Soviets to go ahead, as during the following 4-on-4 play, the CSSR’s defenceman Benak makes a terrible pass near his own net, and Bykov (with the help from Khomutov) takes advantage and scores easily. It doesn’t look so good for the Czechoslovaks anymore, especially as the Soviets have begun to press now more; e.g. the Green Unit, not so great in the first period, puts on a good pressure inside Team CSSR’s zone, and then Bykov and Khomutov get a 2-on-1 counter-attack, when Bykov steals the puck from Horava. Their finishing is less than stellar on the play, though (decent work also by Kadlec, despite his stumbling). No worries, though, since shortly after, Bykov beats Sindel with a shot from the right circle (Svetlov might have deflected it), and it is 3 to 1. The Soviets continue to press after the goal, and now look clearly the better team. Drozdetsky gets the next penalty, and the Czechs have a PP. It is pretty much the same story as during the previous one, as Krutov, Makarov and Fetisov and Kasatonov put on a PK exhibition, but then Ruzicka takes the puck from Fetisov and nearly gets a good chance but fails to let a decent shot go (nice defending by Kasatonov). Shortly after that, though, Krutov has a chance in the other end after a long Fetisov pass, but his backhander provides no huge problems for Sindel. There is still one good shot by the CSSR, but that is it for that PP. Overall, the Soviets continue to press. Then Pasek gets a decent opportunity, although it is helped by his fairly heavy hooking on Larionov, but Myshkin makes the save, and right after that, Krutov and Makarov get a 2-on-1 attack, and the latter makes it 4-1 for the Soviets. Near at the end of the period, Drozdetsky takes another penalty; unfortunately for the CSSR, Krutov and Makarov and the rest continue their excellent penalty-killing (the Czechs’ occasionally sloppy passing doesn't help either), and the most dangerous chance is actually by Krutov, when Makarov intercepts Hrdina’s (I think) pass and sends him on a breakaway of sorts. A good save by Sindel, though, and then the period is soon over.

Almost right at the beginning of the 3rd period, the Soviets have a good opportunity to extend their lead even further, when Sindel’s pass off the boards is taken by Makarov, who then gets a backhander away. Not too long after that, Tyumenev’s line applies pressure in the Czech zone and the centerman himself scores the 5-1 goal after a setup by Varnakov. Understandably, as there is no question about the winner anymore, the 3rd period lacks true excitement. There are still some highlights worth to mention, though; for example, a Czech player (Ruzicka? Richter? I’ve no idea who) makes a great long pass to the breaking Hrdina, who gets to face Myshkin 1-on-1, but the goalie prevails, and then also Khomutov and Vasiliev have a chance in the other end, but their finishing drags a bit. Then, after a good play by Bykov, Kasatonov lets a nice shot go from a prime scoring area, but Sindel still shows some good goaltending. Bilyaletdinov takes a penalty for the USSR, although to me it looked more like it was Drozdetsky (again) offending Liba. On the penalty kill, the Green Unit (minus Larionov) and later the rest do another good job, but there is one near-chance; unfortunately, Lala’s one-timer fails and the shot goes wide. A little later, both Musil and Tyumenev are penalized. During the 4-on-4 play, Stavjana makes a nice hip-check on a Soviet player (Svetlov?), but that’s about it for the highlights, and that basically concerns the whole game.

This was a fairly typical USSR-CSSR game for the 1980s; the Czechs could keep the game competitive for one period and a bit, and then the Soviets just started to dominate with their edge in skills and conditioning. I guess it was often something like that in the 1970s too, except that the games were usually more competitive than this, and sometimes it was even the CSSR who finished the match stronger. However, what was also typical for the (1980s) Czechoslovakia, they could often play at least one good game vs the USSR per tournament, like the ties at the 1981 and 1983 WHCs indicate (I’m not counting the 0-0 tie in the medal round at the 1982 WHC, since at least that one was quite obviously a fixed game), and in this tournament, the system (=the teams took no points with them for the final round) allowed them to concentrate on winning the right games. Viktor Tikhonov says in his book that he especially “feared” the second game vs the Czechs.

There were quite a few stars for the Soviets; KLM & Fetisov and Kasatonov played a very good game, at even strength and on the penalty kill, although they started somewhat slowly; especially Sergei Makarov was brilliant with his two goals and other good plays. There was some sloppiness from e.g. Krutov and Fetisov, though. Vyacheslav Bykov deserves a mention, since he also scored two and did some good playmaking. Sergei Svetlov also caught my eye a few times, but maybe it is also because I’ve always thought highly of his skills. Vladimir Myshkin was a rock in the nets, no pining for Tretyak at this point!

For the Czechs, I guess you have to mention the Sejba-Pasek-Lala line, since they played mostly vs KLM and even managed to score a beautiful goal against them. From the 2nd period on, though, they did not get much done. I have a hard time naming other players, but maybe Hrdina and the whole Ruzicka line looked at least occasionally dangerous. Jaromir Sindel was not really the one to blame, but obviously he was not great either.

Czechoslovakia vs Soviet Union 2-1

CSSR
Sejba-Pasek-Lala
Pivonka-Kames-Valek
Richter-Ruzicka-Hrdina
Liba-Rusnak-(Lukac)
Uvira-Benak
Horava-Kadlec
Musil-Stavjana
Kralik

USSR
Krutov-Larionov-Makarov
Svetlov-Gimaev-Skvortsov
Khomutov-Bykov-M. Vasiliev
Varnakov-Tyumenev-Drozdetsky
Fetisov-Kasatonov
Pervukhin-Bilyaletdinov
Gusarov-Starikov
Myshkin

No changes in the Soviet lineup, I think. Czechoslovakia has now Jiri Kralik in goal. I fail to spot Vincent Lukac, but at least a couple of sources say that he is there?

The game starts with a little pressure by the Soviets’ top unit. The first good opportunity is also by the USSR; Tyumenev makes an excellent pass from the corner to Varnakov, who gets to test Kralik, but the goalie makes a good save. Then the play goes back and forth for a while, without major chances. Suddenly though, after pressure and a shot by the USSR (Starikov?), the Czechs recover the puck and start a counter-attack; defenceman Uvira passes to Ruzicka, who scores with a shot from the top of the left circle past the stumbling (and totally out of position) Myshkin. What was the goalie doing so far away from his net anyway? My guess is that Myshkin thought that Uvira might split the defence and so he went to challenge him, but got totally burned. Poor judgement and goaltending in any case.
Slightly after the goal, the CSSR nearly gets another good chance, when Fetisov plays a bit softly behind the net and Rusnak passes the puck out in front, but the pass misses everyone. A little later, though, Liba makes a good play and sets up Rusnak, who tries to jam the puck past Myshkin, but doesn’t quite succeed. Then Bykov and Khomutov combine on an attack and the latter shoots, but Kralik saves, and soon Ruzicka gets a shot away in the other end. Right after that, Fetisov makes a poor play in front of the net and Ruzicka takes the puck and CSSR has a good chance, but Myshkin makes a good save. Czechoslovakia has started to pressure now and do good forechecking.
Then the Czechs get a counter-attack, as Starikov makes a weak pass and gets dumped by Pasek in the CSSR’s zone; Sejba rushes up, gets a shot away and another, and Pasek buries in the rebound. Again Myshkin didn’t play that very well, although the defence/back-checkers don’t deserve much credit either. Czechoslovakia has now a 2-0 lead and the edge in play as well. After the goal, Kames’ line puts on a little pressure in the Soviet zone. Then near at the end of the period, the Soviets are mostly pressing and the Czechs defending, often quite physically and bordeline legally.

The 2nd period starts with a good chance by the USSR, as, faced with fore-checking pressure by Krutov, Benak makes a bad pass and Makarov sets up Larionov in front of the net; Kralik makes a good save on Larionov’s shot. KLM continue to press and the Czechs have to ice the puck.
In their next shift, the Green Unit again pressures, but their game is still a bit ‘off’, as this Fetisov pass indicates, and they lose the momentum. Then Bykov’s line also applies some pressure, and Khomutov gets a shot on the net, but it provides no problems for Kralik. In the other end, Kames’ line gets a chance, when Starikov makes a weak play near his net, and Valek lets a backhander go. There is good pressure shortly after that too, as Hrdina makes a good play and gets a shot on goal.
Then we have the first penalty in the game, a rare occurrence here, when the Czechs have six players on the ice; on the PP, the Green Unit get a good pattern play going, and Krutov sets up Kasatonov, who shoots a bit wide. Slightly later, there is also a bad pass by Krutov, and the USSR doesn’t get any good chances after that, and after the PP, the CSSR has good pressure in the Soviet zone. Then Drozdetsky takes a good long shot, but Kralik gets enough of his leg/pad in the way for the shot to miss the net. Bykov has a breakaway (can only be seen on replay I think) but is pulled down before he can shoot, and there is no penalty; it is clear that the referee Kompalla is letting a lot of things go, and often the Soviets are not looking very happy with the refereeing.

The 3rd period starts with the Green Unit pressuring, but there are no great chances. The game continues with a similar type of pattern for a while, but then Lala steals the puck from Makarov and gets it to Pasek, who after a good move hits the post. Not quite 3 to 0 then, and it is the Soviets who finally get on the scoreboard; Makarov, double-shifting on Bykov’s line, skates around Kadlec, passes the puck out in front (it is overskated by the back-checking Liba), and Khomutov picks it up and jams a backhander past Kralik. The Soviets are back in the game. Shortly after the goal, the Green Unit sets up a good attack, but Fetisov’s shot is blocked by the diving Uvira, and the CSSR get a counter-attack, and Lala blasts a shot from the right circle, saved by Myshkin. Shortly later, Krutov makes another bad pass, and Pivonka gets a very good chance, but Myshkin shows now some good goaltending in the game too, a nice leg save. Then in the other end, after a blocked shot by Skvortsov, Svetlov is alone in front of the net, but he can’t put the puck past Kralik. After that, there is a period of the Soviets ‘dominating’ but it is fairly ineffective. For example, Fetisov makes a good rush, but his pass fails to click, and not too long after that, Ruzicka’s line have some good action around the Soviet net. Then Gusarov’s bad pass gives Liba and Rusnak a near-chance in front, but the latter never gets a shot away, since Starikov cross-checks him.
During the last couple of minutes, the Soviets try to get the tying goal with the Green Unit (who else?); there is e.g. a dangerous-looking rush and a shot by Makarov, but no absolute mega-chances, even though they even pull the goalie and get an extra-attacker (Varnakov) during the final moments. (There is also a slight melee and Krutov and Liba are penalized.) And so the Czechoslovaks have beaten the Soviets for the first time in a big international tournament since the first-round game at the 1978 World Championships.
(Czechoslovakia went on to win the world championship, beating a strong Canada (who also defeated the Soviets in the final round) in the gold medal game.)

The stars for Team CSSR in this game were at least Dusan Pasek’s line, especially the goal-scorer Pasek, and Jiri Lala (who also occasionally played on the Rusnak line for Vincent Lukac), as they again mostly faced KLM and did well against them. The other players that mostly made a good impression were e.g. Jiri Kralik (obviously), Vladimir Ruzicka (the other goal, good plays), Igor Liba (made one crucial error, but generally good passing and defensive play from him) and Eduard Uvira (had a hand on Ruzicka’s goal, plus good defence).

The USSR then; not too many players shined, but one has to mention Andrei Khomutov, since he not only scored the only goal for the Soviets, but also made some other good plays. I also liked Alexei Kasatonov’s play, at least when compared to his defence partner Vyacheslav Fetisov. And that leads us to the Soviet disappointments in the game; I guess this match is one of the rare examples of the Green Unit not playing well. Especially the aforementioned Fetisov and Vladimir Krutov played a poor game. Vladimir Myshkin was terrible in the first period, but played pretty well the rest of the game. The damage was already done, however. As a team, the Soviets were simply inefficient.

 

[MeHateHe]

I'm shocked at the quality of some of this footage.

 

[Batis]

Great stuff. Thank you for doing these breakdowns.

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 4-2

USSR
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Maltsev
Bodunov-Anisin-Volchkov
Martinyuk
Gusev-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Paladiev
Lutchenko-Tsygankov
Tretyak

CSSR
Jiri Holik-Jaroslav Holik-Klapac
Palecek-Nedomansky-Kochta
B. Stastny-Farda-Martinec
J. Novak
Pospisil-Machac
Vohralik-Kuzela
Horesovsky-Bubla
Holecek

Similarly to the clip from the first game, this video lasts about 26 minutes, and it starts from the 2nd period. After the first, the score is 2 to 1 for the USSR; the goal-scorers were Yakushev and Mikhailov for the Soviets, and Jiri Holik for the Czechoslovaks.

Right at the start of the video, there is a good chance by Anisin, who receives a good pass by Bodunov, but Holecek makes a glove save, but the rebound is there and Lutchenko also lets a shot go. Not too long after that, Jaroslav and Jiri Holik combine for an attack in the other end, and the latter tests Tretyak with a wrist shot. The next near-chance is when the USSR’s top line are on a counter-attack , but Gusev can’t quite get a good shot away due to good back-checking job by Martinec, and a little later Petrov also takes a shot from the point, but it is partly blocked and goes wide. The top unit stays on the ice, and the next chance is by Mikhailov after a brilliant work by Kharlamov on the boards, but Holecek makes a good save; Jiri Holik also gets a penalty on the play. Petrov’s line, again playing huge minutes, works on the PP, and after good pressure, Kharlamov starts an awesome rush from his zone, dipsy-doodles his way through the CSSR’s defensive players, passes the puck to Mikhailov, who scores from the side of the net. Terrific goal, and it’s 3-1.

Then in the video, we move to the start of the 3rd period. Early on, the action goes back and forth without major chances. That all changes when Lyapkin makes a terrible play near his own goal, as he tries to pass to his teammate (Maltsev, I think), but Nedomansky, skating in between them, takes the pass and scores with a quick wrister on the far side; Tretyak didn’t stand a chance. The CSSR has narrowed it to 3-2. After that, the Czechs have also a good attack, and Novak gets a shot away.
Then into the second half of the 3rd period; the Soviets are on a PP, and Kharlamov scores from the side of the net, assisted by Gusev (how they awarded that to Petrov I’ll never know). Some time later, Bodunov gets an excellent chance after weak play by Kuzela at his own blue line, but Holecek makes an excellent save. The Soviets also get a PP opportunity, as Kuzela slashed at the breaking Bodunov; the Soviets’ top unit have good chances and shots from the slot, but Holecek deals with them, and the USSR can’t extend their lead. After that, there is still at least one good chance by Martinyuk, but that’s about it for this game.

Again, it’s hard to name any players based on the limited amount of footage, but obviously the USSR’s top unit had a terrific game, scoring 75 % of the team’s four goals. It is clear that Mikhailov and Petrov enjoyed playing together again with Kharlamov – and vice versa – after the breakup in the previous season (and at the start of this season).

Fortunately the full game is also available on youtube.

 

[Overrated]

Cool thread. Most of my Firsov clips from my Firsov thread come from these games

1969 WC CSSR 4:3 USSSR

1971 WC CSSR 5:2 SSSR

By far the most impressive Soviet player in those two games

 

[DN28]

That was a great read and a great 'tour' to watch those highlights. Thank you for doing all this work @VMBM !

At the start of the second period, Czechoslovakia have changed their blue jerseys to white. What was the mix-up?

I'd guess CSSR team was forced to switch up the jerseys due to TV media pressure (?). People were watching these games on black & white televisions and they could hardly tell which team to cheer for.

Also according to some sources, Czechoslovak and Soviet teams always tried to wear home (i.e. coloured) jerseys. Or at least Czechoslovaks tried to push the Soviets to dress up the white jerseys (and not "their" red uniforms) as a sort of mind game to throw the "Reds" off before the start.

(...)

A little sidenote on the topic of more old games being available now.. that "Zlínský Beran" channel has uploaded even the final CSSR league' play-off game from 1986 and 1989 (where you get to see pre-NHL Hašek winning the title). Could be of interest to someone since the footage from domestic league games from the communist era are quite scarce:

 

[VMBM]

Now that I’ve watched more games from the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, some random thoughts on some players :

Vaclav Nedomansky
It’s not that I have seriously underrated him before (I think I had him in the top 10 on my list for the Non-NHL Europeans project), but the eye test just confirms what a terrific player he was; big, strong, skilled, fast, and certainly not indifferent; in 1969-74, he was nearly always among the best players (both sides) in these games.

Josef Cerny
He has looked mostly very good and skilled, quite simply one of the top CSSR performers. Maybe was born a bit too early (1939) to really enjoy a wider recognition, and too bad he just missed out on winning that world championship in 1972. IIRC, I had him on my Non-NHL Europeans list somewhere, though.

Alexander Maltsev was a brilliant performer vs the CSSR in 1969-74!
Maltsev played mostly excellently in these games; so much for the reputation that he didn’t ‘show up’ vs the better opposition. Okay, post 1974, he wasn’t usually as big a factor, but he often had to adjust to playing with different linemates on the 2nd or the 3rd line.

Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
They didn't quite offer similar kind of flawless super performances game in, game out like their 1980s counterpart KLM/Green Unit, but when they were 'on', it was a thing of beauty to watch (e.g. 1971 & 1973 WHCs). Maybe because of that I somehow like them more; they were more 'human'; The Green Unit was almost too good for its own good (=robots )!

And don't get me started on Suchy, Martinec, Hlinka...

Fortunately the full game is also available on youtube.

Right, great. I wrote a more complete review on that game.

BTW, can anyone find the 1976 Olympic final game USSR-CSSR on YouTube? It has been there in the past, but now I can only find the USSR's game vs Poland and the highlights (or something) from the game vs USA...
I can do the breakdown even without a YT video (I have the game), but it would be nice to do it also with links...

 

[Batis]

BTW, can anyone find the 1976 Olympic final game USSR-CSSR on YouTube? It has been there in the past, but now I can only find the USSR's game vs Poland and the highlights (or something) from the game vs USA...
I can do the breakdown even without a YT video (I have the game), but it would be nice to do it also with links...

 

[Overrated]

Now that I’ve watched more games from the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, some random thoughts on some players :

Vaclav Nedomansky
It’s not that I have seriously underrated him before (I think I had him in the top 10 on my list for the Non-NHL Europeans project), but the eye test just confirms what a terrific player he was; big, strong, skilled, fast, and certainly not indifferent; in 1969-74, he was nearly always among the best players (both sides) in these games.

Josef Cerny
He has looked mostly very good and skilled, quite simply one of the top CSSR performers. Maybe was born a bit too early (1939) to really enjoy a wider recognition, and too bad he just missed out on winning that world championship in 1972. IIRC, I had him on my Non-NHL Europeans list somewhere, though.

Alexander Maltsev was a brilliant performer vs the CSSR in 1969-74!
Maltsev played mostly excellently in these games; so much for the reputation that he didn’t ‘show up’ vs the better opposition. Okay, post 1974, he wasn’t usually as big a factor, but he often had to adjust to playing with different linemates on the 2nd or the 3rd line.

Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
They didn't quite offer similar kind of flawless super performances game in, game out like their 1980s counterpart KLM/Green Unit, but when they were 'on', it was a thing of beauty to watch (e.g. 1971 & 1973 WHCs). Maybe because of that I somehow like them more; they were more 'human'; The Green Unit was almost too good for its own good (=robots )!

And don't get me started on Suchy, Martinec, Hlinka...



Right, great. I wrote a more complete review on that game.

BTW, can anyone find the 1976 Olympic final game USSR-CSSR on YouTube? It has been there in the past, but now I can only find the USSR's game vs Poland and the highlights (or something) from the game vs USA...
I can do the breakdown even without a YT video (I have the game), but it would be nice to do it also with links...

I don't even think that Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov were necessarily worse than Makarov-Larionov-Krutov. They just didn't have equally skilled defensemen playing with them. Fetisov and Kasatonov made the green unit what it became without them they would be much less impressive than they were in my opinion.

 

[VMBM]

Thanks (again). I'm just useless as a researcher (I mean the technical side of it), but I put the blame on the search engines as well!

I don't even think that Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov were necessarily worse than Makarov-Larionov-Krutov. They just didn't have equally skilled defensemen playing with them. Fetisov and Kasatonov made the green unit what it became without them they would be much less impressive than they were in my opinion.

True also, although I don't know about "much less impressive". Anyway, the forward-defenseman cooperation is often the thing that doesn't quite work when watching Team USSR games from the 1970s (the long outlet passes go astray and so forth). I've never liked Alexander Gusev, for example, and he was often the other dman behind KPM.

 

[Overrated]

True also, although I don't know about "much less impressive". Anyway, the forward-defenseman cooperation is often the thing that doesn't quite work when watching Team USSR games from the 1970s (the long outlet passes go astray and so forth). I've never liked Alexander Gusev, for example, and he was often the other dman behind KPM.

Many of the CSSR USSR videos on the net aren't posted with their original commentary. Instead they use Zaruba (who is the famous post 1990 Czech commentator) with one one of the old CSSR players who played in the match (almost always Holecek) and they talk about all sorts of behind the scene stuff and also give their opinion on a lot of the players. It never seemed like the 1970s Soviet defense was getting praised. Holecek for example said Lutchenko was made fun of by the entire CSSR squad and was considered to be a player who had no idea what he was doing.

 

[VMBM]

The game from the 1975 WHC plus the 1976 Olympics game added. I hope to finish the rest of the breakdowns by the end of the next week (for those 2-3 people that are interested ).

 

[DN28]

The game from the 1975 WHC plus the 1976 Olympics game added. I hope to finish the rest of the breakdowns by the end of the next week (for those 2-3 people that are interested ).

Great work again. Keep it coming!

1976 Winter Olympics (Austria)

Soviet Union vs Czechoslovakia 4-3

USSR
Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov
Yakushev-Shadrin-Shalimov
Kapustin-Zhluktov-Maltsev
Gusev-Vasiliev
Lyapkin-Lutchenko
Babinov-Tsygankov
Tretyak

CSSR
Augusta-Novy-E. Novak
Jiri Holik-Hlinka-Ebermann
B. Stastny-J. Novak-Martinec
Pospisil-Machac
Kajkl-Bubla
Dvorak-Chalupa
Holecek

Czechoslovakia needed to win this game to get the gold medal, since due to František Pospíšil's doping case (codeine) their 7-1 victory over Poland turned into a 1-0 loss, and well, the USSR had much better goal differential too, so the situation would have been like that anyway. I think many of the Czechoslovak players were also suffering from flu (Pospisil said he used medicine which had codeine for that reason), so it was not the greatest starting point for this game.

This information appears from time to time but I don't think anyone has yet explained a little bit what happened. The whole CSSR team (with just one or two exceptions) was infected by the flu and players took the codeine on team doctor's recommendation to relieve. Codeine was not on LIHG's official list of banned substances but the Olympic Comittee considered it a doping despite the fact that the Comittee should have followed the LIHG's guidelines in this respect (at least according to the Czechoslovak press of the time...).

The International Olympic Comittee's decision to mark Pospíšil (of all the players!) and none other as a PED user and a cheater created quite a scandal at the time. Obviously the Czech press was biased and protected Pospíšil, nonetheless the LIHG's president himself defended Pospíšil and wrote a public letter to chairman/president of the Comittee. The push against the Comittee came from various national media outlets as well.

As a result, the Comittee pulled back to some degree. CSRR-Poland game remained disqualified and the Czechs technically registered a loss but they allowed Pospíšil (a "PED user" in their eyes) to keep playing the tournament.

Hostility between the Czechs and Comittee only grew when they disaproved to call up another goalie after Jiří Crha's serious knee injury (out for the rest of the season) and Holeček's illness. Holeček's sight had also been damaged thanks to a shot to his eye from one of the initial games. After Crha's injury, Holeček had to play while affected by the flu. He started this game, the final against the USSR, out of sheer desperation. Crazy to think about that the coaches and players didn't even know 24 hours before the game whether one of the skaters was going to have to actually start in the nets (would have been Milan Nový by the way..).

In the latter half of the period, the CSSR strikes first; Pospisil gives the puck to the breaking Eduard Novak, who scores with a long shot between the Soviet defenders. Maybe Tretyak should have taken it, but perhaps he didn't see the shot well enough or it changed direction slightly. The next notable play is Holik's terrific rush, moves and a pass, but then Stastny doesn't get a good shot on goal.

I'm fairly certain it was actually Jaroslav Pouzar (not Šťastný) who missed the almost empty net and thus wasted the opportunity handed to him on the silver platter by Holík's great rush. Correct me if I'm wrong here but Czechs could have gone 4:2 at that moment...

If they had won, that would have been one of the greatest international hockey stories..

Pouzar played the third period because Jiří Novák was not able to continue playing at that point. Shooting was sadly not one of Pouzar's strength..

Now that I’ve watched more games from the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, some random thoughts on some players :

(...)

Josef Cerny
He has looked mostly very good and skilled, quite simply one of the top CSSR performers. Maybe was born a bit too early (1939) to really enjoy a wider recognition, and too bad he just missed out on winning that world championship in 1972. IIRC, I had him on my Non-NHL Europeans list somewhere, though.

Glad someone finally mentioned Josef Černý. A great, underrated player. A jack-of-all-trades kind of player. Very good in shooting, passing, defending. Strong durable player despite a smaller stature - just a complete player who didn't totally excel in only one aspect above the rest. A captain and popular teammate. Played on a high level for very long time. Started as a teenager in the National team in 1959 and was getting Golden stick votes up to 1974. Černý was legitimately considered one of the best Czechoslovak players alongside Suchý, Pospíšil or Nedomanský for a brief period of two seasons (1970, 1971) - when he was around 30 y/o.

After dissatisfaction or disillusionment with the 1972 Olympics and subsequent charges brought up on him (= then captain) or on the team of "selling out" to Soviets, he decided to quit right before the 1972 WHC where the Czechs famously won in front of the home crowd..

Kind of led to losing a proper recognition he would have otherwise had. Also does not get spoken about as much in, say, our hockey history circles thanks to the tough competition on LW in his time (Firsov, Alexandrov, Holík, Kharlamov, Maiorov even..). Still, Černý managed to snap one WHC all-star LW nod in 1964. In this year, he also won the league scoring and the title and in all likelyhood would have won some sort of a "retro Golden stick" for that season.

 

[Overrated]

Do you guys think Suchy is underrated? I have not seem many of his games but he has a huge reputation in Czechia.

 

[VMBM]

Great work again. Keep it coming!

Thank you. U2 (the background stories etc)

I'm fairly certain it was actually Jaroslav Pouzar (not Šťastný) who missed the almost empty net and thus wasted the opportunity handed to him on the silver platter by Holík's great rush. Correct me if I'm wrong here but Czechs could have gone 4:2 at that moment...

I guess you're right; at the start of that shift, there is Stastny (#12) with Holik and Martinec, but by the time of Holik's rush, it's Pouzar (#23) on the ice. I also did not have Pouzar in the CSSR lineup, so that is corrected too.

 

[DN28]

Do you guys think Suchy is underrated? I have not seem many of his games but he has a huge reputation in Czechia.

Yes, i think he is fairly recognized/respected in his home country but on this forum? I personally rank him higher. Had him at around #120 in the most recent HOH project.

 

[DN28]

Good job adding another game reviews, @VMBM.

Just in case you missed it (or anyone else), there is now also one CSSR-USSR game from the 1976 WHC (the first one).

 

[VMBM]

The reviews finished. Some more thoughts, lists, whatnot...

- Favourite games, Top 6:
1. 1978 WHC, game 2
2. 1977 WHC, game 2
3. 1969 WHC, game2
4. 1976 WHC, game 1
5. The 1968 Olympics/WHC game
6. 1971 WHC, game 1
(a few of the videos do not have full games, though, so not set in stone)

- I would love to know more about Eduard Novak & Milan Kajkl (both played many years on the ntl team, but have somehow remained rather nameless)
Would I be wrong to call Novak (sorry for the use of the hated term) a pure goal-scorer? He's often standing there in the left circle and ready to release his one-timer. Related to that, my appreciation for Milan Novy's playmaking has grown, as he was often the one who fed Novak.
I have a harder time to define Kajkl, but based on his statistics, he was more of a defensive defenceman... However, he looked fairly mobile and I think I saw some good offensive plays from his also.

-Just like Maltsev, Alexander Yakushev has looked better than his stats indicate
I still think there were more deserving players for the HHOF, but based on the available games, he was a good/very good performer against Czechoslovakia too.

-Sergei Kapustin
Has always been one of my favourites, and gladly he has looked brilliant in the games, better than his linemate Balderis in my opinion (the sample size is fairly small of course). After a little break (was injured around 1980), had another excellent stint on Team USSR in 1981-82/3 too. Took too many bad penalties, though.

-Jiri Novak
Looked like a 'little runt', but his surprisingly tenacious forechecking and grinding on the boards have caught my eye. Seemed like a good passer too.

- Alexander Golikov
Both Golikovs actually have looked really good in the games, but Alexander especially has surprised me with his excellent playing; dangerous 1-on-1 too, which I hadn't really noticed previously.

-Vladimir Dzurilla, Vladislav Tretyak and Jiri Holecek
Such great goaltending in these games! And while I still think that Tretyak is slightly overrated vis-à-vis Holecek and maybe Dzurilla too, I can't really claim that his reputation in both Europe and North America is not deserved.

Last but not least...
Anatoli Firsov, Alexander Maltsev, Boris Mikhailov, Vladimir Martinec and Jiri Holecek into the Hockey Hall of Fame NOW!!! (of course there are others, but those are the most immediate).

 

[Overrated]

The reviews finished. Some more thoughts, lists, whatnot...

- Favourite games, Top 6:
1. 1978 WHC, game 2
2. 1977 WHC, game 2
3. 1969 WHC, game2
4. 1976 WHC, game 1
5. The 1968 Olympics/WHC game
6. 1971 WHC, game 1
(a few of the videos do not have full games, though, so not set in stone)

- I would love to know more about Eduard Novak & Milan Kajkl (both played many years on the ntl team, but have somehow remained rather nameless)
Would I be wrong to call Novak (sorry for the use of the hated term) a pure goal-scorer? He's often standing there in the left circle and ready to release his one-timer. Related to that, my appreciation for Milan Novy's playmaking has grown, as he was often the one who fed Novak.
I have a harder time to define Kajkl, but based on his statistics, he was more of a defensive defenceman... However, he looked fairly mobile and I think I saw some good offensive plays from his also.

-Just like Maltsev, Alexander Yakushev has looked better than his stats indicate
I still think there were more deserving players for the HHOF, but based on the available games, he was a good/very good performer against Czechoslovakia too.

-Sergei Kapustin
Has always been one of my favourites, and gladly he has looked brilliant in the games, better than his linemate Balderis in my opinion (the sample size is fairly small of course). After a little break (was injured around 1980), had another excellent stint on Team USSR in 1981-82/3 too. Took too many bad penalties, though.

-Jiri Novak
Looked like a 'little runt', but his surprisingly tenacious forechecking and grinding on the boards have caught my eye. Seemed like a good passer too.

- Alexander Golikov
Both Golikovs actually have looked really good in the games, but Alexander especially has surprised me with his excellent playing; dangerous 1-on-1 too, which I hadn't really noticed previously.

-Vladimir Dzurilla, Vladislav Tretyak and Jiri Holecek
Such great goaltending in these games! And while I still think that Tretyak is slightly overrated vis-à-vis Holecek and maybe Dzurilla too, I can't really claim that his reputation in both Europe and North America is not deserved.

Last but not least...
Alexander Maltsev, Boris Mikhailov, Vladimir Martinec and Jiri Holecek into the Hockey Hall of Fame NOW!!! (of course there are others, but those are the most immediate).

Not sure about WC (someone has posted information to the contrary) but when you look at all the games against CSSR Yakushev is doing very well. Once you start adding the numbers he has against Sweden and Canada he has the lowest overall drop off when compared to playing weaker teams.
Team CCCP Players Info: Alexander YAKUSHEV (Александр ЯКУШЕВ)

I read an interview Balderis did with some Czech newspaper and he said he thought Holecek was better than Tretiak. Might not be true but it's an interesting trivia. Bobby Hull was very impressed by him too.

 

[VMBM]

I'm flogging a dead horse a bit, but even though it has been quite exhausting and time-consuming to look and review all those games, I somehow couldn't let it totally go. So, as a sort of Coda, I decided to review two games from the 1980s too, namely both USSR-CSSR games from the 1985 World Championships. An interesting contrast for the 1960s/1970s.