Why was Tretiak Pulled in The Miracle on Ice?

[The Goaltending Guru]

I know that Russia goalie Vladislav Tretiak was replaced after the first period in the 1980 Miracle on Ice game in Lake Placid, but why? Was Russia's coach, Tikhonov, THAT angry that Tretiak gave up a couple of goals in the opening period, that he decided to disown him for the rest of the game like that? Why exactly was Tretiak pulled?

 

[Walkingthroughforest]

Because he let in 2 softies in the first, and the coach made the boneheaded decision to take him out

 

[Slitty]

It was the self-confessed biggest mistake of Tikhonov's career.

 

[Steveorama]

I think Tikhonov was hoping to light a fire under the Soviet players' butts.
Instead, they all tightened up and thought "oh, crap, now we are really in trouble against this young US team".

 

[GNick42]

Didn't Trekiak have his eye on the bench and let in a last second goal?

 

[Rabid Ranger]

According to "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" C.G.B. Spender aka CSM, aka the Smoking Man fixed the event so the U.S. would win.

 

[Loto68]

Didn't Trekiak have his eye on the bench and let in a last second goal?

The only person on both teams that didn't think the period was over was Mark Johnson.

 

[Classic Devil]

According to "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" C.G.B. Spender aka CSM, aka the Smoking Man fixed the event so the U.S. would win.

Note: According to that same episode, CSM also was the man who shot both Kennedy and Martin Luther King.

Tretiak let in a goal at the absolute last second - it was like 0.3 seconds before the end of the first and it was pretty sloppy on his part. Pulling him was a mistake, but that made two relatively bad goals against him in the first and so it was somewhat understandable.

It's not like his replacement Myshkin was a pushover.

 

[yada]

tretiak still holds a grudge over that decision. theres a dvd about the miracle on ice and it has an interview with tretiak through an interpreter. tretiak says no doubt in his mind that if Tikhonov had left him in no doubt in his mind the soviets would have won the gold

 

[Bear of Bad News]

It's not like his replacement Myshkin was a pushover.

An excellent point - don't forget that in the 1979 Challenge Cup, it was Myshkin (not Tretiak) who shut out the National Hockey League all-stars in the deciding game.

 

[TrustInJarmo*]

The only person on both teams that didn't think the period was over was Mark Johnson.

Yep, even the American's Captain, Mike Eruzione, said he headed to the bench thinking the period was over...yet Mark showed why you play hard every frickin shift!

I always wondered what would have happened had Mark not put that puck in right before the period ended...

 

[yada]

I would assume that puck doesn't go in americans lose the game with tretiak not getting pulled as the result and the americans don't get the confidence that they can play with the russians and beat them especially after trouncing them in the final game before the olympics

 

[arrbez]

I don't think the first goal was even that terrible, just the second one

 

[Big Phil]

In reality Tretiak was probably the best goalie in the world at that time. Anyone disagree? Remember this was 1980 and Dryden was retired. Who was better? Esposito? Resch? Smith? Peeters? No, none of them.

Tikhonov made a grave error in doing that. Regardless of the momentum swing you simply cannot take the best goalie in the world out of the game. Of course Myshkin was pretty good too. In all seriousness the Russians had possibly 2/3 of the best goalies in the world at that time so they shouldnt have lost but Tretiak was still the better choice.

 

[FissionFire]

See it for yourself, but with a different commentator.....still gives me chills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztlLwgSFCg

 

[GNick42]

I don't think either goalie made that much of a difference. Trekiak was the better goalie but he was clearly having an off night.

 

[EventHorizon]

See it for yourself, but with a different commentator.....still gives me chills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztlLwgSFCg

That's pretty cool. I'd never seen that before. That guy needs to learn that The Soviet Union and Russia are not the same thing though.

 

[K1984]

I think Tretiak was pulled because Thikinov panicked. Think about it. When had the Russians ever been in a pressure situation like that before? Nearly all of their games ended in one sided blowouts and I think the decision was made because of inexperience in that particular situation.

 

[Augustus Pablo]

They would have won with Tretiak was in net probably. He let in 2 soft goals though, Tikhonov panicked, and the rest is history.

 

[Wisent]

You have to remember that this was Tikhonov pulling. As far as I know he always had some power struggles behind the scenes. And I am not sure that he pulled him only ofr his game. He was a guy who would just pull someone to make an example.

 

[Bojovnik]

I wish the Olympics meant as much as that these days

 

[David Puddy]

I know that Russia goalie Vladislav Tretiak was replaced after the first period in the 1980 Miracle on Ice game in Lake Placid, but why? Was Russia's coach, Tikhonov, THAT angry that Tretiak gave up a couple of goals in the opening period, that he decided to disown him for the rest of the game like that? Why exactly was Tretiak pulled?

Officially, Tretiak was pulled atr 19:59. The entire Soviet team went into the dressing room after the goal, but there was one second remaining in the 1st Period, which there had to be or else Johnson's goal would not have counted. The Soviets only sent three skaters and Vladimir Myshkin in goal.

but why? Was Russia's coach, Tikhonov, THAT angry that Tretiak gave up a couple of goals in the opening period, that he decided to disown him for the rest of the game like that? Why exactly was Tretiak pulled?

The following quotes are from Wayne Coffey's excellent book on Team USA in 1980, The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. I highly recommend it to anyone really interested in the team.

"The biggest mistake of my career was replacing Tretiak with Myshkin," Tikhonov said through an interpreter. "Tretiak always played better after he gave up a goal. The decision was the result of getting caught up in emotions. After Tretiak gave up that rebound and let in that soft goal to Mark Johnson, my blood boiling. It was my worst mistake, my biggest regret."​

 

[Fish on The Sand]

I wish the Olympics meant as much as that these days

they will when nhlers aren't allowed anymore.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

That's pretty cool. I'd never seen that before. That guy needs to learn that The Soviet Union and Russia are not the same thing though.

they basically were.

 

[vivianmb]

they will when nhlers aren't allowed anymore.

how true.the amateurs really made the games fun.getting to learn and know the teams as the games went on. the pros are cool, but i think the games should stay amateur.