The Summit in 1974
1974

 

PRESS ROOM 1974: Game 5

MONTREAL GAZETTE

by BRODIE SNYDER
October 1, 1974
Moscow

It's back to the old drawing board for Team Canada 74 in the wake of last night's 3-2 loss to the Soviet Union nationals at the Luzhniki rink here, and coach Billy Harris says he may use only three lines "and a couple of extra forwards" when the two clubs go back at it tomorrow.

Harris has rotated four lines during the first five games of this series in which the Russians now lead the World Hockey Association all-stars 2-1 with two games tied.

But the system - so unexpectedly successful in Canada, where Harris's old pros were able to keep pace with the swift Soviets by changing lines every 45 seconds or so broke down last night.

The Russians, hitting more than in any of the previous games, and skating and passing just as well, kept the Canadians off balance most of the night allowing them only 16 shots on goal.

The only line that was at all effective throughout the game was that of Ralph Backstrom and the two Howes. Father Gordie and son Mark scored the Team Canada goals., Mark's coming less than two minutes from the end and making the account appear respectable after Gerry Cheevers' unbelievable goaltending stymied the Russians time and again.

Aleksandr Malstev, outstanding all through the series, scored two goals, giving the Soviets 1-0 and 2-1 leads, and defenceman Aleksandr Gusev fired the eventual winner midway through the third period.

Voitech Shschepek from Warsaw was the referee and he was no Polish joke. He called 12 minor penalties - 7 of them against Canada - and Malstev's second and Mark's goal came on the power play.

But Shchepek also called one misconduct penalty and that one to Backstrom, broke the Canadians back.

Team Canada, outplayed so completely that it had managed only four shots on goal in each of the first two periods, had held on to trail only 2-1 and came out with a rush in the third.

They took the play to the Soviets and were doing an excellent job killing off a penalty to Andre Lacroix when Valery Kharlamov the Soviets star right wing, who played another outstanding game, and Backstrom tangled near the Team Canada bench.

Backstrom went down in a heap, right in front of the referee, and exploded when no penalty was called.

He was quickly give the thumb and sat out the next ten minutes effectively destroying the late drive his line had been generating. While he was on the bench - thought the teams were playing at even strength - Gusev scored the winner.

"He (Kharlamov) kicked the feet from right out from under me", Backstrom said, "and right in front of the referee. I couldn't believe it. That's when I got mad and said some things to him. It turns out he speaks English."

"That's the first misconduct I've had in 12 or 13 years. I don't remember the last one. I'm not very proud of that."

"You can't win when you get penalties. It breaks down your momentum out there. But I think we learned a lot tonight. "

One thing they learned was that while Kharlamov, and left wing Aleksandr Yakushev - who didn't play because of a knee injury - might get most of the publicity, Aleksandr Malstev is a "helluva hockey player" as team manger Bill Hunter described him later.

Actually it was player change made by Soviet coach Boris Kulagin that may have decided this contest. With Yakushev out he dressed unheralded Vladimir Vikulov for the first time in the series.

Vikulov who works in the corner like Burt Olmstead in his prime made all the play for Maltsev's first goal, which opened the scoring with 5:34 gone.

The goat on the goal was Paul Henderson, a thee game winning-goal hero the last time he was in Luzhniki., but who made a mistake when he picked up a loose puck in the Canadian end and tried to fire it out of danger behind the Canadian net.

He didn't shoot it hard enough and Vikulov swooped in from the side to intercept it and feed it across the goalmouth to Malstev, standing at the corner. He had no trouble getting it high into the net over Cheevers desperate lunge.

Team Canada was lucky to get out of the first period just one goal down, but Cheevers made exceptional stops on a blast from Gennady Tsygankov from the point, another grab on a long shot by Vladimir Lutchenko, then covering up again against Malstev at the doorstep. And he made a dandy on Malstev who circled around the net and let a hard backhand shot go while skating backwards through the slot.

The crowd of 14,200 - including president Podgorny, Prmier Kosygin, and Communist Party Secretary Brezhnev - weren't back into their seats after the intermission when Gordie Howe tied it. He capped a neat passing play with Backstrom and son Mark right from the opening face-off by wacking it past Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak with a swing that would have had a golf ball out there 300 yards.

But the Canadians couldn't sustain an offence, as the game grew rougher as Johnny McKenzie, reviled here because of his chippy play in Vancouver, a particular target of Soviet elbows and knees.

Cheevers kept the scored tied with good stops off Juri Lebedev on a close-in rebound, and off Soviet captain Boris Mikhailov from the slot.

But, as irony would have it, it was a penalty to McKenzie, called for hooking - to the delight of the crowd at 13:52- that paved the way for the Soviets second goal.

Henderson is suffering from the flu, and Bruce MacGregor his partner in Team Canada's best penalty-killing tandem , didn't play last night after being sick since Saturday. That took away from the defense that had allowed the Soviets only 3 power play goals in 25 chances.

They set it up prettily, with good pressure in the Canadian end. Finally, Vikulov got it to Vladimir Shadrin beside the net and he flipped a hard pass out to Malstev cutting in from the left. The bang-bang play gave Cheevers no chance as Malstev fired it up high again.

The Russians made it 3-1 at 11:48 of the third period. Gusev picking up a gift goal after Kharlamov did all the work. The Soviet right wing cut down the boards,, them moved inside and put a move on Brad Selwood and Rick Ley that left them dazed, one reminiscent of his splitting Pat Stapleton and J.C. Tremblay for a picture goal in the fist game.

This time as he broke in on Cheevers, he moved to his right across the goalmouth then flipped the puck to his left. It just missed the corner but Gusev following up had an empty net to shoot at with Cheevers far out of position following the move put on him by Kharlamov.

The Canadians had chances to tie it before that, however Frank Maholvich playing center for the first time in living memory because of Backstrom's misconduct, was between the Howes, and on one of their shifts Mark got in close and Tretiak made a fine glove save of his high slap shot.

Trouble brewing all evening with shoving matches, and a couple of two punch duels, between Rick Ley and Vladimir Petrov, and between Serge Bernier and Kharlamov seemed to erupt shortly after the Russians third goal as players of both teams began to take cheap shot at each other - hits and trips behind the play, when the referee wasn't watching.

There were two-handed cross checks by Paul Shmyr, on Mikhailov and by Kharlamov who flung Andre Lacroix against the cross bar. And there were sneaky trips involving Kharlamov on Tremblay, Mark Howe on Kharlamov, and Kharlamov on Mark.

Just when it looked like things may get out of hand completely Shchepek decided to call one and the Soviets Aleksandr Bodunov went off at 16:21 for holding Stapleton.

He was still in the box when Mark Howe cut the Russians edge to 3-2 at 18:10 making a fine play beside the Soviet blue line after being set up by Shmyr. Mark appeared to lose control of the puck about 35 feet in front of the net, but he somehow got his stick back on it, with two Russians checking him, and drilled a wicked low wrist shot into the corner on Tretiak's stick side.

But that was the last gasp. The Canadians didn't have another good scoring opportunity and the Soviets controlled the puck for the last 30 seconds.

The Canadians had been trying to get Cheevers off the ice for an extra attacker for a minute and once he got as far as the blue line but had to rush back into the net to stop Kharlamov who had broken away on the short side.

Both sides, Lacroix and Petrov in particular played dirty and gestured at the referee after the game but Harris wouldn't blame the officiating.

"It was good by international standards", he said, for the fifth time in this series. "Sometimes it can lead to chippiness because of the inconsistency of the referring."

Both Harris and team manager Hunter said the team is still adjusting to the time change from Canada the wider ice surface, and other things but both expected a much better performance in Game Six.

Harris said he'd likely play three lines because his players conditioning is getting better all the time. Last night the Bernier-Houle-Mahovlich, the Mike Walton - Henderson, Tom Webster (filling in for MacGregor) were almost write-offs, and Lacroix - Bobby Hull - McKenzie line was dangerous only when Hull made two or three of his patented rushes.

Harris said he didn't think Hull is "100%" that perhaps the knee he injured in training camp the second week of September is bothering him a little. Hull shrugged that off more concerned with his left hand soaking in a bucket of ice water.

" I jammed it up against the glass palm up, on the first shift of the game", he said. It bent the ring finger back and bruised it some. It's sore."

 

 

 

The Summit in 1974