The Summit in 1974
1974

 

PRESS ROOM 1974: Game 7

MONTREAL GAZETTE

by BRODIE SNYDER
October 5, 1974
Moscow

At the end of two periods at the Luzhniki rink here Saturday night, the Soviet Union's national hockey team was holding a 4-3 lead over Team Canada 74 and hanging on for dear life. They had only to tie to clinch the series 3-1-3 with one game left to play and even their record at 1-1 against Canadian professionals.

As the teams returned to the ice for the final period, the Russian defenceman, Valery Vasilyev, was seen to skate to the timekeepers bench and exchange nods with that Soviet gentleman. Vasilyev then skated across the ice to the Soviet bench and nodded at his coach, Boris Kulagin.

Now perhaps the timekeeper is a neighbor or an old college roommate or a Second World War buddy of Kulagin's. Perhaps Vasilyev was merely inquiring about his health and passing the information on. After all, these are no more than "friendly international matches" or so both sides keep saying.

In any event, the Soviet gentleman with the watch did a number on the Canadians in the third period that has to rank with the annexation of Estonia., Latvia and Lithuania in the annals of Russian robbery and the seconds he stole eventually cost Team Canada a 5-4 win when a goal by Bobby Hull was ruled to have gone into the net after time ran out.

It was disallowed by Tom Brown, a Canadian referee from Toronto, who also had been involved in a controversy in the second game a 4-1 win for the Canadians in his home town. With the score 3-1 and the Russians pressing he didn't allow an obvious goal by Vladimir Petrov that might have turned that game around. Brown didn't allow it he said, because he didn't see the puck go into the net.

The stage was set for the hectic finish when Team Canada tied the game at 4-4 at 6:38 of the last period on Ralph Backstrom's second goal of the night. From that point the Soviets played for the tie that would give them the series and revenge the 1972 loss. They ragged the puck and iced it over and over to relieve the heavy pressure in their end of the rink.

Finally, there was a stoppage in play with 1:32 left and the first that most people in the rink knew that something was going on was when an incensed Canadian goaltender Gerry Cheevers skated in a mad dash to the timer's bench and began to hammer on the glass with his stick.

"I was watching the clock" Cheevers said, " and I saw four seconds drop off after the whistle went and play was stopped. I was watching the clock because I knew when I supposed to come out for the extra forward. And I wouldn't be watching the clock until the whistle went, would I?"

Brown an Ontario Hockey Association junior referee, also was watching the clock. "I saw it go from 1:30 to 1:28," he said yesterday "and I went over to the timers bench and chased Cheevers out of there and got the interpreter. I asked the timer what had happened and told him to get those two seconds back. Not one person came up to me and told me it was more than two seconds. No one said more or less. I made the decision on what I saw."

When play resumed, the timer ran the penalty clock for two seconds before starting the main clock, and the two seconds - of the four stolen - were back in the game.

It wasn't quite enough.

With Cheevers out for the sixth attacker - in the person of Paul Henderson - the Canadians applied tremendous pressure. As the last seconds ticked off, Henderson got the puck in the corner, centered it to Hull, and he shot it past Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak for the apparent winner.

"It was no goal", said Brown, who waved it off immediately. ‘I was watching both the puck and the clock. I saw the puck in the corner with two seconds to go. I saw it come out with one second to go and the play was made after the game was over."

The why did the red light come on?

"I don't know" said Brown. "I don't question it went on, the puck went in. But it went on, the puck went in, after the game was over. The goal judge presses the red light when the puck goes in the net. Time is no concern of his. There was no question in my mind that the game was over."

Then why did the red light come on before the green light came on to signify the end of the game?

"I don't know," Brown said again. "I think the referee is aware of time. I think in a critical situation you're aware of time. I was right on top of the net. I was in perfect position. I put my hands out immediately to signify time was out."

"I don't know why the red light went on. I guess the lights here aren't synchronized."

The scoreboard is a $250,000 job from Finland, built specifically to Russian specifications and to Olympic standards including a tenths - of-a-second timer. It seems almost unbelievable that it would not have the red and green lights synchronized as in North America, where the red light cannot go on if the green light is on. But the Russians finally announced, yesterday morning, that the lights indeed are not synchronized.

"I find that hard to believe in that kind of equipment" said Hugh McLean, director of officials for the OHA and one of the men who trained and selected the referees for this series.

At that point Team Canada coach Billy Harris came by. "Why didn't the buzzer go at the end of the game?" he asked. "It went at the end of the first and second periods."

"I don't know", said Brown again. "When time is out on the clock the game is over. I asked both linesmen (Jim Leblanc of Canada and Russia's Sergie Guschin) what they saw. Both agreed time had run out."

Game Seven also was the first time in the three games played here, that the tenths-of-a-second timer on the scoreboard was not working. Without that last digit the clock could show 00:00 and there could still be as much as nine-tenths of a second left to play.

"I don't know about tenths of a second", Brown said, and then repeated still again, " time was out when the puck trickled in. There is no question in my mind that the game was over."

Hull and the other Canadians disagreed, needless to say.

"Henderson threw it out" Bobby said, "and I shot it. It went right through Tretiak. I looked up and I thought I saw the light flash."

Outside in the corridor where the Soviet players had walked to their dressing room, moments before as jubilant with the 4-4 tie as if they'd just won the world championship, the argument raged.

Team Canada manager Bill Hunter demanded and received a meeting with officials of the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation. "Before I go to this meeting", he said, "I want to make one thing perfectly clear. The final score was 5-4 for us. I'm demanding a hearing, and if there is no hearing there'll be no game Sunday night."

Hunter got his meeting, although he must of have been out of his mind if he really expected the Russians to give Team Canada the goal and a chance to tie the series. After all, the Soviets haven't given back East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, or Romania have they?

Later, and calmed down, Hunter said: "I have retreated from that position. When you have time to think coolly about it, that (not playing) would only place us on the same level as them."

Asked about the meeting Hunter added " Mr. Staravoitov (Andrei the top Soviet hockey official) is firm in his position and we are firm in ours. His is that the referee has the final decision: Ours is that we won the game 5-4: that there was time left: the red light went on and the referee doesn't keep time."

Hunter asked Starvoitov to see the TV replay, "which clearly shows we won," but the Russian declined the offer. Upstairs meanwhile the two coaches - Harris and Kulagin - were holding their usual post-game press conferences and taking opposing views.

Said Harris, near tears of frustration and showing the strain: "This was the first time they didn't count in tenths of a second. There were tenths of a second left. That's the only way the red light goes on. I know this equipment is synchronized. The Soviets protested a timing decision in basketball at the Munich Olympics against the U.S. They won it and the game and the gold medal.

"I wish they'd do the same for us."

Said Kulagin, his face flushed : "I head the referee's whistle (ending the game) and all my players stopped to show their discipline." After that the only questions Mr. K answered were ridiculous ones from his stooges in the Russian press about all-star teams for the series, etc.

Ralph Backstrom, voted by the media men as Canada's best player of the game - Valery Kharlamov was the top Russian - saw the TV replay later and said ‘It showed the red light was on. If the red light was on the game wasn't over."

It was a shame it had to end like that because it was the best game by far of the three played here and perhaps the best game of the series. Brown did an exceptional job, keeping things under control and calling only three minor penalties - all in the second period and two of them to the Soviets.

As they did in Thursday nights' 5-2 loss the Canadians fell behind early on two goals - both medium long screened shots - within the first seven minutes as Viacheslav Anisin and rookie defenceman Yuri Turin scored.

But Tom Webster on a perfect pass out from Andre Lacroix, jammed it past Tretiak from the edge of the crease at 17:42 to cut the Soviet lead to 2-1.

Canada then struck for two quick goals in the second period. Backstrom scored his first of the night at 2:35 on a brilliant rush as he wheeled around Gennady Tsygankov and went right in, and Mark Howe made it 3-2 deflecting J.C. Tremblay's low shot from the point between Tretiak's legs at 6:38 with Vladimir Lutchenko in the penalty box.

The Russians got that power play goal back quickly. With Whitey Stapleton off for interference defenceman Aleksandr Gusev scored on a scorching blast from about 50 feet out after Kharlamov made the play. That came at 7:20 and just 39 seconds later the Soviets took the lead with captain Boris Mikhailov scoring easily into the open side of the net after a nifty passing play with linemates Kharlamov and Petrov.

But from that point the Russians were hanging on as Team Canada outshot them 15-8 in the second period but were thwarted time and time again by Tretiak who made great stops on Hull, Backstrom, Serge Bernier, and Webster.

The Canadians were flying again in the third period, outshooting the Soviets 8-4 for a 32-21 edge on the night and after Backstrom made it 4-4 on a weak backhander that somehow got past Tretiak the Russians went into a shell.

Al Hamilton the seldom used defenceman who had an outstanding game said of the Russians " They're a great hockey team and they don't have to resort to that stuff."

Except he didn't say stuff.

 

 

 

The Summit in 1974