๐ท๐บ Soviet Union 7-2 Canada ๐จ๐ฆ
Worldย Championship Final Round
Stockholms Olympiastadion, Stockholm ๐ธ๐ช
Sunday, 07 March 1954
There is no question that 1954 was the start of the modern era of international hockey. Prior to the World Championship in Stockholm, Sweden, that year, Canada ruled the ice lanes uncontested. Indeed, from 1920 to 1954, it lost only two significant games, one to the United States at the 1933 World Championship and one to Great Britain at the 1936 Olympics.
But in 1954, the Soviet Union made its first appearance in international hockey, and it did so in a blaze of glory. The Soviets had only started playing “Canadian hockey” (as opposed to European bandy) in 1946, and just eight years later that nationโs top players and managers believed they were ready to play against the world โ and win.
The 1954 team featured Nikolai Puchkov in goal as well as Yevgeni Babich, Vsevolod Bobrov, Valentin Kuzin, and Nikolai Khlystov. In their first game of the 1954 World Championship, they beat Finland with ease, 7-1. They shut out Norway, 7-0, and beat West Germany, 6-2. It wasnโt until they played Czechoslovakia that they met a real challenge, but the Soviets responded with a convincing 5-2 victory. After beating Switzerland, 4-2, they encountered their only major challenge to date and had to settle for a 1-1 tie with the host nation, Sweden.
While the Soviets were going through the tournament in spectacular fashion, however, Canada was doing even better. It won all six of its games by an aggregate score of 57-5, and this domination led to the all-important Canada-Soviet Union showdown of 07 March, the final day of the tournament. Canada needed only a tie to claim Gold while the Soviets had to win outright if they were to take home Gold. In the end, it was no contest.
Canada was represented, as always, by a club team, and in 1954 that was the East York Lyndhursts, coached by Greg Currie and featuring Don Lockhart in goal as well as Moe Galland and Vic Sluce. The Soviet team consisted of the best 17 players in the country, and although this was their first international tournament, they were overpowering. They jumped into the early lead, poured it on in the second period, and shut down any Canadian hopes for a comeback in the third. The result was a shocking 7-2 win and a Gold medal in their first try.
This was not only an improbable and impressive victory, though. It hailed the start of hockeyโs first great rivalry. Out of Canada-Soviet Union came heightened interest in the game. Other countries started to develop a serious program for the sport, and Canada rose to the challenge by sending better and better teams to compete against their adversary. As a result, the Soviet victory in 1954 was the start of a new era in international hockey.
BOXSCORE
1st Period
05:25 – ๐ท๐บย GOAL – Guryshev (Chryslov)
10:35 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Sluce, charging
11:22 – ๐ท๐บย GOAL – Shuvalov (Babich)
17:20 – ๐ท๐บย GOAL – Bobrov
19:37 – ๐ท๐บย GOAL – Bychkov (Guryshev)
2nd Period
23:43 – ๐จ๐ฆย GOAL – Galand
26:02 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Kennedy
30:36 – ๐ท๐บย GOAL – Shuvalov (Robrov)
32:30 – ๐ท๐บย GOAL – Kuzin
35:10 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Robertson, fighting
35:10 – ๐ท๐บย PEN – Babich, fighting
36:18 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Jamieson, boarding
37:37 – ๐ท๐บย GOAL – Kuchevski
38:30 – ๐ท๐บย PEN – Vinogradov
3rd Period
47:23 – ๐จ๐ฆย GOAL – Shill
49:47 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Kennedy
55:45 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN –ย Sayliss
GOALTENDERS
W: ๐ท๐บย Puchkov
L: ๐จ๐ฆย Lockhart
ROSTERS
๐ท๐บ Goaltenders: Grigori Mkrtychan, Nikolai Puchkov. Defence:ย Alfred Kuchevski, Dmitri Ukolov, Alexander Vinogradov, Pavel Zhiburtovich. Forwards:ย Yevgeni Babich, Vsevolod Bobrov (C), Mikhail Bychkov, Alexei Guryshev, Nikolai Khlystov, Yuri Krylov, Valentin Kuzin, Viktor Shuvalov, Alexander Uvarov.
๐จ๐ฆ Goaltenders: Don Lockhart, Gavinย Lindsay.ย Defence: Tom Campbell (C), Tom Jamieson, Russ Robertson, George Sayliss.ย Forwards: Earl Clements, Moe Galland, Norm Gray, Bob Kennedy, John Petro, John Scott, Bill Shill, Vic Sluce, Eric Unger.
๐ท๐บ SOVIET UNION | vs. | CANADA (C) ๐จ๐ฆ |
new champion (first title) |
Last Title |
reign ends (since 21 Feb 1954) |
1 | All-Time Wins |
123 |
1 win | Head-To-Head |
0 wins |
First IHLC Meeting (URS vs. CAN) none |
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Previous IHLC Meeting (URS vs. CAN) none |
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Last IHLC Game ๐จ๐ฆ CAN 5-2 TCH ๐จ๐ฟ โ 05 Mar 1954 โ WC โ Stockholm ๐ธ๐ช |
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Next IHLC Game ๐ท๐บ URS 6-2 SUI ๐จ๐ญ โ 21 Dec 1954 โ EX โ Zรผrich ๐จ๐ญ |
Article Credit: IIHF 100 Top Stories of the Century
Photo Credit: Watsonย –ย IIHF – HHOF – IOC