๐จ๐ฆ Canada 4-1ย Soviet Union ๐ท๐บ
Summit Series, Game 2
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto ๐จ๐ฆ
Monday, 04 September 1972
Canadaโs stunning loss in Game One in Montrรฉal made the next game, two nights later at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, a must-win.
And while Soviet coach Vsevelod Bobrov made just two lineup changes for Game Two, Harry Sinden completely revamped his roster. He put Tony Esposito in goal and swapped out seven of 17 skaters to produce a lineup more conducive to physical play, and he dressed six defencemen instead of the five he used in Montrรฉal.
The result for Canada was a sensational turnaround, from shocking defeat to remarkable victory. It came thanks to Peter Mahovlich, who scored one of the finest and most important goals the game of hockey has ever witnessed, a short-handed gem early in the third period to more or less seal the victory.
The first period was dominated by the coaches. Rules made clear the home team gets last change for putting players on the ice, but the referees didnโt seem to know which was designated home team and were unable to administer the rule properly. The result was often two or three line changes at one whistle, as coaches jockeyed to both match lines and avoid matchups simultaneously.
Tony Esposito was excellent when he had to be, and brother Phil opened the scoring early in the second on a delayed penalty. Canada dominated the period, using the body to break up the Soviet rushes and circling passing plays that marked their style. Sinden used Bobby Clarke for most key faceoffs, but it was still a 1-0 game after 40 minutes.
The game changed irrevocably in the first half of the final period. Brad Park made a sensational pass to Yvan Cournoyer, streaking down the right wing, and Cournoyer blazed past defenceman Alexander Raguilin and rifled a shot between Tretyak’s pads for a 2-0 lead.
Alexander Yakushev made things close again, but then Mahovlich went to work. On the penalty kill, Phil Esposito backhanded the puck off the boards out to centre ice. The โLittle Mโ got control and went one-on-one with defenceman Yevgeni Paladiev. Mahovlich froze the defenceman when he wound up to shoot, but he kept the puck and moved in alone on goal. Tretyak slid to the ice in the direction Mahovlich was skating, but the Canadian stopped, and knocked the puck in the open, near side. Brother Frank added the final goal two minutes later, and Canada left Maple Leaf Gardens with greater confidence, knowing they could beat the Russians.
โThis is bigger than winning the Stanley Cup as far as Iโm concerned,โ said Esposito, who had won the Cup just a few months earlier with the Boston Bruins. โThis is as excited as Iโve ever been in my life. I was excited Saturday night in Montrรฉal, but this is even bigger.โ
BOXSCORE
1st Period
10:08 –ย ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Park, cross checking
15:19 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Henderson, tripping
2nd Period
22:07 – ๐ท๐บย PEN – Gusev, tripping
24:13 – ๐ท๐บย PEN – team, bench minor
27:14 – ๐จ๐ฆย GOAL – P. Esposito (Park, Cashman)
35:16 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Bergman, tripping
39:54 – ๐ท๐บย PEN – Tsygankov, slashing
39:54 – ๐ท๐บย PEN – Kharlamov, abuse of official 10 min. misconduct
3rd Period
41:19 – ๐จ๐ฆย PP GOAL – Cournoyer (Park)
45:13 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Clarke, slashing
45:53 – ๐ท๐บ PP GOAL – Yakushev (Lyapkin, Zimin)
46:14 – ๐จ๐ฆย PEN – Stapleton, hooking
46:47 – ๐จ๐ฆย SH GOAL – P. Mahovlich (P. Esposito)
48:59 – ๐จ๐ฆย GOAL – F. Mahovlich (Mikita, Cournoyer)
GOALTENDERS
W: ๐จ๐ฆย T. Esposito (20-21)
L: ๐ท๐บย Tretyak (32-36)
SHOTS ON GOAL
๐จ๐ฆ 10+16+10 = 36
๐ท๐บ 7+5+9 = 21
ROSTERS
๐จ๐ฆ Goaltenders:ย Tony Esposito, Eddie Johnston.ย Defence: Gary Bergman, Guy Lapointe, Brad Park, Serge Savard, Pat Stapleton, BIll White.ย Forwards: Wayne Cashman, Bobby Clarke, Yvan Cournoyer, Ron Ellis, Phil Esposito (A), Billย Goldsworthy, Paul Henderson, Frank Mahovlich (A), Peter Mahovlich, Stan Mikita (A), J.P.ย Parisรฉ.
๐ท๐บ Goaltenders: Vladislav Tretyak, Viktor Zinger. Defence: Alexander Gusev, Viktor Kuzkin, Vladimir Lutchenko, Yuri Lyapkin, Yevgeni Paladiev, Alexander Raguilin, Gennadi Tsygankov. Forwards: Vyacheslav Anisin,ย Valeri Kharlamov, Alexander Maltsev, Boris Mikhailov (C), Yevgeni Mishakov, Vladimir Petrov, Vladimir Shadrin, Vyacheslav Starshinov, Alexander Yakushev, Yevgeni Zimin.
๐จ๐ฆ CANADA | vs. | SOVIET UNION (C) ๐ท๐บ |
new champion (previous 02 Sep 1972) |
Last Title |
reign ends (since 02 Sep 1972) |
168 | All-Time Wins |
108 |
7 wins | Head-To-Head (+ 2 ties) |
14 wins |
First IHLC Meeting (CAN vs. URS) ๐ท๐บ URSย 7-2 CAN ๐จ๐ฆ โ 07 Mar 1954 โ WC โ Stockholm ๐ธ๐ช |
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Previous IHLC Meeting (CAN vs. URS) ๐ท๐บ URS 7-3 CAN ๐จ๐ฆ โ 02 Sep 1972 โ SS โ Montrรฉal ๐จ๐ฆ |
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Last IHLC Game ๐ท๐บ URS 7-3 CAN ๐จ๐ฆ โ 02 Sep 1972 โ SS โ Montrรฉal ๐จ๐ฆ |
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Next IHLC Game ๐จ๐ฆ CAN 4-4 URS ๐ท๐บ โ 06 Sep 1972 โ SS โ Winnipeg ๐จ๐ฆ |
Article Credit: IIHF
Photo Credit: Team Canada 1972: The Official 40th Anniversary Celebration –ย IIHF – HHOF – IOC