IHLC Results – ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada 4-1 Soviet Union ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ – 04 Sep 1972

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๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada 4-1ย Soviet Union ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ
Summit Series, Game 2
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ
Monday, 04 September 1972

Canadaโ€™s 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 didnโ€™t 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 โ€œLittle 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.

โ€œThis is bigger than winning the Stanley Cup as far as Iโ€™m concerned,โ€ said Esposito, who had won the Cup just a few months earlier with the Boston Bruins. โ€œThis is as excited as Iโ€™ve ever been in my life. I was excited Saturday night in Montrรฉal, but this is even bigger.โ€


BOXSCORE
1st Period
10:08 –ย ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย PEN – Park, cross checking
15:19 – ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย PEN – Henderson, tripping

2nd Period
22:07 – ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บย PEN – Gusev, tripping
24:13 – ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บย PEN – team, bench minor
27:14 –
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย GOAL – P. Esposito (Park, Cashman)
35:16 – ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย PEN – Bergman, tripping
39:54 – ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บย PEN – Tsygankov, slashing
39:54 – ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บย PEN – Kharlamov, abuse of official 10 min. misconduct

3rd Period
41:19 – ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย PP GOAL – Cournoyer (Park)
45:13 – ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย PEN – Clarke, slashing
45:53 – ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ PP GOAL – Yakushev (Lyapkin, Zimin)
46:14 – ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย PEN – Stapleton, hooking
46:47 – ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย SH GOAL – P. Mahovlich (P. Esposito)
48:59 – ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย GOAL – F. Mahovlich (Mikita, Cournoyer)

GOALTENDERS
W: ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆย T. Esposito (20-21)
L: ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บย Tretyak (32-36)

SHOTS ON GOAL
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ 10+16+10 = 36
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ 7+5+9 = 21

ROSTERS
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ 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.
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ 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.

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CANADA vs. SOVIET UNION (C) ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ
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)
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ URSย 7-2 CAN ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ โ€“ 07 Mar 1954 โ€“ WC โ€“ Stockholm ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช
Previous IHLC Meeting (CAN vs. URS)
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ URS 7-3 CAN ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ โ€“ 02 Sep 1972 โ€“ SS โ€“ Montrรฉal ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ
Last IHLC Game
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ URS 7-3 CAN ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ โ€“ 02 Sep 1972 โ€“ SS โ€“ Montrรฉal ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ
Next IHLC Game
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CAN 4-4 URS ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ โ€“ 06 Sep 1972 โ€“ SS โ€“ Winnipeg ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ

Article Credit: IIHF
Photo Credit: Team Canada 1972: The Official 40th Anniversary Celebration –ย IIHFHHOFIOC

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