From time to time, TheIHLC.com will feature detailed recaps and boxscores of some of the most legendary games in international hockey history, considered to be “IHLC Classics.” Today, to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series finale, we look back on perhaps the most influential goal in international hockey history, Paul Henderson’s series-winning tally past Vladislav Tretyak.

🇨🇦 Canada 6-5 Soviet Union 🇷🇺
Summit Series, Game 8
Luzhniki Palace Of Sports, Moscow 🇷🇺
Thursday, 28 September 1972

Game eight of the Summit Series was maybe the most important hockey game ever played. It was the climax of the greatest series ever played, Canada versus the Soviet Union. It was a series that pitted the professionals of Canada against the “amateurs” of the Soviet Union. It matched Canadian-style hockey with Soviet-style.

Most important, it was a battle between lifestyles, values and two vastly different political systems.
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