Soviets Smack Team Canada; 1981 Canada Cup Final
Forty years ago yesterday was the Final Game of the 1981 Canada Cup tournament. I remember watching the game as an avid 10 year-old hockey nut and being very disappointed with the outcome. The Soviets, led by goaltender Vladislav Tretiak and a young KLM line thoroughly embarrassed the Canadians by a score of 8-1. I re-watched the game on youtube and my favourite part was seeing all the old commercials on the broadcast. That sad fact alone pretty much sums up the game for me. Soviet coach, Victor Tikhonov said after the match, "We didn't expect to win by such a score. We expected the game would be very difficult. If we played them again tomorrow or the day after, I would not forecast the result." The first period of the game was as the coach expected as Canada outshot his team 12-4 with Tretiak making three or four big saves in close. "Tretiak did what he had to do as he always does, but there was a lot more to their win than him," state...