The Summit in 1974
1974

 

PRESS ROOM 1974: Game 4

MONTREAL GAZETTE

by BRODIE SNYDER
September 23, 1974
Vancouver

The Russians got away with the worst period of hockey they've ever played against Canadian professionals, coming from 3 goals down to tie Team Canada 74 5-5 at the Pacific Coliseum in Game 4 of the eight game series.

The scene now shifts to Moscow for the final four games, starting October 1, with the team tied after the Canadian leg of the series, each with one win and two ties.

The WHA all-stars, after a shaky start, took it to the Russians in the final 10 minutes of the first period and held a 5-2 lead at that point as Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak could find no miracles to top the three greatest scorers still playing the game - Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, and Frank Mahovlich.

Howe scored his first goal of the series - he missed most of Game 2 with bruised ribs, and sat out the third game in Winnipeg Saturday after defenceman Valery Vasilyev had given the Russians a 1-0 lead at 3:34 from the point. Paul Shmyr would was in trouble on defense most of the night, couldn't handle Valery Kharlamov in the corner. He got it back to Vasilyev, who hit a low slap shot past Gerry Cheevers.

Gordie got that back within a minute, capping off a pretty passing play with Pat Stapleton and Ralph Backstrom. He waited until Tretiak started to go down, then coolly fired it high into the net just under the crossbar.

"Any higher," he said later, " and it would have hit the lights. No I came in, took a look, and I had quite a bit of room."

The Russians got the lead back at 5:49 on a power play with Shmyr in the penalty box for roughing. Cheevers made a great stop on Alexandr Gusev from the point, but couldn't control the rebound. Vladimir Petrov scooped it out to team captain Boris Mikhailov and put it in the net on a bang-bang-play.

The Russians leading 2-1 and controlling the play, suddenly seemed to sag just past the midway mark of the period and Hull took command. He had three goals before it was over -the first a power play job at 12:45 when he hammered a slap shot from the point past Tretiak, the second at 15:51 when he burst down the middle on a perfect pass from Stapleton and scored on a medium wrist shot, and the third at 17:49 when Andre Lacroix dipsy-doodling inside the Russian blue line sent him down the middle for another wrist shot.

That one capped a four-goal burst with 5 minutes and 4 seconds. Frank Mahovlich having tucked a backhander high into the net at 17:10 after cutting in front on a perfect pass from Rejean Houle.

"It just went in", said Frank later. "Perfect pass."

Hull who now has 6 of Team Canada's 17 goals in this series, after being kept out of the 1972 edition because he jumped from the National Hockey League to the WHA said," I just shot them as they came. I just blasted away. Nothing was really planned."

The Russians seemed dazed as they skated to the dressing room after the first period down 5-2 and with Tretiak looking a lot less than superhuman.

But Kulagin said he never thought of pulling him in favor of backup man Aleksandr Sidelnikov.

‘That would have been unfair", the Soviet coach said. "Tretiak could not be blamed for the goals scored. Rather it was the team's fault."

Tretiak came back to play solidly in the nets, holding the Canadians off as his team-mates chipped away at the lead. In a second period in which the Canadians still had the edge, they narrowed the gap by one with Yakushev just overpowering Cheevers with a slap shot from about 50 feet out after he picked up a loose puck.

It was the big Soviet left wings fifth goal of the series, although he's hurting with a groin pull suffered in the first game a week ago. He didn't play in the third period last night and coach Boris Kulagin said, "It flared up again. We had no choice but to keep him off the ice."

Yakushev who had a hat trick in Winnipeg in Saturdays' 8-5 Soviet win will be back in the lineup in Moscow although Kulagin said it will be up to the team doctors to decide for which game.

That goal narrowing the lead to 5-3, seemed to give the Soviets life and they gradually began to take the initiative in the third period, particularly when Johnny McKenzie went off for consecutive penalties when he was caught with the elbows up as he ran at Soviet players.

But Team Canada with Paul Henderson, Bruce MacGregor, Ralph Backstrom and Mark Howe doing a superb job of penalty killing, held them off and with four minutes to go the big crowd of 15,772 began to roar in expectation of a Canadian win.

But Alexandr Malstev scored a quick goal off a face-off in the Canadian end and it was 5-4, and then Gusev drilled one from the point just 51 seconds later at 16:59 and it was a 5-5 game.

"We just weren't alert on their fourth goal", said Canadian coach Billy Harris, indicating that was the one that hurt the most.

"We were in control for 56 minutes, but we got tired. And when you are tired you are not alert."

McKenzie had another version. "The referee dropped the puck before we were ready," he said. "Andre (center Lacroix) is pretty good on face-offs and he just wasn't ready. J.C. (Tremblay) was back talking to Cheevers I think. We just weren't ready. But they're always ready when they drop the puck."

Harris was as usual, unperturbed after the heartbreaker.

‘The players were quite disappointed', he said in a masterpiece of understatement, "after having a three goal lead in the second period. But" he added reasonably, "we're in better shape than Team Canada 72 was when they were going to Moscow."

McKenzie, again felt differently. "Hell" he said, ‘we should be ahead 3-1 in this series now. We should have won the first one (a 3-3 tie in Quebec in which Tretiak was spectacular in the dying minutes) and we should have won tonight."

Gordie Howe, outstanding after a standing ovation - his fourth in four cities - agreed. "Bobby (Hull) winged one off the post when it was 5-3", he said. "If that one goes in, we're three up and I think they fold."

Gordie in addition to his goal, skated miles, played good defense, and administered perhaps the games best body-check to Mikhailov in the second minute of the game.

"He tried to come between the net and myself," Gordie said, ‘and that's a no-no. But my aim was bad. He ended up on the net instead of into the post."

Marty Howe, Gordie's elder son who played with Stapleton and had a solid game as Harris juggled his defense pairs, was the unfortunate victim on the key fourth goal by the Soviets.

"Yeah, it went in off my stick," he said. "Not much I could do about it. Everything happened so fast."

Kulagin on the Russian side, said he wasn't really worried at any time.

"No" he said, "I'm not surprised because these players have been many times before in fat worse situations than this game and always pulled themselves together and found the strength to comeback."

After they did come back to 5-5, however there were still some uncomfortable moments for Kulagin.

They came after Gennady Tsygankov went off for pulling down Mark Howe as he burst across the blue line at 17:51. Harris sent out his old guys - Gordie and Hull at the points, and Lacroix: the Big M, and McKenzie up front - but they couldn't score.

Howe drifted one in from the point on which Tretiak had to be alert and then Gordie just missed with a minute left on a set up by Hull.

But that was the last gasp and the Russians skated out the final seconds to be sure of going home with a tie - assuredly not as much as they expected from an underrated and underdog Canadian team, but probably more than they deserved.

 

 

 

The Summit in 1974