1979 Challenge Cup (ice hockey)

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1979 Challenge Cup
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
February 8–11, 1979
Game oneSoviet Union 2 – 4 NHL All-Stars
Game twoSoviet Union 5 – 4 NHL All-Stars
Game threeSoviet Union 6 – 0 NHL All-Stars
← 1978 1980 →
The 1979 Challenge Cup Trophy

The 1979 Challenge Cup was a series of international ice hockey games between the Soviet Union national ice hockey team and a team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League.[1] The games were played on February 8, 10, and 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the 1978–79 NHL season. The Soviets defeated the NHL All-Stars 2 games to 1.

The team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League included 23 Canadians and 3 Swedish players. Bobby Orr commenting in the post-game interviews after Game 2, accidentally called the NHL All-Stars "Team Canada" (because of the number of Canadians on the roster). The Challenge Cup, unlike its predecessor, the Summit Series, included non-Canadian born players in the NHL rosters.

The NHL All-Stars team has been coached by Scotty Bowman. The Soviet Union national team has been coached by Viktor Tikhonov.

NHL All-Stars roster[]

  • Canada #10 Guy Lafleur (RW) (Montreal Canadiens)
  • Canada #19 Larry Robinson (D) (Montreal Canadiens)
  • Canada #23 Bob Gainey (LW) (Montreal Canadiens)
  • Canada #22 Steve Shutt (LW) (Montreal Canadiens)
  • Canada #11 Gilbert Perreault (C) (Buffalo Sabres)
  • Canada #17 Marcel Dionne (C) (Los Angeles Kings)
  • Canada #27 Darryl Sittler (C) (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • Canada #8 Lanny McDonald (RW) (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • Canada #16 Bobby Clarke (C) Captain (Philadelphia Flyers)
  • Canada #20 Bryan Trottier (C) (New York Islanders)
  • Canada #25 Mike Bossy (RW) (New York Islanders)
  • Canada #9 Clark Gillies (LW) (New York Islanders)
  • Canada #4 Barry Beck (D) (Colorado Rockies)
  • Canada #18 Serge Savard (D) (Montreal Canadiens)
  • Canada #3 Guy Lapointe (D) (Montreal Canadiens)
  • Canada Robert Picard (D) (Washington Capitals)
  • Canada #5 Denis Potvin (D) (New York Islanders)
  • Canada #7 Bill Barber (LW) (Philadelphia Flyers)
  • Canada #21 Don Marcotte (LW) (Boston Bruins)
  • Canada #35 Tony Esposito (G) (Chicago Blackhawks)
  • Canada #29 Ken Dryden (G) (Montreal Canadiens)
  • Canada #30 Gerry Cheevers (G) (Boston Bruins)
  • Canada Ron Greschner (D) (New York Rangers)
  • Sweden #26 Borje Salming (D) (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • Sweden #12 Ulf Nilsson (C) (New York Rangers)
  • Sweden #15 Anders Hedberg (RW) (New York Rangers)

Soviet Union roster[]

Uniforms[]

The NHL vastly simplified their white All-Star uniforms, removing most of the striping and stars. The NHL shield on the front was enlarged, while the logos on the shoulders remained the same. The striping was reduced to two thin stripes, orange over black, separated by a thin white stripe. The names on the back remained in black with orange trim, and the numerals remained orange with black trim.

The Soviet team used their standard red national uniforms, which they also used when touring against the teams of the World Hockey Association (while billed as the "Soviet All-Stars"). The jerseys featured two white stripes at the waistline - one thin stripe over a wider stripe studded with red diamonds. The sleeve stripes followed a similar pattern, but without the diamonds on the wide stripes, and an additional white stripe below the wide band. While the Soviet team normally used Cyrillic script on its uniforms, the names on the back of the jerseys for the Challenge Cup were romanized for the event. The front of the jerseys retained the Cyrillic СССР initials.

Game log[]

Game 1[]

  • Date: Thursday February 8, 1979
  • Location: Madison Square Garden
  • Attendance: 17,438

Officials[]

  • Referee- Canada Bob Myers
  • Linesman- Canada Ray Scapinello
  • Linesman- Canada Jon D'Amico

Score[]

NHL All-Stars 4 - Soviet Union 2

Goals[]

  • NHL 1-0 USSR 0:16 (1st Period) NHL All-Stars - Guy Lafleur (Bobby Clarke, Steve Shutt)
  • NHL 2-0 USSR 6:22 (1st Period) NHL All-Stars - Mike Bossy (Gilbert Perreault, Guy Lafleur) (Power play)
  • NHL 2-1 USSR 11:25 (1st Period) Soviet Union - Boris Mikhailov (Valeri Vasiliev, Valeri Kharlamov) (Power play)
  • NHL 3-1 USSR 15:48 (1st Period) NHL All-Stars - Bob Gainey (Bill Barber, Barry Beck)
  • NHL 4-1 USSR 8:14 (2nd Period) NHL All-Stars - Clark Gillies (Mike Bossy)
  • NHL 4-2 USSR 3:02 (3rd Period) Soviet Union - Vladimir Golikov (Aleksandr Golikov, Sergei Makarov)

Penalties[]

  • 0:59 (1st Period) Soviet Union - Viktor Zhluktov (Hooking)
  • 5:13 (1st Period) Soviet Union - Vladimir Petrov (Hooking)
  • 8:31 (1st Period) NHL All-Stars - Lanny McDonald (High Sticking)
  • 10:59 (1st Period) NHL All-Stars - Clark Gillies (Charging)
  • 12:21 (1st Period) Soviet Union - Viktor Zhluktov (Interference)
  • 10:48 (2nd Period) Soviet Union - Gennadiy Tsygankov (Holding)

Shots on goal[]

  • Soviet Union: 6 5 9 - 20
  • NHL All-Stars: 10 9 5 - 24

Goalies[]

  • 60:00 Soviet Union - Vladislav Tretiak (20/24) 4 goals against
  • 60:00 NHL All-Stars - Ken Dryden (18/20) 2 goals against

Game 2[]

  • Date: Saturday February 10, 1979
  • Location: Madison Square Garden
  • Attendance: 17,438

Officials[]

  • Referee- Soviet Union Viktor Dombrovski
  • Linesman- Canada Matt Pavelich
  • Linesman- Canada Ron Finn

Score[]

Soviet Union 5 - NHL All-Stars 4

Goals[]

  • USSR 1-0 NHL 8:10 (1st Period) Soviet Union - Sergei Kapustin (Sergei Starikov)
  • USSR 1-1 NHL 13:35 (1st Period) NHL All-Stars - Mike Bossy (Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies) (Power play)
  • USSR 1-2 NHL 18:21 (1st Period) NHL All-Stars - Bryan Trottier (Clark Gillies, Mike Bossy)
  • USSR 1-3 NHL 0:27 (2nd Period) NHL All-Stars - Gilbert Perreault (Darryl Sittler)
  • USSR 2-3 NHL 2:05 (2nd Period) Soviet Union - Mikhail Varnakov (Aleksandr Skvortsov)
  • USSR 2-4 NHL 5:06 (2nd Period) NHL All-Stars - Larry Robinson (Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne)
  • USSR 3-4 NHL 17:02 (2nd Period) Soviet Union - Boris Mikhailov (Vladimir Petrov, Valeri Vasiliev) (Power play)
  • USSR 4-4 NHL 7:47 (2nd Period) Soviet Union - Sergei Kapustin (Viktor Zhluktov)
  • USSR 5-4 NHL 1:31 (3rd Period) Soviet Union - Vladimir Golikov (Sergei Makarov)

Penalties[]

  • 12:32 (1st Period) Soviet Union - Vladimir Kovin (Cross-Checking)
  • 15:13 (1st Period) NHL All-Stars - Gilbert Perreault (Holding)
  • 8:04 (2nd Period) NHL All-Stars - Borje Salming (Interference)
  • 15:07 (2nd Period) NHL All-Stars - Barry Beck (Boarding)

Shots on goal[]

  • Soviet Union: 7 14 10 - 31
  • NHL All-Stars: 5 5 6 - 16

Goalies[]

  • 60:00 Soviet Union - Vladislav Tretiak (12/16) 4 goals against
  • 60:00 NHL All-Stars - Ken Dryden (26/31) 5 goals against

Game 3[]

  • Date: Sunday February 11, 1979
  • Location: Madison Square Garden
  • Attendance: 17,545

Officials[]

Score[]

Soviet Union 6 - NHL All-Stars 0[3]

Goals[]

  • USSR 1-0 NHL 5:47 (2nd Period) Soviet Union - Boris Mikhailov (Aleksandr Golikov)
  • USSR 2-0 NHL 7:44 (2nd Period) Soviet Union - Viktor Zhluktov (Helmunts Balderis, Valeri Vasiliev) (Power play)
  • USSR 3-0 NHL 8:44 (3rd Period) Soviet Union - Helmuts Balderis (Irek Gimayev)
  • USSR 4-0 NHL 10:21 (3rd Period) Soviet Union - Vladimir Kovin (Aleksandr Skvortsov, Mikhail Varnakov)
  • USSR 5-0 NHL 12:44 (3rd Period) Soviet Union - Sergei Makarov (Sergei Kapustin)
  • USSR 6-0 NHL 14:46 (3rd Period) Soviet Union - Aleksandr Golikov

Penalties[]

  • 6:27 (2nd Period) NHL All-Stars - Don Marcotte (Elbowing)
  • 10:48 (2nd Period) Soviet Union - Valeri Vasiliev (Holding)
  • 12:27 (2nd Period) Soviet Union - Vladimir Myshkin (Roughing) (served by Irek Gimaev)
  • 12:27 (2nd Period) NHL All-Stars - Bryan Trottier (Roughing)
  • 14:22 (3rd Period) Soviet Union - Boris Mikhailov (Holding)

Shots on goal[]

  • Soviet Union: 6 6 7 - 19
  • NHL All-Stars: 7 7 10 - 24

Goalies[]

  • 60:00 Soviet Union - Vladimir Myshkin (24/24) 0 goals against
  • 60:00 NHL All-Stars - Gerry Cheevers (13/19) 6 goals against

Broadcasters[]

In the United States, Game 2,[4] which was held on a Saturday afternoon, was shown on CBS[5] as part of CBS Sports Spectacular.[6][7][8] The network refused to expand CBS Sports Spectacular to carry the game in full[9] so instead, the show came on during the second intermission,[10] showed taped highlights of the first two periods, and then showed the final period live. The lead-in to Sports Spectacular was The World's Strongest Man. The then-CBS affiliate in Boston, the old WNAC-TV, broadcast a local college hockey game that led into Sports Spectacular.

The network, the show and their sponsors had a problem with the rink board advertising[11] that the NHL sold at Madison Square Garden, and refused to allow them to be shown on television. As a result, CBS viewers were unable to see the far boards above the yellow kickplate, and could only see players' skates when the play moved to that side of the ice. Games 1 and 3 were shown on the NHL Network,[12][13] where the advertising was no problem.

Dan Kelly and Lou Nanne were the commentators for CBS while Dick Stockton served as the host.

References[]

  1. ^ 1979 Challenge Cup on greatesthockeylegends.com
  2. ^ Yuri Fedorov's surname on the back of his shirt was listed as "Federov" // 1979 Challenge Cup Game 2 Goals - NHL vs USSR
  3. ^ "SOVIETS EMBARRASS NHL ALL STARS 6-0 TO WIN CHALLENGE CUP". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  4. ^ Gerald Eskenazi (February 8, 1979). "Soviet Six Now Taking NHL Series Seriously; Million-Dollar Gate". The New York Times. p. D18.
  5. ^ "Sports BRIEFING". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. February 10, 1979. p. W_C3.
  6. ^ Fachet, Robert (February 8, 1979). "NHL Stars Challenged By Soviets". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ Anderson, Dave (February 11, 1979). "The Empty Cup". New York Times.
  8. ^ E.M. Swift (February 19, 1979). "Run Over By The Big Red Machine". Sports Illustrated.
  9. ^ "Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota · Page 26". Newspapers.com. January 14, 1979.
  10. ^ Quinn, Hal (February 26, 1979). "Exploding the myth of hockey supremacy". MACLEAN’S.
  11. ^ "Sports BRIEFING". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. February 15, 1979. p. E3.
  12. ^ Gerald Eskenazi (February 8, 1979). "Soviet Six Now Taking N.H.L. Series Seriously; Million-Dollar Gate". The New York Times. p. D18.
  13. ^ Bob Verdi (February 8, 1979). "Soviet 'pupils,' suspicious NHL stars open 3-game war". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. p. C3.

External links[]

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