1974 Summit Series

The 1974 Summit Series was the second of two competitions between Soviet and Canadian professional ice hockey players, following the same format as the 1972 Summit Series, with four games across Canada and four in Moscow. The Soviet team won the series 4–1–3, with Canada's lone victory at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. A significant difference from the previous series was that Canada's roster was selected from the World Hockey Association instead of the National Hockey League.

1974 Summit Series
12345678 Total
Canada  34552242 1
Soviet Union  31853543 4
Location(s)Canada (1–4)
Soviet Union (5–8)
DatesSeptember 17, 1974 – October 6, 1972 (1974-09-17 – 1972-10-06)
Summit Series

Negotiations for the event started at the 1974 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, when Andrey Starovoytov of the Soviet Union approached Jack Devine and Gordon Juckes of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association regarding another series.[1] Initially the event was to be six-games,[2] but it was later extended to eight.[3]

WHA players had been banned from playing in the 1972 series. Bobby Hull, who had just jumped from the NHL to the Winnipeg Jets, had been named to the Canadian team by Harry Sinden, but was not allowed to participate. The 1974 series was an opportunity for Hull and 46-year-old Gordie Howe to play for Canada against the Soviet Union. The number one goaltender was Gerry Cheevers who played in seven of the eight games, missing game three to attend the funeral of his father. Don McLeod and Gilles Gratton were the backup goalies for Team Canada. Vladislav Tretiak and Alexander Sidelnikov were the goaltenders for the Soviets, with Tretiak playing in all but game eight for the Soviets.

In 1974, the two-season-old WHA was largely composed of players scavenged from the minor leagues, mixed with a few NHL stars and aging veterans. Playing on both the 1972 and 1974 teams for Canada were Paul Henderson, Frank Mahovlich and Pat Stapleton. The last active player from the series was Mark Howe, who retired in 1995. Team Canada players were paid C$6,000 each for participating in the event.[4]

Games

USSR Wins Series 4–1–3

Scoring leaders
  1. Canada Bobby Hull (7g, 2a, 9pts)
  2. Soviet Union Alexander Yakushev (5g, 3a, 8pts)
  3. Canada Ralph Backstrom (4g, 4a, 8pts)
  4. Canada Gordie Howe (3g, 4a, 7pts)
  5. Soviet Union Valeri Kharlamov (2g, 5a, 7pts)
  6. Soviet Union Vladimir Petrov (1g, 6a, 7pts)
  7. Canada André Lacroix (1g, 6a, 7pts)
  8. Soviet Union Boris Mikhailov (4g, 2a, 6pts)
  9. Canada Mark Howe (2g, 4a, 6pts)
  10. Canada John McKenzie (2g, 3a, 5pts)

Broadcasting

Like it was with the original Summit Series in 1972, CBC and CTV split the coverage, with CTV carrying Games 1, 3, 6 and 7, while CBC aired Games 2, 4, 5 (?) and 8. CTV produced the telecasts. Johnny Esaw called the games for CTV, while Don Chevrier called the action for CBC. Howie Meeker was the colour commentator for all of the games. Both Esaw and Chevrier conducted intermission and post-game interviews during the games either one did not do play-by-play for. In the Soviet Union, coverage was orchestrated by the Ministry of Telecommunications. The first 4 games of the broadcast also featured the Gamerecorder which was the first statistics computer used in professional sports and a print of the Gamerecorder has now been accepted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.[5]

DVD release

In December 2006, Hockey Canada and the Hockey Hall of Fame approved the release of a 1974 Summit Series boxset.

See also

References
  1. Wallace, Craig (2009). The Forgotten Summit. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-557-04556-3.
  2. Svoboda, Chuck (April 30, 1974). "Team Canada 74: Production of the WHA". Brandon Sun. Brandon, Manitoba. p. 6.icon of an open green padlock
  3. "Plans finalized for Soviet-WHA series". Brandon Sun. Brandon, Manitoba. May 27, 1974. p. 9.icon of an open green padlock
  4. "Roundup of short sport". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. December 5, 1974. p. 16.icon of an open green padlock
  5. https://www.facebook.com/74SummitSeries/
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