Niin, Alla oleva kertoo sen mistä Philly-pelissä oli kyse. Harlamov ja Tretjak ovat usein maininneet ottelun kauheimpana missä ovat olleet mukana. Loktev on muuten kertonut tuoneensa joukkueen takaisin kentälle saatuaan ottelun tuomarilta takeet, että ottelu käytäisiin edes jonkinlaisten sääntöjen puitteissa. Tuskinpa Kanada peleistä niin paljoa maksoi, että neuvostopelaajien olisi peliuraansa kannattanut sen takia riskeerata.
"And when one of the officials came into the locker room before the game to tell us that Lloyd Gilmour was refereeing the game that night and wanted us to play our game, I knew this was going to be fun.
Sparked by the tremendous buildup to the game, the pressure from the league to win and Kate Smith's rousing redition of God Bless America, we came out of the gate flying. We three a few jarring hits and Spectrum crowd was whipped into a frenzy. Then came the big moment: Defenseman Ed Van impe, who had just finished serving a penalty for tripping, rushed across the ice and lodged either his forearm or elbow into Kharlamov's face. The Soviet star went down on his knees, holding his face in his hands."
The Cold War was running hot in 1976. The socialist Soviet Union and the
capitalist Western world continued to produce weapons of mass destruction in
a race for global superiority. Somehow, the Philadelphia Flyers were dragged
into this international theater, called upon to defend the honor of hockey
in the free world.
The visiting Central Red Army, the perennial champions of the Soviet Union,
was going through NHL cities like a hot sickle through butter. The Soviets
drubbed the New York Rangers, 7-3. A few nights later they tied the Montreal
Canadiens 3-3. In Boston, they shredded the Bruins 5-2.
In the first meaningful hockey meeting between East and West since the 1972
Summit Series, the Soviets were embarrassing the NHL's best. Establishing a
puppet government behind the Iron Curtain was one thing, but come over here
and skate circles around us - this was serious. SO serious that all of the
hockey world was watching the night of January 11 when the Red Army entered
the Spectrum for its fourth and final "exhibition" game - The Game I'll
Never Forget"
Our playing styles were as different as East and West. The Soviets were
incredibly gifted skaters and passers, but didn't do much body checking,
didn't dump and chase, and weren't especially great in the corners. They
hardly ever displayed emotion on the ice and only shot the puck when they
had a good, clear chance. They were robotic, yet highly efficient.
Their best forward was winger Valeri Kharlamov, a smooth skater with a
wicked shot. Kharlamov was very familiar with the Broad Street Bullies style
of hockey. Our captain, bobby Clarke, put Kharlamov out of the Summit
Series, breaking the Soviet star's sankle with a vicious slash. Clarked was
just playing Flyers hockey. Whether we were fighting or just throwing our
weight around along the boards, we thrived on intimidation. Just ask the
rest of the league; it stood by and watched us win the previous two Stanley
Cups.
The question remained: Howe were we going to match up against the Soviets? I
remember Bob Kelly saying to me before the game "Dave, you can't skate with
them, you can't stickhandle like them, you're not allowed to fight. What are
you going to do?"
Coach Fred Shero knew what to do. He devised one of his famous systems. He
wasn't going to send us chasing the Soviets around the ice; he wanted us to
lay back in the neutral zone and dare the Soviets to try to skate through
us. When they came forward, he wanted us to greet them with ill will. And
when one of the officials came into the locker room before the game to tell
us that Lloyd Gilmour was refereeing the game that night and wanted us to
play our game, I knew this was going to be fun.
Sparked by the tremendous buildup to the game, the pressure from the league
to win and Kate Smith's rousing redition of God Bless America, we came out
of the gate flying. We three a few jarring hits and Spectrum crowd was
whipped into a frenzy. Then came the big moment: Defenseman Ed Van impe, who
had just finished serving a penalty for tripping, rushed across the ice and
lodged either his forearm or elbow into Kharlamov's face. The Soviet star
went down on his knees, holding his face in his hands.
the Central Red Army coach, Konstantin Loktev, was irate. He waved for the
officials to come over. Then he delayed putting his next line on the ice.
After a few seconds, GIlmour had enough. He skated tword the Soviet bench
holding up two fingers, one for each penalty minute the Soviets were being
assessed for delay of game. When Loktev realized what was happening, he
ordered his players into the locker room.
I just shrugged. This was par for the course for the Flyers. We had been
hauled into courts, brought before the commissioner, and had stormed into
enemy stands after rowdy fans. What's a little international incident
compared our years of hell raising?
We just skated around and peppered (Wayne) Stephenson with a few practice
shots while everything unfolded in the bowels of the Spectrum. Legend has it
that the Soviets were refusing to return and were going to pack up and
return home until someone pointed out that they wouldn't get paid for the
game unless they came out and played. Chagrined, the Soviets re-emerged
after 17 minutes. We got the distinct feeling that this team was scared of
us, scared of what we could do to them.
Play resumed with us on the power play, and just 17 seconds after the
Soviets returned to the ice, Reggie Leach tipped a pass from Bill Barber
past Tretiak to give us a 1-0 lead. Feeling the momentum, Rick MacLeish made
it 2-0 later in the period, getting a nice pick from Gary Dornhoefer and
beating Tretiak with a wrist shot.
The second period was more of the same; a couple of big checks, our Berlin
Wall defense in the netural zone and another goal. this time Joe Watson took
a pass from Don Saleski and backhanded in a shorthanded goal. By now, the
outcome was decided - we had three goals and the Soviets didn't even have
three shots.
The Soviets finally got on the board when Viktor Kutyergin's slap shot
eluded Stephenson, but they were never able to mount a serious rally. Larry
Goodenough added a third period goal, and when the final buzzer went off, we
had won 4-1. We became the toast of the hockey world. Those same people who
had reviled us now revered us for beating the Soviets an stemming the
surging Red Tide...on ice.
As told to Chuck O'Donnell.
