Old South Stands
Jolly Good Fellow
- Messages
- 244
I never knew this game was even played...
Two days prior to blowing out Team USA in the exhibition game at Madison Square Garden, the 1980 Soviet team travelled to Erie, PA to play a tune-up game against the Erie Blades of the EHL. That must have been a real thrill for those guys... minor league guys going up against the best and most famous players in international hockey in an almost surreal scene. Despite the lopsided shutout, the Blades' goalie did a bang-up job defending the net, just couldn't hold up under all the pressure. The Blades were definitely slower, so much so that on the numerous occasions a Blades player rushed towards the Soviet goal with the puck on a one-on-one situation, a Soviet player would come up from behind and poke check him or simply steal the puck outright. A valiant effort by the minor-leaguers. The link below is the pre-game ceremony; there's a separate video for each period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rkfb3Y89cI
Two days prior to blowing out Team USA in the exhibition game at Madison Square Garden, the 1980 Soviet team travelled to Erie, PA to play a tune-up game against the Erie Blades of the EHL. That must have been a real thrill for those guys... minor league guys going up against the best and most famous players in international hockey in an almost surreal scene. Despite the lopsided shutout, the Blades' goalie did a bang-up job defending the net, just couldn't hold up under all the pressure. The Blades were definitely slower, so much so that on the numerous occasions a Blades player rushed towards the Soviet goal with the puck on a one-on-one situation, a Soviet player would come up from behind and poke check him or simply steal the puck outright. A valiant effort by the minor-leaguers. The link below is the pre-game ceremony; there's a separate video for each period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rkfb3Y89cI