An often overlooked series on the international hockey scene's glorious history is the 1974 Summit Series. Perhaps this is because it failed to generate the same dramatics of 1972, or perhaps it was because this Team Canada was made up of WHA players instead of NHL players, or perhaps its just because Canada did not win.

Not only did Canada not win, they weren't even expected to win.

"The problem is," explained star defenseman J.C. Tremblay, "most people don't think we're going to win, but they still expect us to."

Team Canada '72 was hailed, then and now, as the greatest team ever iced, and most people would never concede that the WHA was able to ice a team as good the NHL could have. But the WHA did feature The Golden Jet Bobby Hull - known as Booby Hull in Russia. The Jet, as well as stars Tremblay and goalie Gerry Cheevers were able to play against the Soviets this time around, as they were banned from the 1972 Summit Series because of their defection to the upstart league. Gordie Howe had come out of retirement to play in the WHA and was named to Team Canada at the age of 46! He was joined by sons Mark and Marty, even though both were born in Detroit.  And a few Team Canada '72 stars had defected to the WHA by 1974, including standouts Pat Stapleton, Frank Mahovlich and the immortal Paul Henderson.

But nobody was willing to give them a chance of victory, just like nobody was willing to give the Russians a chance 2 years earlier. The Russians were just too good for this team of unsung WHA stars to beat - the myth that Canadian professionals could destroy the Soviet "amateurs" was destroyed for good. 

Team Canada '74 had a couple of big advantages - they had a better understanding of their opponent, something which Team Canada '72 had next to none of. The WHA's lesser known stars knew this could be a great opportunity for them to become legendary, perhaps like Henderson. 

That never happened. Team Canada '74 finished their Summit with the Soviets with a record of just 1 win in 8 games. The Soviets won 4 times, with 3 games.

While full credit must be given to the great Russian team of the 1970s, Canada's series was full of what should have or might have happened.

Game one was played in Quebec City, and was a thoroughly fascinating game filled with great skill. Canada handled the Soviets quite nicely, and held 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but the dreaded Soviet power play gave them a 3-2 lead. Canada applied constant pressure on the Soviets for the rest of the game, but goalie Vladislav Tretiak was having one of his best nights against Team Canada, and ended up stealing a tie. Bobby Hull scored late in the game to knot the score at three, but the Soviet's would later admit they were lucky not to lose that game.

Toronto was the venue for game two.  The Canadians dominated the Russians throughout this game as well, and were well deserving of a 4-1 victory. If they could have held on to their lead in game one, they would have a very commanding edge on the Soviets after leaving Toronto.

Game three was in Winnipeg, the new home of Bobby Hull. Coach Billy Harris did not stay with the same lineup that dominated the Russians in game 2. Instead of going for the kill, Harris elected to get some fresh legs into the tournament, as he promised all his players would get a chance to play - a major issue that erupted in 1972. Cheevers, Gordie Howe, Mahovlich and the outstanding defensive pairing of Brad Selwood and Rick Ley were all sat out. The lineup change proved to be a mistake, as the Russians won handily 8-5, and got themselves back into the series.

The final game in Canada was in Vancouver, just like it was back in 1972. However this time the fans of Vancouver didn't boo Team Canada off of the ice, as they were treated to a wonderful game. Gordie Howe was crashing and banging like only Mr. Hockey could, and Bobby Hull scored two impressive goals. However The Soviets kept pecking away, and late in the game they scored twice in less than a minute to pull out a 5-5 tie.

There was a break between games 4 and 5 as the series shifted to Moscow. Canada played exhibition games in Finland and Sweden while the Russians went home to Moscow and must have focussed exclusively at the task ahead of them. They were a different team once they got back to Moscow, dominating Team Canada for much of the 4 games at Luzhniki Ice Palace.

Game five was a 3-2 Soviet victory. The score sounds close but that is flattering to Team Canada. The team owes that to the great goaltending of Gerry Cheevers.

Game six was one of the darkest moments in Canada vs. Russia series. The game was tight at 2-2 but the Soviets erupted for three unanswered tallies to win. Frustration set in for Canada as at the conclusion of the game Rick Ley, an all star defenseman in the WHA, beat up on Valeri Kharlamov in a poor display of sportsmanship. Kharlamov was a bloody mess and Ley was both denounced and applauded in the Canadian media and even in the Senate.

Game seven was tough to take for Team Canada. Had they won this game that could set up a game eight scenario where they could pull out a 3-3-2 series tie. The game was tied 4-4 late in the game when Bobby Hull scored in the last second to give Canada a 5-4 lead. But referee Tom Brown disallowed the goal claiming  the game had officially ended just a flash before.

Even though the series was clinched before the puck drop in game eight, Canada played a wonderful game in game eight and gave it their all. However the Soviets still pulled out with a 3-2 victory despite resting some of their regular players.

Ultimately, Team Canada '74 should have been named Team WHA '74. The whole tournament was another example of WHA publicity stunt to gain credibility. The league handed out astronomical contracts to its players and, knowing the trouble the NHL had in 1972,  now it was hoping that the top players could beat the Russians. It would be a huge victory for the WHA: not for Canada.

Team Canada Roster

Team USSR Roster