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Pure and Simple -
Soviets Too Good
Several days have passed since the Challenge Cup debacle took place at Madison Square Garden, and the time has come to pause and reflect - not only on what happened and why, but on what can be done in the future to ensure that such a devastation will never occur again. Very simple. The Soviets were just too good for the National Hockey League, long regarded as the solitary source for the most talented collection of hockey players in the world. They aren't any more. There's a bigger, better, stronger and smarter kid on the block that the NHL tried to monopolize, and they have just pulled the rug - and the game of hockey - right out from under Canada's feet. And don't let the excuse you've been hearing from various NHL spokesmen during the days since the defeat fool you into thinking otherwise. Granted, the NHL All Stars had only three practice sessions together before the three game series started. The Soviets had been training together for months with on purpose in mind - proving once and for all, via the Challenge Cup series, that they are No. 1 in the world. Well they did it. They are No. 1 now, mainly because while the NHL sat pat and gloated over its victories against the USSR in 1972 and 1976, the Soviets were working diligently at improving their game in areas where weaknesses had been exposed in their encounters with the NHL. While the NHL was stagnating, the USSR was progressing, its hockey experts studying films, techniques, making changes and constantly innovating. "While we told everyone we
were the best," said Bob Gainey of the Montreal Canadiens, and the 1979
NHL All Stars, "the Russians went back, worked on their game, and beat
us. Now we have to do the same thing." 
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