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#9 Yuri Blinov
One of the keys for the Soviets was surviving the 1st period of game one. The
team was nervous and Canada, while nowhere near their peak shape, were expected
to come out like gangbusters.
"And that's exactly what happened," said Yuri Blinov, reminiscing
about Canada's quick 2-0 lead in the game. "By the middle of the first
period the Canadians slowed down very noticeably. After Zimin scored our first
goal we found our game and, slowly increasing the tempo, achieved success."
Indeed they did. They humiliated Canada 7-3 in that first game. They went on to
be Canada's equal throughout the series. Often they were the better team.
Yuri Blinov, a star left winger, only got into 5 games, scoring 2 goals and 1 assist for 3 points. It was his
goal at the 3:34 mark of the third period in game number five
that sparked a Soviet 5 goal third period to comeback from a 3-0
deficit and win 5-4.
However the Soviets weren't overly impressed with
the enigmatic Blinov's play, as illustrated by Vladimir Dvortsov's editorial
comment for the Tass Agency:
"Against the Canadians our players had to play
over their heads, otherwise they were overmatched. Some did not play to their
potential. One was Yuri Blinov."
STATISTICS
Pos. GP G A P PIM
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Yuri Blinov LW 5 2 1 3 2
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Career Biography
Everyone knows just how impressive and explosive the Soviets' top line was -
Boris Mikhailov and Vladimir Petrov setting up the flashy Valeri Kharlamov.
At one point it was Blinov who was to be the scoring star on that line instead
of Kharlamov however. Blinov got off to a terrific star in his career while
playing with Mikhailov and Petrov. However Blinov soon lost his spot on the
number one unit to Kharlamov.
Blinov never really found his game on any other line, and quickly disappeared
from the national team scene, and even the Red Army team.
Career Statistics Born: January 13, 1949 in Moscow Height: 5'10" Weight: 176lbs Position: LW Shoots: L
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