Summit Series

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The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (Russian: Суперсерия СССР — Канада, romanized: Superseriya SSSR — Kanada), or Series of the Century (French: Série du siècle), was an eight-game ice hockey series between the Soviet Union and Canada, held in September 1972. It was the first competition between the Soviet national team and a Canadian team represented by professional players of the National Hockey League (NHL), known as Team Canada. It was the first international ice hockey competition for Canada after they had withdrawn from such competitions in a dispute with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The series was organized with the intention to create a true best-against-best competition in the sport of ice hockey. The Soviets had become the dominant team in international competitions, in which the Canadian professionals were ineligible to play. Canada had had a long history of dominance of the sport prior to the Soviets' rise. The first four games of the series were held in Canada and the final four in Moscow. The Soviet Union surprised the Canadian team and most of the Canadian hockey media with an opening game victory, 7–3. Many Canadian sportswriters had predicted an overwhelming victory for Canada in the series. Canada won the next game 4–1; the third game was a tie. Canada lost the fourth game in Vancouver. The series resumed two weeks later in Moscow. The Soviets won the fifth game to take a two-game lead. The Canadians then won the final three games in Moscow to win the series four games to three, with one tie. The final game was won in dramatic fashion, with the Canadians overcoming a two-goal Soviet lead after two periods. The Canadians scored three times in the third, the final goal with 34 seconds left by Paul Henderson. The series...