The Loss that shocked a nation
Going into the 1980 Winter Olympics there was no doubt that the Soviets would win the the gold, especially being lead by the Russian Five and the best goalie in the world.
The Soviets were a well oiled machine, they were disciplined and talented practicing four times a day for months until the Olympics. The main part of the Soviet's success was the Russian Five, the Russian Five was the most lethal part of the Soviet team and featured Viacheslav Fetisov (Hall of Fame member), Aleksei Kasatonov, Sergei Makarov, Vladimir Krutov , Igor Larionov (Hall of Fame member). The Russian Five would defeat opponents with ease scoring more than ten goals multiple times in the games leading up to the match with the U.S, the Russian Five also had help at the net by having one of the greatest goalies of all time, Vladislav Tretiak. Tretiak was impenetrable and provided the Soviets with the defense they needed to allow defence-man and forwards to attack.
Going into the game against the Americans the Soviets were heavily favored and didn't think much of the Americans, which lead to less practices and less preparation. In the game the Americans caught the Soviets by surprise by scoring the first goal of the game and tying it by the end of the first intermission. This lead to the most pivotal point in the match with Vladislav Tretiak getting pulled from the game in favor of the backup goalie, Vladimir Myshkin, a move that was heavily criticized. This change lead to the U.S being able to score two more goals and secure the win. The loss devastated and stunned the Soviets, even the win of the silver medal was not enough to take away the pain of the loss. The loss was so shocking that the main media outlet in the Soviet Union, Pravda, did not mention the game in either its next day issue or its Olympics wrap-up. This loss let down a nation filled with high hopes and expectations. |
Soviet team rosterGoalies
# 1 Vladimir Myshkin #20 Vladislav Tretiak Defencemen # 2 Viacheslav Fetisov # 5 Vasili Pervukhin # 6 Valeri Vasiliev # 7 Aleksei Kasatonov #12 Sergei Starikov #14 Zinetula Bilyaletdinov Forwards # 9 Vladimir Krutov #10 Alexandr Maltsev #11 Yuri Lebedev #13 Boris Mikhailov, Captain #16 Vladimir Petrov #17 Valeri Kharlamov #19 Helmut Balderis #22 Viktor Zhlutkov #23 Alekandr Golikov #24 Sergei Makarov #25 Vladimir Golikov #26 Alexandr Skvortsov #27 Igor Larionov |