Summit Series The Summit Series was the first competition between full - strength Soviet and Canadian national ice hockey teams , an eight - game series held in September 1972 . Canada won the series four games to three , with one tie . Introduction . The Series was played at a time when only amateurs were allowed to play in the Olympic Games . The Soviet players , who had Olympic experience , were amateurs by strict definition only , as they were elite players playing hockey full - time in their native country . Some were given other titular professions ( e . g . Red Army soldiers playing full - time for the Central Red Army hockey team ) to maintain amateur status for Olympic eligibility . Team Canada featured the country ' s best professional NHL ers , who by virtue of this status were ineligible for Olympic competition . For this reason , Canada had ceased competing in the IIHF World Championships and Winter Olympics after 1969 . At the time , the National Hockey League , and also its best players , consisted largely of Canadians and was considered to be the where the best hockey players played . The public consensus of hockey pundits and fans in North America was that other countries , the Soviets in this case , were simply no match for Canada ' s best . The Soviets were not expected to even give the Canadians a challenge , and Canada was going into this series expected to win eight games to zero . The eight - game series consisted of four games in Canada , held in Montreal ( Montreal Forum ) , Toronto ( Maple Leaf Gardens ) , Winnipeg ( Winnipeg Arena ) and Vancouver ( Pacific Coliseum ) and four games in the Soviet Union , all of them held in Moscow at the Luzhniki Ice Palace . The series was played at the height of the Cold War , and intense feelings of nationalism were aroused by the contest in both Canada and the Soviet Union . The series was of particular interest to Canadian residents due to the fact that Canada was the birthplace of hockey . The games showcased many great Russian players previously unknown in North America , such as Valery Kharlamov , Alexander Yakushev and especially Vladislav Tretiak , who dominated several of the series ' games . Against the stiffest competition they had ever faced , Team Canada revealed during the series the leadership of prolific scorer Phil Esposito , as well as the quieter contributions of solid NHL veterans like Paul Henderson and Gary Bergman . Canada ' s Bobby Orr , the most dominant NHL player at the time , was named to the team but did not play because of a knee injury . Bobby Hull , another dominant player , was selected for the team by coach Harry Sinden , but was ruled ineligible to play because of his defection from the NHL to the rival World Hockey Association . Alan Eagleson , a player agent and the future head of the National Hockey League Players Association , was involved in forming the Canadian team . He was also considered to be responsible for the decision to exclude Hull and other WHA stars , such as Gerry Cheevers and Derek Sanderson . Some NHL owners also threatened not to free their players to participate if WHA players were permitted . The series . Game 1 . In Game One , held in Montreal on September 2 , Phil Esposito scored for Canada after just 30 seconds of play . When Canada took a two - goal lead six minutes in , Canadian spectators and pundits alike felt that pre - series predictions of a rout had been proven correct . The hard - working Soviets staged a comeback , though , tying the score before the end of the first period . In the second period , Valery Kharlamov scored twice , giving the Soviets a two - goal lead . Bobby Clarke scored to bring Canada within one , but the Soviets pulled away with three more goals in the third and won 7 - 3 . The Canadian players later commented on the superior physical conditioning of the Soviets , as well as their disciplined and relentless playing style . This general scheme — of the Canadians playing well initially but declining near the end of the game due to insufficient physical conditioning — was to be a common feature of the series . Another difference was that the Soviets stayed in peak physical condition all year round , while the Canadians had a summer off - season and relied upon the last - minute training camp to get back in shape . The Forum was also very , very warm in the summer weather . Game 2 . Game 2 was played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto . Team Canada responded to their previous defeat with strong play in this game , with Tony Esposito taking over goaltending duties from Ken Dryden . With the score at 2 - 1 in the third period , Peter Mahovlich scored a remarkable shorthanded goal , in which he deked both the Soviet defender 1 - on - 1 , then Tretiak to give Canada a two - goal lead . With enough momentum from the goal to successfully defend their lead , Team Canada won the game 4 - 1 and tied the series . Game 3 . Game 3 was held in Winnipeg on September 6th . Team Canada held leads of 3 - 1 and 4 - 2 , but the Soviet side responded and the game ended in a 4 - 4 tie . Game 4 . Team Canada played poorly in Game Four in Vancouver , losing 5 - 3 , and the crowd of 15 , 570 fans echoed the rest of Canada ' s sentiments : Team Canada was booed off the ice at game ' s end . Responding to the negative public and media reaction in light of the expectation for an overwhelming Team Canada sweep of the series , Phil Esposito made an emotional outburst on Canadian national television : Great turmoil ensued in Canada as Team Canada prepared to travel to the Soviet Union to play the remaining four games , and Canada contemplated the end to its perceived dominance in the sport of hockey . Sweden . During a two - week hiatus , the Canadians played two exhibition games versus the Swedish national team on September 16 and September 17 at the Hovet arena in Stockholm . Canada won game one 4 - 1 ; the second game was a 4 - 4 tie . The second game included an outburst from both teams , which resulted in Wayne Cashman getting his tongue cut open , requiring 50 stitches and forcing him to miss the rest of the Summit Series , although he stayed with the team . The first exhibition game also introduced Canada to two West German referees , Josef Kompalla and Franz Baader . These two referees would figure prominently in Games 6 and 8 of the remainder of the series . Team Canada was heavily criticized by the Swedes for its " criminal " - style play during the two games . The games in Sweden , however , helped bring Canada together as a team and focused them for the final four games . Game 5 . Team Canada went to the Soviet Union for the final four games at the Luzhniki Ice Palace , accompanied by 3 , 000 Canadian fans . Team Canada players Vic Hadfield , Rick Martin , and Jocelyn Guevremont left the team and all went home for various reasons . On September 22 , in Game Five in Moscow , Canada led 4 - 1 , but ended up losing the game 5 - 4 . Team Canada was now faced with the hard fact that with three games remaining in the series , the Soviets were ahead by two victories . To add to the Canadian struggles , Gilbert Perreault left Team Canada to focus on Buffalo Sabres training camp . Game 6 . Game Six was a Canadian 3 - 2 victory . Prior to the game , the Canadians became upset over a shipment of beer that they believed the Soviets had deliberately " lost " at the airport . Following the game , the Canadians complained that the German referees ( the same ones who refereed the controversial Sweden game ) was biased , since Canada was handed 31 penalty minutes during the game , while the Soviets only received four . This game also saw the most controversial play of the entire series . In the second period , Bobby Clarke deliberately slashed Valery Kharlamov ' s ankle , fracturing it . Years later , John Ferguson , Sr . , the assistant coach of Team Canada , was quoted as saying " I called Clarke over to the bench , looked over at Kharlamov and said , ' I think he needs a tap on the ankle . ' " Kharlamov was the Soviets ' best forward , and although he played the rest of the game , he missed Game Seven and was largely ineffectual in Game Eight . Game 7 . Canada won Game Seven by the score of 4 - 3 , with Paul Henderson scoring the winning goal late in the third period on a strong individual effort . The game also featured a controversial incident : During the third period , a small scuffle broke out between Canada ' s Gary Bergman , and Russia ' s Boris Mikhailov , in which the future Soviet captain committed a cardinal sin in hockey , using his skate as a weapon , kicking Gary Bergman two times before the fight ended . Game 8 . Heading into Game Eight , each team had three wins and three losses , with one tie . Only a win in Game Eight would deliver victory in the series . In Canada , the entire country just about shut down for the game , with many watching it at work or school . Team Canada took a number of questionable early penalties ( which wasn ' t surprising to Canadians , as one referee was the same who were accused of being biased in Game 6 . The game was delayed after a marginal call against J . P . Parise , and emotions boiled over . Parise nearly swung his stick at Josef Kompalla and got a match penalty . Sinden threw a chair on the ice . Despite the penalties , the score was 2 - 2 after the first period , but the Soviets pulled ahead 5 - 3 after two . Things looked grim for Team Canada . During the second intermission , goalie Ken Dryden was reported to have thought , " If we lose this one , I ' ll be the most hated man in Canada . " But the Canadians came out roaring in the third period , and Phil Esposito and Yvan Cournoyer scored to even it up . After Cournoyer ' s goal , Alan Eagleson ( seated across the ice from the Team Canada bench ) caused a ruckus in the crowd because the goal light had not come on . As he was being subdued by the Soviet police , the Canadian players headed over , Peter Mahovlich actually going over the boards to confront police with his stick . Eagleson was freed , and the coaches escorted him across the ice to the bench . In anger , he shoved his fist to the Soviet crowd , as a few other Canadian supporters also gave the finger to the Soviets . At that point , with the score tied 5 - 5 and the series tied 3 - 3 - 1 , a member of the Soviet delegation unexpectedly informed Canada that , if the score and the series remained tied , the Soviets would claim victory on goal differential . In the final minute of play , with Phil Esposito , Yvan Cournoyer and Peter Mahovlich out on the ice , Paul Henderson stood up at the bench and called Mahovlich off the ice as he was skating by . Then , with just 34 seconds remaining in the game , Henderson , in perhaps the most famous moment in Canadian sports history , scored for Canada , jamming in a rebound behind Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak . " I jumped on the ice and rushed straight for their net . I had this strange feeling that I could score the winning goal " , recalls Henderson . This play is widely known as " the goal heard around the world " and was captured on film by cameraman Frank Lennon . The picture became one of Canada ' s most famous photographs . Canada held on for the win in the game and thus the series . This truly memorable moment for Canada was not viewed as a fair win in the Soviet Union . Many Soviet citizens believed that their country would have won had Bobby Clarke not fractured the ankle of their best player , and if Anatoli Firsov and Vitaly Davydov had not sat out the series to protest a coaching change . In response , some offer that Canada was without Bobby Orr due to injury as well as Bobby Hull ( due to his departure from the NHL to the newly - formed WHA ) These were arguably the best Canadian players at the time ( besides Phil Esposito ) , so neither team had its greatest talent on the ice . In addition to the eight games against the Soviets and two against the Swedes , the Canadians also played an exhibition game against Czechoslovakia . The game took place on September 29 at the Sportovní hala , and ended in a tie . Broadcasting . CBC and CTV split the coverage , with CTV carrying Games 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 and 8 . Meanwhile , CBC aired Games 2 , 4 , 6 and 8 . CTV produced the telecasts . Foster Hewitt and Brian Conacher were the commentators for all of the games . Legacy . The success of the 1972 Summit Series would lead to the development of the Canada Cup hockey championships . It also led to regular series " Soviet clubs vs the NHL " , known as the Super Series , that also were held since 1976 , as did the Canada Cup . As time passed , the significance of the series grew in the public consciousness , and the term " Summit Series " became its unofficial accepted name . In Canada today , the Summit Series remains a source of much national pride , and is seen by many as a landmark event in Canadian cultural history . In Canada , Paul Henderson ' s goal is likely the most well - known in the history of the game . Marcel Dionne was the last active player from the Canadian roster . He retired in 1989 as a member of the New York Rangers . In 2005 , the team was honoured , en masse , as members of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame . Rosters . Canada . Forwards ( and position ) . Phil Esposito ( C ) , Frank Mahovlich ( LW ) , Peter Mahovlich ( C ) , Gilbert Perreault ( C ) , Yvan Cournoyer ( RW ) , Bobby Clarke ( C ) , Paul Henderson ( LW ) , Ron Ellis ( RW ) , Bill Goldsworthy ( RW ) , Stan Mikita ( C ) , Wayne Cashman ( RW ) , Vic Hadfield ( LW ) , Jean Ratelle ( C ) , Marcel Dionne ( C ) , Rick Martin ( LW ) , Jean - Paul Parise ( LW ) , Red Berenson ( C ) , Rod Gilbert ( RW ) , Dennis Hull ( LW ) , Mickey Redmond ( RW ) . Defencemen . Serge Savard , Guy Lapointe , Gary Bergman , Bill White , Rod Seiling , Dale Tallon , Jocelyn Guevremont , Brian Glennie , Pat Stapleton , Don Awrey , Brad Park . ( Bobby Orr was also on the roster , but did not play due to injuries . ) Goaltenders . Tony Esposito , Ken Dryden , Ed Johnston . Coaches and managers . Head coach and general manager : Harry Sinden . Assistant coach and assistant general manager : John Ferguson Soviet Union . Forwards . Boris Mikhailov , Vladimir Petrov , Yury Blinov , Valery Kharlamov , Alexander Yakushev , Yevgeni Zimin , Vyacheslav Starshinov , Vladimir Vikulov , Yevgeni Mishakov , Alexander Maltsev , Vladimir Shadrin , Yuri Lebedev , Alexander Volchkov , Vyacheslav Anisin , Alexander Bodunov , Alexander Martynyuk , Viacheslav Solodukhin . Defencemen . Valery Vasiliev , Alexander Ragulin , Viktor Kuzkin , Vladimir Lutchenko , Gennadiy Tsygankov , Yuri Lyapkin , Yuri Shatalov , Aleksandr Gusev , Vitaly Davydov , Yevgeny Paladiev . Goaltenders . Vladislav Tretiak , Victor Zinger , Alexander Sidelnikov , Alexander Pashkov . Coaches . Head coach : Vsevolod Bobrov . Asst . coach : Boris Kulagin Games . Game 1 : September 2 , 1972 , Montreal Forum , Montreal , Quebec , Canada Game 2 : September 4 , 1972 , Maple Leaf Gardens , Toronto , Ontario , Canada Game 3 : September 6 , 1972 , Winnipeg Arena , Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada Game 4 : September 8 , 1972 , Pacific Coliseum , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada Game 5 : September 22 , 1972 , Luzhniki Ice Palace , Moscow , USSR Game 6 : September 24 , 1972 , Luzhniki Ice Palace , Moscow , USSR Game 7 : September 26 , 1972 , Luzhniki Ice Palace , Moscow , USSR Game 8 : September 28 , 1972 , Luzhniki Ice Palace , Moscow , USSR Canada wins series 4 - 3 - 1