The 1979 Challenge Cup was a series of international ice hockey games between the Soviet Union national ice hockey team and a team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League.1979 Challenge Cup on greatesthockeylegends.com The games were played on February 8, 10, and 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the 1978–79 NHL season. The Soviets defeated the NHL All-Stars two games to one.

The team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League included 23 Canadians and three Swedish players. Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player, commenting in the post-game interviews after game two, accidentally called the NHL All-Stars "Team Canada" (because of the number of Canadians on the roster). The Challenge Cup, unlike its predecessor, the Summit Series, included non-Canadian born players in the NHL rosters.

The NHL All-Stars team was coached by Scotty Bowman, and the Soviet Union national team was coached by Viktor Tikhonov.

NHL All-Stars roster No. Nat Player Pos Team 10 Guy Lafleur RW Montreal Canadiens 19 Larry Robinson D Montreal Canadiens 23 Bob Gainey LW Montreal Canadiens 22 Steve Shutt LW Montreal Canadiens 11 Gilbert Perreault C Buffalo Sabres 17 Marcel Dionne C Los Angeles Kings 27 Darryl Sittler C Toronto Maple Leafs 8 Lanny McDonald RW Toronto Maple Leafs 16 Bobby Clarke – C C Philadelphia Flyers 20 Bryan Trottier C New York Islanders 25 Mike Bossy RW New York Islanders 9 Clark Gillies LW New York Islanders 4 Barry Beck D Colorado Rockies 18 Serge Savard D Montreal Canadiens 3 Guy Lapointe D Montreal Canadiens Robert Picard D Washington Capitals 5 Denis Potvin D New York Islanders 7 Bill Barber LW Philadelphia Flyers 21 Don Marcotte LW Boston Bruins 35 Tony Esposito G Chicago Blackhawks 29 Ken Dryden G Montreal Canadiens 30 Gerry Cheevers G Boston Bruins Ron Greschner D New York Rangers 26 Borje Salming D Toronto Maple Leafs 12 Ulf Nilsson C New York Rangers 15 Anders Hedberg RW New York Rangers

Soviet Union roster No. Nat Player Pos Team 12 Sergei Starikov D Traktor Chelyabinsk 22 Viktor Zhluktov F CSKA Moscow 5 Vasili Pervukhin D Dynamo Moscow 9 Vladimir Kovin C Torpedo Gorky 24 Sergei Makarov RW CSKA Moscow 10 Mikhail Varnakov LW Torpedo Gorky 11 Aleksandr Skvortsov RW Torpedo Gorky 25 Vladimir Golikov F Dynamo Moscow 23 Aleksandr Golikov F Dynamo Moscow 13 Boris Mikhailov – C F CSKA Moscow 16 Vladimir Petrov F CSKA Moscow 17 Valeri Kharlamov F CSKA Moscow 7 Gennadiy Tsygankov D CSKA Moscow 6 Valeri Vasiliev D Dynamo Moscow 8 Sergei Kapustin F CSKA Moscow 2 Yuri FedorovYuri Fedorov's surname on the back of his shirt was listed as "Federov" // 1979 Challenge Cup Game 2 Goals - NHL vs USSR D Torpedo Gorky 14 Zinetula Bilyaletdinov D Dynamo Moscow 19 Helmuts Balderis RW CSKA Moscow 18 Irek Gimayev F Salavat Yulaev Ufa 21 Viktor Tyumenev F Krylya Sovetov Moscow 4 Sergei Babinov D CSKA Moscow 20 Vladislav Tretiak G CSKA Moscow 1 Vladimir Myshkin G Krylya Sovetov Moscow

Uniforms The NHL vastly simplified their white All-Star uniforms, removing most of the striping and stars. The NHL shield on the front was enlarged, while the logos on the shoulders remained the same. The striping was reduced to two thin stripes, orange over black, separated by a thin white stripe. The names on the back remained in black with orange trim, and the numerals remained orange with black trim.

The Soviet team used their standard red national uniforms, which they also used when touring against the teams of the World Hockey Association (while billed as the "Soviet All-Stars"). The jerseys featured two white stripes at the waistline - one thin stripe over a wider stripe studded with red diamonds. The sleeve stripes followed a similar pattern, but without the diamonds on the wide stripes, and an additional white stripe below the wide band. While the Soviet team normally used the Russian language on its uniforms, the names on the back of the jerseys for the Challenge Cup were romanized for the event. The front of the jerseys retained the Russian СССР initials.

Game log

Game 1 Date: Thursday February 8, 1979 Time: 8:00pm Location: New York City: Madison Square Garden Attendance: 17,438

Score NHL All-Stars 4 – Soviet Union 2

+ Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NHL Guy Lafleur Bobby Clarke and Steve Shutt 0:16 1-0 NHL 1st NHL Mike Bossy – pp Gilbert Perreault and Guy Lafleur 6:22 2-0 NHL 1st USSR Boris Mikhailov – pp Valeri Vasiliev and Valeri Kharlamov 11:25 2-1 NHL 1st NHL Bob Gainey Bill Barber and Barry Beck 15:48 3-1 NHL 2nd NHL Clark Gillies Mike Bossy 8:14 4-1 NHL 3rd USSR Vladimir Golikov Aleksandr Golikov and Sergei Makarov 3:02 4-2 NHL

+ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st USSR Viktor Zhluktov Hooking 0:59 2:00 1st USSR Vladimir Petrov Hooking 5:13 2:00 1st NHL Lanny McDonald High-sticking 8:31 2:00 1st NHL Clark Gillies Charging 10:59 2:00 1st USSR Viktor Zhluktov Interference 12:21 2:00 2nd USSR Gennadiy Tsygankov Holding 10:48 2:00

+ Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total NHL All-Stars 10 9 5 24 Soviet Union 6 5 9 20

+ Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities NHL All-Stars 1/2 Soviet Union 1/2

+ Goaltenders Min. Team Goalies Saves Goals Against 60:00 NHL Ken Dryden 18 2 Goals 60:00 USSR Vladislav Tretiak 20 4 Goals

Officials Referee – Bob Myers Linesman – Ray Scapinello Linesman – John D'Amico

Game 2 Date: Saturday February 10, 1979 Time: 2:00pm Location: New York City: Madison Square Garden Attendance: 17,438

Score NHL All-Stars 4 – Soviet Union 5

+ Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st USSR Sergei Kapustin Sergei Starikov 8:10 0-1 USSR 1st NHL Mike Bossy – pp Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies 13:35 1-1 1st NHL Bryan Trottier Clark Gillies and Mike Bossy 18:21 2-1 NHL 2nd NHL Gilbert Perreault Darryl Sittler 0:27 3-1 NHL 2nd USSR Mikhail Varnakov Aleksandr Skvortsov 2:05 3-2 NHL 2nd NHL Larry Robinson Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne 5:06 4-2 NHL 2nd USSR Boris Mikhailov – pp Vladimir Petrov and Valeri Vasiliev 17:02 4-3 NHL 2nd USSR Sergei Kapustin Viktor Zhluktov 7:47 4-4 3rd USSR Vladimir Golikov Sergei Makarov 1:31 4-5 USSR

+ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st USSR Vladimir Kovin Cross-checking 12:32 2:00 1st NHL Gilbert Perreault Holding 15:13 2:00 2nd NHL Borje Salming Interference 8:04 2:00 2nd NHL Barry Beck Boarding 15:07 2:00

+ Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total NHL All-Stars 5 5 6 16 Soviet Union 7 14 10 31

+ Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities NHL All-Stars 1/2 Soviet Union 1/2

+ Goaltenders Min. Team Goalies Saves Goals Against 60:00 NHL Ken Dryden 26 5 Goals 60:00 USSR Vladislav Tretiak 12 4 Goals

Officials Referee – Viktor Dombrovski Linesman – Matt Pavelich Linesman – Ron Finn

Game 3 Date: Sunday February 11, 1979 Time: 8:00pm Location: New York City: Madison Square Garden Attendance: 17,545

Score NHL All-Stars 0 – Soviet Union 6

+ Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 2nd USSR Boris Mikhailov Aleksandr Golikov 5:47 0-1 USSR 2nd USSR Viktor Zhluktov – pp Helmuts Balderis and Valeri Vasiliev 7:44 0-2 USSR 3rd USSR Helmuts Balderis Irek Gimayev 8:44 0-3 USSR 3rd USSR Vladimir Kovin Aleksandr Skvortsov and Mikhail Varnakov 10:21 0-4 USSR 3rd USSR Sergei Makarov Sergei Kapustin 12:44 0-5 USSR 3rd USSR Aleksandr Golikov 14:46 0-6 USSR

+ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 2nd NHL Don Marcotte Elbowing 6:27 2:00 2nd USSR Valeri Vasiliev Holding 10:48 2:00 2nd USSR Vladimir Myshkin (Served by Irek Gimayev) Roughing 12:27 2:00 2nd NHL Bryan Trottier Roughing 12:27 2:00 3rd USSR Boris Mikhailov Holding 14:22 2:00

+ Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total NHL All-Stars 7 7 10 24 Soviet Union 6 6 7 19

+ Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities NHL All-Stars 0/2 Soviet Union 1/2

+ Goaltenders Min. Team Goalies Saves Goals Against 60:00 NHL Gerry Cheevers 13 6 Goals 60:00 USSR Vladimir Myshkin 24 0 Goals

Officials Referee – Andy Van Hellemond Linesman – Leon Stickle Linesman – Claude Bechard

Broadcasters In the United States, Game 2, which was held on a Saturday afternoon, was shown on CBS as part of CBS Sports Spectacular. The network refused to expand CBS Sports Spectacular to carry the game in full so instead, the show came on during the second intermission, showed taped highlights of the first two periods, and then showed the final period live. The lead-in to Sports Spectacular was The World's Strongest Man. The then-CBS affiliate in Boston, the old WNAC-TV, broadcast a local college hockey game that led into Sports Spectacular.

The network, the show and their sponsors had a problem with the rink board advertising that the NHL sold at Madison Square Garden, and refused to allow them to be shown on television. As a result, CBS viewers were unable to see the far boards above the yellow kickplate, and could only see players' skates when the play moved to that side of the ice. Games 1 and 3 were shown on the NHL Network, where the advertising was no problem.

Dan Kelly and Lou Nanne called the game for CBS while Dick Stockton served as the host.

References

External links Challenge Cup 1979 on legendsofhockey.net Challenge Cup 1979 rosters and stats