Talk:1981 Canada Cup

Redirect
I think this article will be expanded in the future the same as the other tournaments in the Canada Cup, but currently it's useless to have just one sentence. Dominykas Blyze 19:47, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

Outshooting ?
This was (still is ?) significant for North American Ice Hockey, but not a way to measure the Soviet Union's Ice Hockey style as of 1981. Whilst the puck usually was shot across the blue line in NHL (& WHA etc), the Soviet's build all their play on extreme interaction. Typically, just before the blue line, the puck was delivered sideways or slightly backward even, just a few feet from the blue line, to a team mate who came from behind with much higher speed. That player then came very close to the goal in a second or two. If he didn't score, or wanted to try at least, he could play it to a third player who scored in a way that made it to look real easy. Well, something like that anyways. Apparently more effective, also on the narrow North American rinks. But it was all built up around the CSKA Moscow team. Which like the National team was coached by Tikhonov. (Before him Tarasov and another Moscow team) After every season, the best players from all other Soviet Union clubs, were invited to play for CSKA Moscow (the Army's team). An honor to most, but for instance Balderis wanted to remain in his (Latvian) Dynamo Riga. If he was forced or persuaded, I don't know. But after he returned to Riga, his time in the National team was finished. Some 300+ days a year the CSKA Moscow players were living, playing and training together. All for the "good cause". That way they learned to "know" where their team mates were at the precise time. Extreme interaction. Sometimes it didn't work (and Czeckoslovakia were able to defeat them some times, but for instance Sweden and Finland rarely had a chance. Not when "the extreme interaction" worked. And this was especially about how to enter offensive zone. By the way, during the World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, during the spring of this year - 1981, Sweden (the home team, the becoming Silver medalists, the runners-up, the second best team, etc) had 0-0 until the middle of the second period. Final result ? Sweden - Soviet Union 1 - 13 ! Unforgettable ! And one must after all admire them for this way of playing Ice Hockey. Boeing720 (talk) 21:40, 1 January 2018 (UTC)