Soviet Union men's national ice hockey team: Difference between revisions

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{| align="right" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="239px" style="margin:1em 0 .5em 1em; font-size:smaller; clear:both; border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse;"
{{Infobox national hockey team
|-
| Name = Soviet Union
|align=center|[[File:Soviet Union Hockey Logo (Red Army).png|150px]]<br>Soviet Union Hockey Logo (Red Army)
| Nickname = Красная Машина<br>(''The Red Machine'')
|- style=background:#efefef
| Badge = CCCP text logo.png
!Most games
| Badge_size = 180px
|- align=center
| Most games = Alexander Maltsev (321)
|Alexander Maltsev (321)
| Top scorer = Alexander Maltsev (213)
|- style=background:#efefef
| Most points = Sergei Makarov (248)
!Most goals
| Team_Colors =  
|- align=center
| Jerseys = [[File:Soviet Union national hockey team jerseys (1984).png|173px]]
|Alexander Maltsev (213)
| First game = {{ih|URS}} 23–2 [[East Germany national ice hockey team|East Germany]] {{flagicon|East Germany}} <br> {{small|([[East Berlin]], [[East Germany]]; 22 April 1951)}}
|- style=background:#efefef
| Largest win = {{ih|URS|1955}} 28–2 [[Italy men's national ice hockey team|Italy]] {{flagicon|Italy}} <br> {{small|([[Colorado Springs]], [[United States]]; 26 December 1967)}}
!Most points
| Largest loss = {{ih|CAN}} 8–2 '''Soviet Union''' {{flagicon|USSR}} <br> {{small|([[Ottawa]], [[Canada]]; 9 January 1968)}} <br> {{ih|TCH}} 9–3 '''Soviet Union''' {{flagicon|USSR|1955}} <br> {{small|([[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]]; 21 March 1975)}}
|- align=center
| World champ apps = 32
|Sergei Makarov (248)
| World champ first = 1954
|- style=background:#efefef
| World champ best = [[File:Gold medal icon.png|16px]] ''Gold:'' '''22''' ([[1954 Ice Hockey World Championships|1954]], [[Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]], [[1963 Ice Hockey World Championships|1963]], [[Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics|1964]], [[1965 Ice Hockey World Championships|1965]], [[1966 Ice Hockey World Championships|1966]], [[1967 Ice Hockey World Championships|1967]], [[Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics|1968]], [[1969 Ice Hockey World Championships|1969]], [[1970 Ice Hockey World Championships|1970]], [[1971 Ice Hockey World Championships|1971]], [[1973 Ice Hockey World Championships|1973]], [[1974 Ice Hockey World Championships|1974]], [[1975 Ice Hockey World Championships|1975]], [[1978 Ice Hockey World Championships|1978]], [[1979 Ice Hockey World Championships|1979]], [[1981 Ice Hockey World Championships|1981]], [[1982 Ice Hockey World Championships|1982]], [[1983 Ice Hockey World Championships|1983]], [[1986 Ice Hockey World Championships|1986]], [[1989 Ice Hockey World Championships|1989]], [[1990 Ice Hockey World Championships|1990]])
!First game
| Regional name = [[Canada Cup]]
|- align=center
| Regional cup apps = 5
|{{ih|URS}} 23–2 {{ih-rt|GDR}} <br> ([[East Berlin]], [[East Germany]]; 22 April 1951)
| Regional cup first = [[1976 Canada Cup|1976]]
|- style=background:#efefef
| Regional cup best = [[File:Gold medal icon.png|16px]] ''Winner:'' ([[1981 Canada Cup|1981]])
!Last game
| Olympic apps = 9
|- align=center
| Olympic first = [[Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]]
|{{ih|URS}} 2–2 {{ih-rt|SWE}} <br> ([[Frankfurt]], Germany; 11 October 1991)
| Olympic medals = [[Image:Gold medal icon.png|16px]] ''Gold:'' '''7''' ([[Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]], [[Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics|1964]], [[Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics|1968]], [[Ice hockey at the 1972 Winter Olympics|1972]], [[Ice hockey at the 1976 Winter Olympics|1976]], [[Ice hockey at the 1984 Winter Olympics|1984]], [[Ice hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics|1988]]) <br> [[Image:Silver medal icon.png|16px]] ''Silver'' '''1''' ([[Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics|1980]]) <br> [[Image:Bronze medal icon.png|16px]] ''Bronze'' '''1''' ([[Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics|1960]])
|- style=background:#efefef
| Record = 738–110–65
!Largest victory
| IIHF code = URS
|- align=center
}}
|{{ih|URS}} 28–2 {{ih-rt|ITA}} <br> ([[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]], United States; 26 December 1967)
|- style=background:#efefef
!Largest defeat
|- align=center
|{{ih|CAN}} 8–2 {{ih-rt|URS}} <br> ([[Ottawa]], Canada; 9 January 1968) <br>
{{ih|TCH}} 9–3 {{ih-rt|URS}} <br> ([[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]]; 21 March 1975)
|- style=background:#efefef
![[Canada Cup]]
|- align=center
|''Winners'': 1 – 1981
|- style=background:#efefef
!World Championships
|- align=center
|''Gold medalists'':  22 – 1954, [[1956 Winter Olympics|1956]], 1963, [[1964 Winter Olympics|1964]], 1965, 1966, 1967, [[1968 Winter Olympics|1968]], 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990
|- style=background:#efefef
!International competition
|- align=center
|''Current record'': (W-L-T) 738–110–65
|}
{{MedalBox|medals=
{{MedalBox|medals=
{{Medal|Sport|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Sport|[[Olympic Games]]}}
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{{Medal|Gold|[[1984 Winter Olympics|1984]]|Ice hockey}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1984 Winter Olympics|1984]]|Ice hockey}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1988 Winter Olympics|1988]]|Ice hockey}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1988 Winter Olympics|1988]]|Ice hockey}}
{{Medal|Comp|[[Canada Cup]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1981 Canada Cup|1981 Canada]]|}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1987 Canada Cup|1987 Canada]]|}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1976 Canada Cup|1976 Canada]]|}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1984 Canada Cup|1984 Canada]]|}}
{{Medal|Comp|[[Ice Hockey World Championships|World Championship]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1954 Ice Hockey World Championships|1954 Sweden]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1963 Ice Hockey World Championships|1963 Sweden]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1965 Ice Hockey World Championships|1965 Finland]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1966 Ice Hockey World Championships|1966 Yugoslavia]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1967 Ice Hockey World Championships|1967 Austria]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics|1968 France]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1969 Ice Hockey World Championships|1969 Sweden]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1970 Ice Hockey World Championships|1970 Sweden]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1971 Ice Hockey World Championships|1971 Switzerland]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1973 Ice Hockey World Championships|1973 Soviet Union]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1974 Ice Hockey World Championships|1974 Finland]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1975 Ice Hockey World Championships|1975 West Germany]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1978 Ice Hockey World Championships|1978 Czechoslovakia]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1979 Ice Hockey World Championships|1979 Soviet Union]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1981 Ice Hockey World Championships|1981 Sweden]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1982 Ice Hockey World Championships|1982 Finland]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1983 Ice Hockey World Championships|1983 West Germany]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1986 Ice Hockey World Championships|1986 Soviet Union]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1989 Ice Hockey World Championships|1989 Sweden]]|}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1990 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships|1990 Switzerland]]|}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1955 Ice Hockey World Championships|1955 West Germany]]|}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1957 Ice Hockey World Championships|1957 Soviet Union]]|}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1958 Ice Hockey World Championships|1958 Norway]]|}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1959 Ice Hockey World Championships|1959 Czechoslovakia]]|}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1972 Ice Hockey World Championships|1972 Czechoslovakia]]|}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1976 Ice Hockey World Championships|1976 Poland]]|}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1987 Ice Hockey World Championships|1987 Austria]]|}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1961 Ice Hockey World Championships|1961 Switzerland]]|}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1977 Ice Hockey World Championships|1977 Austria]]|}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1985 Ice Hockey World Championships|1985 Czechoslovakia]]|}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1991 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships|1991 Finland]]|}}
}}
}}
[[File:Soviet Union Hockey Logo (Red Army).png|thumb|150px]]
[[File:Soviet Union hockey jersey.png|thumb|right|Jersey]]
[[File:Soviet Union hockey jersey.png|thumb|right|Jersey]]
The '''Soviet national ice hockey team''' was the national ice hockey team of the [[Soviet Union]]. The team won nearly every [[Ice Hockey World Championships|world championship]] and [[Ice hockey at the Olympic Games|Olympic tournament]] between 1954 and 1991 and never failed to medal in any [[International Ice Hockey Federation]] (IIHF) tournament they competed in.
The '''Soviet national ice hockey team''' was the national ice hockey team of the [[Soviet Union]]. The team won nearly every [[Ice Hockey World Championships|world championship]] and [[Ice hockey at the Olympic Games|Olympic tournament]] between 1954 and 1991 and never failed to medal in any [[International Ice Hockey Federation]] (IIHF) tournament they competed in.


After 1991, the Soviet team competed as the Unified Team at the [[1992 Winter Olympics]] and as the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] at the [[1992 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|1992 World Championship]]. In 1993, it was replaced by national teams for [[Belarus men's national ice hockey team|Belarus]], [[Estonia men's national ice hockey team|Estonia]], [[Kazakhstan men's national ice hockey team|Kazakhstan]], [[Latvia men's national ice hockey team|Latvia]], [[Lithuania national ice hockey team|Lithuania]], [[Russia national ice hockey team|Russia]] and [[Ukraine national ice hockey team|Ukraine]]. The IIHF recognized the [[Russia men's national ice hockey team|Russian ice hockey federation]] as the successor to the Soviet Union hockey federation and passed its ranking on to Russia. The other national hockey teams were considered new and sent to compete in Pool&nbsp;C.
After its dissolution in 1991, the Soviet team competed as the Unified Team at the [[1992 Winter Olympics]] and as the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] at the [[1992 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|1992 World Championship]]. In 1993, it was replaced by national teams for [[Belarus men's national ice hockey team|Belarus]], [[Estonia men's national ice hockey team|Estonia]], [[Kazakhstan men's national ice hockey team|Kazakhstan]], [[Latvia men's national ice hockey team|Latvia]], [[Lithuania national ice hockey team|Lithuania]], [[Russia national ice hockey team|Russia]] and [[Ukraine national ice hockey team|Ukraine]]. The IIHF recognized the [[Russia men's national ice hockey team|Russian ice hockey federation]] as the successor to the Soviet Union hockey federation and passed its ranking on to Russia. The other national hockey teams were considered new and sent to compete in Pool&nbsp;C.


The IIHF Team of the Century included four Soviet-Russian players out of a team of six. Goalie Vladislav Tretiak, defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov and forwards Valeri Kharlamov and Sergei Makarov who played for the Soviet teams in the 1970s and the 1980s were voted on to the [[IIHF Centennial All-Star Team]] in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries.<ref>[http://www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/iihf-centennial-all-star-team.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=552&cHash=3a26b76f60 IIHF Centennial All-Star Team<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The [[IIHF Centennial All-Star Team]] included four Soviet-Russian players out of a team of six: goalie Vladislav Tretiak, defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov and forwards Valeri Kharlamov and Sergei Makarov who played for the Soviet teams in the 1970s and the 1980s were selected for the team in 2008.<ref>[http://www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/iihf-centennial-all-star-team.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=552&cHash=3a26b76f60 IIHF Centennial All-Star Team<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


==History==
==History==
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Soviet journalist Vsevolod Kukushkin traveled with the national team as both a reporter and an English to Russian translator. He had access to the team's locker room and the opportunity to speak directly with the players and be part of their daily life.[12] In his 2016 book The Red Machine, Kukushkin reported that the nickname for the Soviet national team came into usage during the 1983 Super Series, when a headline in a Minneapolis newspaper headline read "The Red Machine rolled down on us".
Soviet journalist Vsevolod Kukushkin traveled with the national team as both a reporter and an English to Russian translator. He had access to the team's locker room and the opportunity to speak directly with the players and be part of their daily life.[12] In his 2016 book The Red Machine, Kukushkin reported that the nickname for the Soviet national team came into usage during the 1983 Super Series, when a headline in a Minneapolis newspaper headline read "The Red Machine rolled down on us".
==Controversy==
Until 1977, professional players were not able to participate in the World Championship, and it was not until 1988 that they could play in the Winter Olympics. However, the Soviet team was populated with amateur players who were primarily full-time athletes hired as regular workers of a company (aircraft industry, food workers, tractor industry) or organization (KGB, Red Army, Soviet Air Force) that sponsored what would be presented as an after-hours social sports society hockey team for their workers in order to keep their amateur status. By the 1970s, several national hockey federations, such as Canada, protested their use of the amateur status for players of Eastern Bloc teams and even withdrew from the 1972 and 1976 Winter Games


==Stats==
==Stats==
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Note: Maltsev has at least 213 points from his goals, and possibly more, but an accurate number for his assists cannot be found.
Note: Maltsev has at least 213 points from his goals, and possibly more, but an accurate number for his assists cannot be found.
==Olympic record==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Games !! GP !! W !! L !! T !! GF !! GA !! Coach !! Captain !! Finish
|-
| style="background:gold;"|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]] [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]] || 7 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 40 || 9 || [[Arkady Chernyshev]] || [[Vsevolod Bobrov]] || {{Gold medal}}
|-
| style="background:#c96;"|{{flagicon|USA|1959}} [[Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics|1960]] [[Squaw Valley Ski Resort|Squaw Valley]] || 7 || 4 || 2 || 1 || 40 || 23 || [[Anatoli Tarasov]] || [[Nikolai Sologubov]] || {{Bronze medal}}
|-
| style="background:gold;"|{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics|1964]] [[Innsbruck]] || 8 || 8 || 0 || 0 || 73 || 11 || [[Arkady Chernyshev]] || [[Boris Mayorov]] || {{Gold medal}}
|-
| style="background:gold;"|{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics|1968]] [[Grenoble]] || 7 || 6 || 1 || 0 || 48 || 10 || [[Arkady Chernyshev]] || [[Boris Mayorov]] || {{Gold medal}}
|-
| style="background:gold;"|{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Ice hockey at the 1972 Winter Olympics|1972]] [[Sapporo]] || 5 || 4 || 0 || 1 || 33 || 13 || [[Arkady Chernyshev]] || [[Viktor Kuzkin]] || {{Gold medal}}
|-
| style="background:gold;"|{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Ice hockey at the 1976 Winter Olympics|1976]] [[Innsbruck]] || 6 || 6 || 0 || 0 || 56 || 14 || [[Boris Kulagin]] || [[Boris Mikhailov (ice hockey)|Boris Mikhailov]] || {{Gold medal}}
|-
| style="background:silver;"|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics|1980]] [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]] || 7 || 6 || 1 || 0 || 63 || 17 || [[Viktor Tikhonov (ice hockey, born 1930)|Viktor Tikhonov]] || [[Boris Mikhailov (ice hockey)|Boris Mikhailov]] || {{Silver medal}}
|-
| style="background:gold;"|{{flagicon|YUG}} [[Ice hockey at the 1984 Winter Olympics|1984]] [[Sarajevo]] || 7 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 48 || 5 || [[Viktor Tikhonov (ice hockey, born 1930)|Viktor Tikhonov]] || [[Viacheslav Fetisov]] || {{Gold medal}}
|-
| style="background:gold;"|{{flagicon|CAN}} [[Ice hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics|1988]] [[Calgary]] || 8 || 7 || 1 || 0 || 45 || 13 || [[Viktor Tikhonov (ice hockey, born 1930)|Viktor Tikhonov]] || [[Viacheslav Fetisov]] || {{Gold medal}}
|-
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Ice hockey at the 1992 Winter Olympics|1992]] [[Albertville]] || colspan="9" | ''As'' Unified Team
|-
| [[Ice hockey at the 1994 Winter Olympics|1994]] – present || colspan="9" | ''Since 1994 Soviet Union and Unified Team have been succeeded by'' {{ih|RUS}}
|-
|}


==World Championship record==
==World Championship record==
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* [[1979 Challenge Cup|1979]] – '''Won series'''
* [[1979 Challenge Cup|1979]] – '''Won series'''
* [[Rendez-vous '87|1987]] – Tied series
* [[Rendez-vous '87|1987]] – Tied series
==Other tournaments==
*[[Deutschland Cup]]: {{gold1}} '''Gold medal''' (1988, 1991)
*[[Nissan Cup]]: {{gold1}} '''Gold medal''' (1990)
==Team==
===Notable players===
<gallery mode="packed-overlay" widths="300px" heights="300px" caption="Leading forwards (1970s)">
File:Boris Petrovich Mikhailov Panini 1979.jpg|link=Boris_Mikhailov
File:Vladimir Vladimirovich Petrov Panini 1979.jpg|link=Vladimir_Vladimirovich_Petrov
File:Valeri Kharlamov Panini 1979.jpg|link=Valeri_Kharlamov
</gallery>
*[[Yevgeny Babich]]
*[[Helmuts Balderis]]
*[[Vsevolod Bobrov]]
*[[Vyacheslav Bykov]]
*[[Vitaly Davydov]]
*[[Vyacheslav Fetisov]]
*[[Anatoli Firsov]]
*[[Valeri Kamensky]]
*[[Sergei Kapustin]]
*[[Alexei Kasatonov]]
*[[Valeri Kharlamov]]
*[[Vladimir Krutov]]
*[[Alfred Kuchevsky]]
*[[Igor Larionov]]
*[[Sergei Mikhaylovich Makarov|Sergei Makarov]]
*[[Alexander Maltsev]]
*[[Boris Mikhailov]]
*[[Vladimir Vladimirovich Petrov|Vladimir Petrov]]
*[[Alexander Ragulin]]
*[[Vyacheslav Starshinov]]
*[[Vladislav Tretiak]]
*[[Valeri Vasiliev]]
*[[Alexander Yakushev]]
*[[Yevgeni Zimin]]
*[[Viktor Zinger]]
===Amateur status of players===
Until 1977, professional players were not able to participate in the World Championship, and it was not until 1988 that they could play in the Winter Olympics. However, the Soviet team was populated with amateur players who were primarily full-time athletes hired as regular workers of a company ([[Krylya Sovetov Moscow|aircraft industry]], [[HC Spartak Moscow|food workers]], [[Traktor Chelyabinsk|tractor industry]]) or organization ([[HC Dynamo Moscow|KGB]], [[HC CSKA Moscow|Red Army]], [[VVS Moscow|Soviet Air Force]]) that sponsored what would be presented as an after-hours social sports society hockey team for their workers in order to keep their amateur status.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/the-iihf/100-year-anniversary/100-top-stories/story-17.html |title=PROTESTING AMATEUR RULES, CANADA LEAVES INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY |author=IIHF |year=2008 |publisher=IIHF.com |access-date=2017-08-25 }}</ref><ref>Coffey, p.&nbsp;59</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0415/041531.html |title=How the Russians break the Olympic rules |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=15 April 1980 |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> By the 1970s, several national hockey federations, such as Canada, protested the use of the amateur status for players of Eastern Bloc teams and even withdrew from the 1972 and 1976 Winter Games in protest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dailyhive.com/montreal/olympic-hockey-tournament-no-nhl-history |title=What the Olympic hockey tournament looked like before NHL participation |work=The Daily Hive |date=3 April 2017}}</ref>
===Coaching history===
{| class="wikitable" width=100%
!Years
!Coach
!Achievements
|- align=center
|1953||[[Anatoli Tarasov]]||
|- align=center
|1953–1957||[[Arkady Chernyshev]]||1 Olympic gold medal, 2 World Championship gold medals, 2 World Championship silver medals
|- align=center
|1958–1960 ||[[Anatoli Tarasov]]||1 Olympic bronze medal, 2 World Championship silver medals
|- align=center
|1961–1972||[[Arkady Chernyshev]]||3 Olympic gold medals, 9 World Championship gold medals, 1 World Championship silver medal, 1 World Championship bronze medal
|- align=center
|1972–1974||[[Vsevolod Bobrov]]||2 World Championship gold medals
|- align=center
|1974–1977||[[Boris Kulagin]]||1 Olympic gold medal, 1 World Championship gold medal, 1 World Championship silver medal, 1 World Championship bronze medal
|- align=center
|1977–1991||[[Viktor Tikhonov (born 1930)|Viktor Tikhonov]]||2 Olympic gold medals, 1 Olympic silver medal, 8 World Championship gold medals, 2 World Championship silver medals, 2 World Championship bronze medals
|- align=center
|}


==References==
==References==
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{{Men's national teams}}
{{Men's national teams}}
 
{{Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Former national ice hockey teams]]
[[Category:Former national ice hockey teams]]

Latest revision as of 16:11, 6 August 2024

Soviet Union
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Красная Машина
(The Red Machine)
Most games Alexander Maltsev (321)
Top scorer Alexander Maltsev (213)
Most points Sergei Makarov (248)
IIHF code URS
Soviet Union national hockey team jerseys (1984).png
First international
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg.png Soviet Union 23–2 East Germany Flag of East Germany
(East Berlin, East Germany; 22 April 1951)
Biggest win
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg.png Soviet Union 28–2 Italy Flag of Italy
(Colorado Springs, United States; 26 December 1967)
Biggest defeat
Flag of Canada.svg.png Canada 8–2 Soviet Union Flag of Soviet Union
(Ottawa, Canada; 9 January 1968)
Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg.png Czechoslovakia 9–3 Soviet Union Flag of Soviet Union
(Prague, Czechoslovakia; 21 March 1975)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances 32 (first in 1954)
Best result Gold medal icon.png Gold: 22 (1954, 1956, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990)
Canada Cup
Appearances 5 (first in 1976)
Best result Gold medal icon.png Winner: (1981)
Olympics
Appearances 9 (first in 1956)
Medals Gold medal icon.png Gold: 7 (1956, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988)
Silver medal icon.png Silver 1 (1980)
Bronze medal icon.png Bronze 1 (1960)
International record (W–L–T)
738–110–65

main

Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1956 Ice hockey
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Ice hockey
Gold medal – first place 1964 Ice hockey
Gold medal – first place 1968 Ice hockey
Gold medal – first place 1972 Ice hockey
Gold medal – first place 1976 Ice hockey
Silver medal – second place 1980 Ice hockey
Gold medal – first place 1984 Ice hockey
Gold medal – first place 1988 Ice hockey
Canada Cup
Gold medal – first place 1981 Canada
Silver medal – second place 1987 Canada
Bronze medal – third place 1976 Canada
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Canada
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1954 Sweden
Gold medal – first place 1963 Sweden
Gold medal – first place 1965 Finland
Gold medal – first place 1966 Yugoslavia
Gold medal – first place 1967 Austria
Gold medal – first place 1968 France
Gold medal – first place 1969 Sweden
Gold medal – first place 1970 Sweden
Gold medal – first place 1971 Switzerland
Gold medal – first place 1973 Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place 1974 Finland
Gold medal – first place 1975 West Germany
Gold medal – first place 1978 Czechoslovakia
Gold medal – first place 1979 Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place 1981 Sweden
Gold medal – first place 1982 Finland
Gold medal – first place 1983 West Germany
Gold medal – first place 1986 Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place 1989 Sweden
Gold medal – first place 1990 Switzerland
Silver medal – second place 1955 West Germany
Silver medal – second place 1957 Soviet Union
Silver medal – second place 1958 Norway
Silver medal – second place 1959 Czechoslovakia
Silver medal – second place 1972 Czechoslovakia
Silver medal – second place 1976 Poland
Silver medal – second place 1987 Austria
Bronze medal – third place 1961 Switzerland
Bronze medal – third place 1977 Austria
Bronze medal – third place 1985 Czechoslovakia
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Finland
Soviet Union Hockey Logo (Red Army).png
Jersey

The Soviet national ice hockey team was the national ice hockey team of the Soviet Union. The team won nearly every world championship and Olympic tournament between 1954 and 1991 and never failed to medal in any International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament they competed in.

After its dissolution in 1991, the Soviet team competed as the Unified Team at the 1992 Winter Olympics and as the Commonwealth of Independent States at the 1992 World Championship. In 1993, it was replaced by national teams for Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine. The IIHF recognized the Russian ice hockey federation as the successor to the Soviet Union hockey federation and passed its ranking on to Russia. The other national hockey teams were considered new and sent to compete in Pool C.

The IIHF Centennial All-Star Team included four Soviet-Russian players out of a team of six: goalie Vladislav Tretiak, defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov and forwards Valeri Kharlamov and Sergei Makarov who played for the Soviet teams in the 1970s and the 1980s were selected for the team in 2008.[1]

History

Ice hockey was not properly introduced into the Soviet Union until the 1940s, though bandy, a similar game played on a larger ice field, had long been popular in the country. It was during a tour of FC Dynamo Moscow of the United Kingdom in 1945 that Soviet officials first got the idea of establishing an ice hockey program. They watched several exhibition matches in London, and National Hockey League President Clarence Campbell would later say that "This was the time when the Russians got the idea for their hockey team. The Russian soccer players were more interested in watching Canadian players play hockey than in soccer." The Soviet Championship League was established in 1946, and the national team was formed shortly after, playing their first matches in a series of exhibitions against LTC Praha in 1948.

The Soviets planned to send a team to the 1953 World Championships, but due to an injury to Vsevolod Bobrov, one of their star players, officials decided against going. They would make their debut at the 1954 World Championships instead. Largely unknown to the larger hockey world, the team surprised many by winning the gold medal.

Throughout the rest of the 1950s the World Championships were largely contested between Canada and the Soviet Union. That changed in the early 1960s. Canada won the gold in 1961, and after missing the 1962 tournament due to political issues, the Soviets would win the gold medal every year until 1972.[6] They faced perhaps their greatest upset at the 1976 World Championships; in their opening match against host Poland, the Soviets were defeated 6–4.

In 1972 the Soviets played Canada in an exhibition series that saw the Soviet national team play a team composed of National Hockey League (NHL) players for the first time. Both the Olympics and World Championships did not allow professionals, so the best Canadian players were never able to compete against the Soviets, and in protest at this Canada had left international hockey in 1970. This series, known as the Summit Series, was a chance to see how the NHL players would fare. In eight games (four in Canada, four in the USSR), the teams were close, and it took until the final 34 seconds of the eighth game for Canada to win the series, four games to three, with one tie.

At the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Soviets also had one of their most notable losses. Playing the United States in the medal round, the Soviets lost 4–3. This match, later dubbed the Miracle on Ice, was notable because it had the Soviets, recognized as the top international team in the world, against an American team composed largely of university-level players. The Americans would go on to win the gold medal in the tournament, while the Soviets finished with the silver, only the second time they failed to win gold at the Olympics since their debut in 1956.

The reforms of the 1980s in the Soviet Union had a detrimental effect on the national team. No longer afraid to speak out against their treatment, players like Viacheslav Fetisov and Igor Larionov openly critiqued the management style of their coach, Viktor Tikhonov, which included being secluded in a military-style barracks for eleven months of the year. They also sought the chance to move to North America and play in the NHL, though the authorities were reluctant to allow this. Negotiations with the NHL began in the late 1980s over this, and in 1989 several players, including both Fetisov and Larionov, were permitted to leave the Soviet Union and join NHL teams.

Yuri Korolev was head of the research group for the national men's team from 1964 to 1992, and contributed to the team winning seventeen Ice Hockey World Championships and seven Winter Olympic Games gold medals.

Soviet journalist Vsevolod Kukushkin traveled with the national team as both a reporter and an English to Russian translator. He had access to the team's locker room and the opportunity to speak directly with the players and be part of their daily life.[12] In his 2016 book The Red Machine, Kukushkin reported that the nickname for the Soviet national team came into usage during the 1983 Super Series, when a headline in a Minneapolis newspaper headline read "The Red Machine rolled down on us".

Stats

Leading scorers (Olympics, World Championships, Canada Cups, 1972 Summit Series)

  1. Sergei Makarov – 248 points
  2. Aleksandr Maltsev – 213+ points
  3. Valeri Kharlamov – 199 points
  4. Boris Mikhailov – 180 points
  5. Vladimir Petrov – 176 points

Note: The team's Olympic record was 62–6–2 (win-loss-tie) through 1956–1992. They scored 467 goals and gave up 127 goals. That averaged 6.67 goals per game and 1.81 goals given up.

Note: Maltsev has at least 213 points from his goals, and possibly more, but an accurate number for his assists cannot be found.

Olympic record

Games GP W L T GF GA Coach Captain Finish
Flag of Italy 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 7 7 0 0 40 9 Arkady Chernyshev Vsevolod Bobrov Gold medal icon.png
Flag of United States 1960 Squaw Valley 7 4 2 1 40 23 Anatoli Tarasov Nikolai Sologubov Bronze medal icon.png
Flag of Austria 1964 Innsbruck 8 8 0 0 73 11 Arkady Chernyshev Boris Mayorov Gold medal icon.png
Flag of France 1968 Grenoble 7 6 1 0 48 10 Arkady Chernyshev Boris Mayorov Gold medal icon.png
Flag of Japan 1972 Sapporo 5 4 0 1 33 13 Arkady Chernyshev Viktor Kuzkin Gold medal icon.png
Flag of Austria 1976 Innsbruck 6 6 0 0 56 14 Boris Kulagin Boris Mikhailov Gold medal icon.png
Flag of United States 1980 Lake Placid 7 6 1 0 63 17 Viktor Tikhonov Boris Mikhailov Silver medal icon.png
Flag of Yugoslavia 1984 Sarajevo 7 7 0 0 48 5 Viktor Tikhonov Viacheslav Fetisov Gold medal icon.png
Flag of Canada 1988 Calgary 8 7 1 0 45 13 Viktor Tikhonov Viacheslav Fetisov Gold medal icon.png
Flag of France 1992 Albertville As Unified Team
1994 – present Since 1994 Soviet Union and Unified Team have been succeeded by Flag of Russia.svg.png Russia

World Championship record

Year Location Result
1954 Stockholm, Flag of Sweden.svg.png Sweden Gold
1955 Krefeld / Dortmund / Cologne, West Germany Flag of Germany.svg.png Silver
1957 Moscow, Flag of the Soviet Union.svg.png Soviet Union Silver
1958 Oslo, Flag of Norway.svg.png Norway Silver
1959 Prague / Bratislava, Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg.png Czechoslovakia Silver
1961 Geneva / Lausanne, Flag of Switzerland.svg.png Switzerland Bronze
1962 Colorado Springs / Denver, Flag of the United States.svg.png United States DNP
1963 Stockholm, Flag of Sweden.svg.png Sweden Gold
1965 Tampere, Flag of Finland.svg.png Finland Gold
1966 Ljubljana, Flag of Yugoslavia.svg.png Yugoslavia Gold
1967 Vienna, Flag of Austria.svg.png Austria Gold
1969 Stockholm, Flag of Sweden.svg.png Sweden Gold
1970 Stockholm, Flag of Sweden.svg.png Sweden Gold
1971 Bern / Geneva, Flag of Switzerland.svg.png Switzerland Gold
1972 Prague, Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg.png Czechoslovakia Silver
1973 Moscow, Flag of the Soviet Union.svg.png Soviet Union Gold
1974 Helsinki, Flag of Finland.svg.png Finland Gold
1975 Munich / Düsseldorf, Flag of Germany.svg.png West Germany Gold
1976 Katowice, Flag of Poland.svg.png Poland Silver
1977 Vienna, Flag of Austria.svg.png Austria Bronze
1978 Prague, Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg.png Czechoslovakia Gold
1979 Moscow, Flag of the Soviet Union.svg.png Soviet Union Gold
1981 Gothenburg / Stockholm, Flag of Sweden.svg.png Sweden Gold
1982 Helsinki / Tampere, Flag of Finland.svg.png Finland Gold
1983 Düsseldorf / Dortmund / Munich, West Germany Flag of Germany.svg.png Gold
1985 Prague, Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg.png Czechoslovakia Bronze
1986 Moscow, Flag of the Soviet Union.svg.png Soviet Union Gold
1987 Vienna, Flag of Austria.svg.png Austria Silver
1989 Stockholm / Södertälje, Flag of Sweden.svg.png Sweden Gold
1990 Bern / Fribourg, Flag of Switzerland.svg.png Switzerland Gold
1991 Turku / Helsinki / Tampere, Flag of Finland.svg.png Finland Bronze

Summit Series record

  • 1972 – Lost to Canada (against Canadian NHL players)
  • 1974 – Won series against Canada (against Canadian WHA players)

Canada Cup record and World Cup of Hockey record

  • 1976 – Finished in 3rd place
  • 1981 – Won championship
  • 1984 – Lost semifinal
  • 1987 – Lost final
  • 1991 – Finished in 5th place

Challenge Cup and Rendez-vous vs. NHL All-Stars

  • 1979 – Won series
  • 1987 – Tied series

Other tournaments

Team

Notable players

  • Leading forwards (1970s)
  • Boris Petrovich Mikhailov Panini 1979.jpg
  • Vladimir Vladimirovich Petrov Panini 1979.jpg
  • Valeri Kharlamov Panini 1979.jpg

Amateur status of players

Until 1977, professional players were not able to participate in the World Championship, and it was not until 1988 that they could play in the Winter Olympics. However, the Soviet team was populated with amateur players who were primarily full-time athletes hired as regular workers of a company (aircraft industry, food workers, tractor industry) or organization (KGB, Red Army, Soviet Air Force) that sponsored what would be presented as an after-hours social sports society hockey team for their workers in order to keep their amateur status.[2][3][4] By the 1970s, several national hockey federations, such as Canada, protested the use of the amateur status for players of Eastern Bloc teams and even withdrew from the 1972 and 1976 Winter Games in protest.[5]

Coaching history

Years Coach Achievements
1953 Anatoli Tarasov
1953–1957 Arkady Chernyshev 1 Olympic gold medal, 2 World Championship gold medals, 2 World Championship silver medals
1958–1960 Anatoli Tarasov 1 Olympic bronze medal, 2 World Championship silver medals
1961–1972 Arkady Chernyshev 3 Olympic gold medals, 9 World Championship gold medals, 1 World Championship silver medal, 1 World Championship bronze medal
1972–1974 Vsevolod Bobrov 2 World Championship gold medals
1974–1977 Boris Kulagin 1 Olympic gold medal, 1 World Championship gold medal, 1 World Championship silver medal, 1 World Championship bronze medal
1977–1991 Viktor Tikhonov 2 Olympic gold medals, 1 Olympic silver medal, 8 World Championship gold medals, 2 World Championship silver medals, 2 World Championship bronze medals

References

  1. ↑ IIHF Centennial All-Star Team
  2. ↑ IIHF (2008). "PROTESTING AMATEUR RULES, CANADA LEAVES INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY". IIHF.com. http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/the-iihf/100-year-anniversary/100-top-stories/story-17.html. 
  3. ↑ Coffey, p. 59
  4. ↑ "How the Russians break the Olympic rules". The Christian Science Monitor. 15 April 1980. https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0415/041531.html. 
  5. ↑ "What the Olympic hockey tournament looked like before NHL participation". The Daily Hive. 3 April 2017. http://dailyhive.com/montreal/olympic-hockey-tournament-no-nhl-history. 

External links


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