1979 Challenge Cup

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. 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 2 games to 1.
The team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League included 23 Canadians and 3 Swedish players. Bobby Orr commenting in the post-game interviews after Game 2, accidentally called the NHL All-Stars "Team Canada" (because of the amount of Canadians on the roster). The Challenge Cup, unlike its predecessor, the Summit Series, included non-Canadian born players in the NHL rosters.
NHL All-Stars roster
Guy Lafleur, #10 (RW) (Montreal Canadiens)
Larry Robinson, #19 (D) (Montreal Canadiens)
Bob Gainey, #23 (LW) (Montreal Canadiens)
Steve Shutt, #22 (LW) (Montreal Canadiens)
Gilbert Perreault, #11 (C) (Buffalo Sabres)
Marcel Dionne, #17 (C) (Los Angeles Kings)
Darryl Sittler, #27 (C) (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Lanny McDonald, #8 (RW) (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Bobby Clarke, #16 (C) Captain (Philadelphia Flyers)
Bryan Trottier, #20 (C) (New York Islanders)
Mike Bossy, #25 (RW) (New York Islanders)
Clark Gillies, #9 (LW) (New York Islanders)
Barry Beck, #4 (D) (Colorado Rockies)
Serge Savard, #18 (D) (Montreal Canadiens)
Guy Lapointe, #3 (D) (Montreal Canadiens)
Robert Picard (D) (Washington Capitals)
Denis Potvin, #5 (D) (New York Islanders)
Bill Barber, #7 (LW) (Philadelphia Flyers)
Don Marcotte, #21 (LW) (Boston Bruins)
Tony Esposito, #35 (G) (Chicago Blackhawks)
Ken Dryden, #29 (G) (Montreal Canadiens)
Gerry Cheevers, #30 (G) (Boston Bruins)
Ron Greschner (D) (New York Rangers)
Borje Salming, #26 (D) (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Ulf Nilsson, #12 (C) (New York Rangers)
Anders Hedberg, #15 (RW) (New York Rangers)
Soviet Union roster
Sergei Starikov, #12 (D)
Viktor Zhluktov, #22 (F)
Vasili Pervukhin, #5 (D)
Vladimir Kovin, #9 (C)
Sergei Makarov, #24 (RW)
Mikhail Varnakov, #10 (LW)
Aleksandr Skvortsov, #11 (RW)
Vladimir Golikov, #25 (F)
Aleksandr Golikov, #23 (F)
Boris Mikhailov, #13 (F) Captain
Vladimir Petrov, #16 (F)
Valeri Kharlamov, #17 (F)
Gennadiy Tsygankov, #7 (D)
Valeri Vasiliev, #6 (D)
Sergei Kapustin, #8 (F)
Yuri Federov, #2 (D)
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, #14 (D)
Helmuts Balderis, #19 (RW)
Irek Gimayev, #18 (F)
Viktor Tyumenev, #21 (F)
Sergei Babinov, #4 (D)
Vladislav Tretiak, #20 (G)
Vladimir Myshkin, #1 (G)
Game log
Game 1
- February 8, 1979 - NHL All-Stars 4 - Soviet Union 2
- Goals:
- 1st Period
- NHL - Guy Lafleur (Bobby Clarke, Steve Shutt) 0:16 1st period
- NHL - Mike Bossy (Gilbert Perreault, Guy Lafleur) 6:22 1st period (pp)
- USSR - Boris Mikhailov (Valeri Vasiliev, Valeri Kharlamov) 11:25 1st period (pp)
- NHL - Bob Gainey (Bill Barber, Barry Beck) 15:48 1st period
- Penalties: Viktor Zhluktov, USSR 0:59; Vladimir Petrov, USSR 5:13; Lanny McDonald, NHL 8:31; Clark Gillies, NHL 10:59; Viktor Zhluktov, USSR 12:21
- 2nd Period
- NHL - Clark Gillies (Mike Bossy) 8:14 2nd period
- Penalties: Gennadiy Tsygankov, USSR 10:48
- 3rd Period
- USSR - Vladimir Golikov (Aleksandr Golikov, Sergei Makarov) 3:02 3rd period
- Penalties: None
- Shots on goal:
- Soviet Union: 10 9 5 - 24
- NHL All-Stars: 6 5 9 - 20
- Goalies:
- Vladislav Tretiak, USSR (20/24) 60 minutes, 4 goals against
- Ken Dryden, NHL (18/20) 60 minutes, 2 goals against
- Attendance: 17,438 at New York
Game 2
- February 10, 1979 - Soviet Union 5 - NHL All-Stars 4
- Goals:
- 1st Period
- USSR - Sergei Kapustin (Sergei Starikov) 8:10 1st period
- NHL - Mike Bossy (Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies) 13:35 1st period (pp)
- NHL - Bryan Trottier (Clark Gillies, Mike Bossy) 18:21 1st period
- Penalties: Vladimir Kovin, USSR 12:32; Gilbert Perreault, NHL 15:13
- 2nd Period
- NHL - Gilbert Perreault (Darryl Sittler) 0:27 2nd period
- USSR - Mikhail Varnakov (Aleksandr Skvortsov) 2:05 2nd period
- NHL - Larry Robinson (Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne) 5:06 2nd period
- USSR - Boris Mikhailov (Vladimir Petrov, Valeri Vasiliev) 17:02 2nd period (pp)
- USSR - Sergei Kapustin (Viktor Zhluktov) 17:47 2nd period
- Penalties: Borje Salming, NHL 8:04; Barry Beck, NHL 15:07
- 3rd Period
- USSR - Vladimir Golikov (Sergei Makarov) 1:31 3rd period
- Penalties: None
- Shots on goal:
- Soviet Union: 5 5 6 - 16
- NHL All-Stars: 7 14 10 - 31
- Goalies:
- Vladislav Tretiak, USSR (12/16) 60 minutes, 4 goals against
- Ken Dryden, NHL (26/31) 60 minutes, 5 goals against
- Attendance: 17,438 at New York
Game 3
- February 11, 1979 - Soviet Union 6 - NHL All-Stars 0
- Goals:
- 1st Period
- No Scoring
- Penalties: None
- 2nd Period
- USSR - Boris Mikhailov (Aleksandr Golikov) 5:47 2nd period
- USSR - Viktor Zhluktov (Helmunts Balderis, Valeri Vasiliev) 7:44 2nd period (pp)
- Penalties: Don Marcotte, NHL 6:27; Valeri Vasiliev, USSR 10:48; Vladimir Myshkin, USSR 12:27 (served by Irek Gimaev, USSR); Bryan Trottier, NHL 12:27
- 3rd Period
- USSR - Helmuts Balderis (Irek Gimayev) 8:44 3rd period
- USSR - Vladimir Kovin (Aleksandr Skvortsov, Mikhail Varnakov) 10:21 3rd period
- USSR - Sergei Makarov (Sergei Kapustin) 12:44 3rd period
- USSR - Aleksandr Golikov 14:46 3rd period
- Penalties: Boris Mikhailov, USSR 14:22
- Shots on goal:
- Soviet Union: 7 7 10 - 24
- NHL All-Stars: 6 6 7 - 19
- Goalies:
- Vladimir Myshkin, USSR (24/24) 60 minutes, 0 goals against
- Gerry Cheevers, NHL (13/19) 60 minutes, 6 goals against
- Attendance: 17,545 at New York