1979 Challenge Cup (ice hockey)
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 number 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
#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) Captain (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
#12 Sergei Starikov (D) #22 Viktor Zhluktov (F) #5 Vasili Pervukhin (D) #9 Vladimir Kovin (C) #24 Sergei Makarov (RW) #10 Mikhail Varnakov (LW) #11 Aleksandr Skvortsov (RW) #25 Vladimir Golikov (F) #23 Aleksandr Golikov (F) #13 Boris Mikhailov (F) Captain #16 Vladimir Petrov (F) #17 Valeri Kharlamov (F) #7 Gennadiy Tsygankov (D) #6 Valeri Vasiliev (D) #8 Sergei Kapustin (F) #2 Yuri Federov (D) #14 Zinetula Bilyaletdinov (D) #19 Helmuts Balderis (RW) #18 Irek Gimayev (F) #21 Viktor Tyumenev (F) #4 Sergei Babinov (D) #20 Vladislav Tretiak (G) #1 Vladimir Myshkin (G)
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 Cyrillic script 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 Cyrillic СССР initials.
Game log
Game 1
- February 8, 1979: NHL All-Stars 4 - Soviet Union 2
Goals
1st Period
- NHL All-Stars - Guy Lafleur (Bobby Clarke, Steve Shutt) 0:16 1st period
- NHL All-Stars - Mike Bossy (Gilbert Perreault, Guy Lafleur) 6:22 (pp) 1st period
- Soviet Union - Boris Mikhailov (Valeri Vasiliev, Valeri Kharlamov) 11:25 (pp) 1st period
- NHL All-Stars - Bob Gainey (Bill Barber, Barry Beck) 15:48 1st period
Penalties
- Soviet Union - Viktor Zhluktov 0:59
- Soviet Union - Vladimir Petrov 5:13
- NHL All-Stars - Lanny McDonald 8:31
- NHL All-Stars - Clark Gillies 10:59
- Soviet Union - Viktor Zhluktov 12:21
2nd Period
- NHL All-Stars - Clark Gillies (Mike Bossy) 8:14 2nd period
Penalties
- Soviet Union - Gennadiy Tsygankov 10:48
3rd Period
- Soviet Union - Vladimir Golikov (Aleksandr Golikov, Sergei Makarov) 3:02 3rd period
Penalties
- None
Shots on goal
- Soviet Union: 6 - 5 - 9: 20
- NHL All-Stars: 10 - 9 - 5: 24
Goalies
- Soviet Union - Vladislav Tretiak (20/24) 60 minutes, 4 goals against
- NHL All-Stars - Ken Dryden (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
- Soviet Union - Sergei Kapustin (Sergei Starikov) 8:10 1st period
- NHL All-Stars - Mike Bossy (Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies) 13:35 (pp) 1st period
- NHL All-Stars - Bryan Trottier (Clark Gillies, Mike Bossy) 18:21 1st period
Penalties
- Soviet Union - Vladimir Kovin 12:32
- NHL All-Stars - Gilbert Perreault 15:13
2nd Period
- NHL All-Stars - Gilbert Perreault (Darryl Sittler) 0:27 2nd period
- Soviet Union - Mikhail Varnakov (Aleksandr Skvortsov) 2:05 2nd period
- NHL All-Stars - Larry Robinson (Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne) 5:06 2nd period
- Soviet Union - Boris Mikhailov (Vladimir Petrov, Valeri Vasiliev) 17:02 (pp) 2nd period
- Soviet Union - Sergei Kapustin (Viktor Zhluktov) 17:47 2nd period
Penalties
- NHL All-Stars - Borje Salming 8:04
- NHL All-Stars - Barry Beck 15:07
3rd Period
- Soviet Union - Vladimir Golikov (Sergei Makarov) 1:31 3rd period
Penalties
- None
Shots on goal
- Soviet Union: 7 - 14 - 10: 31
- NHL All-Stars: 5 - 5 - 6: 16
Goalies
- Soviet Union - Vladislav Tretiak (12/16) 60 minutes, 4 goals against
- NHL All-Stars - Ken Dryden (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[1]
Goals
1st Period
- No Scoring
Penalties
- None
2nd Period
- Soviet Union - Boris Mikhailov (Aleksandr Golikov) 5:47 2nd period
- Soviet Union - Viktor Zhluktov (Helmunts Balderis, Valeri Vasiliev) 7:44 (pp) 2nd period
Penalties
- NHL All-Stars - Don Marcotte 6:27
- Soviet Union - Valeri Vasiliev 10:48
- Soviet Union - Vladimir Myshkin 12:27 (served by Irek Gimaev)
- NHL All-Stars - Bryan Trottier 12:27
3rd Period
- Soviet Union - Helmuts Balderis (Irek Gimayev) 8:44 3rd period
- Soviet Union - Vladimir Kovin (Aleksandr Skvortsov, Mikhail Varnakov) 10:21 3rd period
- Soviet Union - Sergei Makarov (Sergei Kapustin) 12:44 3rd period
- Soviet Union - Aleksandr Golikov 14:46 3rd period
Penalties
- Soviet Union - Boris Mikhailov 14:22
Shots on goal
- Soviet Union: 6 - 6 - 7: 19
- NHL All-Stars: 7 - 7 - 10: 24
Goalies
- Soviet Union - Vladimir Myshkin (24/24) 60 minutes, 0 goals against
- NHL All-Stars - Gerry Cheevers (13/19) 60 minutes, 6 goals against
Attendance
- 17,545 at New York
References
- "SOVIETS EMBARRASS NHL ALL STARS 6-0 TO WIN CHALLENGE CUP". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved January 22, 2017.