Soviet Union men's national ice hockey team

The Soviet national ice hockey team was the national men's ice hockey team of the Soviet Union. Known for its amazing skills and strong teamwork, it was one of the best teams in the world. From 1954 to 1991, the team won at least one medal each year at either the Ice Hockey World Championships or the Olympic hockey tournament.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the team competed as the CIS team (part of the Unified Team) at the 1992 Winter Olympics. Following the Olympics, the CIS team stopped existing, and Russia took its place at the 1992 World Championship. Other countries that were once part of the Soviet Union, such as Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine, formed their own teams later that year.

The International Ice Hockey Federation recognized the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia as the successor to the Soviet Union hockey federation. Four amazing Soviet-Russian players were chosen for the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team: goalie Vladislav Tretiak, defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov, and forwards Valeri Kharlamov and Sergei Makarov. These players helped make the Soviet team famous around the world.

History

Ice hockey started in the Soviet Union in the 1940s, even though a similar game called bandy was already popular. Soviet leaders saw ice hockey during a visit to the United Kingdom in 1945 and decided to create their own team. The Soviet Championship League began in 1946, and the national team played its first games in 1948.

The Soviet team first joined the World Championships in 1954 and surprised everyone by winning the gold medal, beating Canada in the final. This started a long rivalry between the two countries. In 1972, they played a famous series against Canada's best players, with Canada winning in the last moments of the final game.

One of the Soviet team's most remembered losses was at the 1980 Winter Olympics. They lost to the United States team, which was made up mostly of university players. This game was called the "Miracle on Ice." The Soviet team finished with a silver medal.

In the 1980s, some players began to speak up about their coach and wanted to play in North America. A few were allowed to join teams there starting in 1989.

Main article: Yuri Korolev

Main article: Vsevolod Kukushkin

Statistics

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

Tournament record

Olympic Games

See also: Ice hockey at the Olympic Games

World Championship

Summit Series

• (/wiki/Summit_Series) – Lost to Canada
• (/wiki/1974_Summit_Series) – Won series against Canada

On the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series, the IIHF Milestone Award was given to the Canadian and Russian teams for the event which helped change hockey forever. Reuters wrote that Canada was expected to win easily, but when they came back to win in the last game, it marked a new era for the sport.

Canada Cup

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

• (/wiki/1979_Challenge_Cup_(ice_hockey)) – Won series
• (/wiki/Rendez-vous_'87) – Tied series

Other tournaments

• Deutschland Cup: !1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal (1988, 1991)
• Nissan Cup: !1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal (1990)

Team

Notable players

• Leading forwards (1970s)
• Boris Mikhailov
• Vladimir Vladimirovich Petrov
• Valeri Kharlamov

Coaching history

Former national jerseys

There were some exceptions to jersey colors, where the Soviet team played in red away rather than white (such as the 1981 Ice Hockey World Championships in Sweden).

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia took the place of the Soviet Union. The other former republics began to compete as their own national teams, including:

• Armenia men's national ice hockey team
• Azerbaijan men's national ice hockey team
• Belarus men's national ice hockey team
• Estonia men's national ice hockey team
• Georgia men's national ice hockey team
• Kazakhstan men's national ice hockey team
• Kyrgyzstan men's national ice hockey team
• Latvia men's national ice hockey team
• Lithuania men's national ice hockey team
• Turkmenistan men's national ice hockey team
• Ukraine men's national ice hockey team
• Uzbekistan men's national ice hockey team