These days, Sweden and Denmark accept the World Hockey Championship. Among the favorites, according to tradition, there is a US team, which in the absence of Russians receives additional chances. Of course, such a lack of sports principle does not benefit anyone. History knows many cases when our teams, meeting at the World Cup, gave the fans an unforgettable sight.

In one of these matches, it came to a mass fight on ice.

World Cup on the decline

In 1984, the USSR national hockey team won the Olympic Games in Sarajevo. The tournament was dominated by European teams. Soviet hockey players took gold, silver went to Czechoslovakia, and the Swedes took bronze. The Canadian team managed to take only the fourth place, and the Americans even brought the situation to the point that they eventually fought only for getting into the seven (out of 12 participating teams).

After such a triumph from the USSR national team, under the leadership of Viktor Tikhonov, they expected no less success in the next season. Moreover, the composition of the team has not changed. However, at the Canada Cup, and then at the World Cup in Prague, our team performed much lower than expectations, both times took only third place.

Although, I must admit that the world championship for Soviet athletes began not bad. At the first stage, the USSR team calmly dealt with all rivals, regardless of names and regalia. Victories over the Americans (11: 1), Germany (10: 2) and Canada (9: 1) were especially distinguished. It seemed that with such a form there was nothing even to worry about the fate of the title.

Victor Tikhonov / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Sergey Guneev

However, the final stage of the Soviet hockey players unexpectedly failed. At first they lost Czechoslovakia (1: 2), on the side of which there were domestic stands, throughout the match expressively whistling to ours (1968 was still in the memory of the inhabitants of Prague). Then the Canadians who beat the team of Tikhonov with a score of 3: 1 took revenge. The victory was not so bright, but extremely important. In the end, it came to the point that the USSR in the last match of the final round against the United States remained only to fight for the bronze of the championship. Czechoslovakia and Canada played gold.

“Dirty” tactics

Having concluded after the lost with the defeat at the first stage of the match, the Americans, apparently, realized: they will not be able to beat the USSR. Then our rivals decided to try another tactic. From the very beginning of the match, the players of the US team used various dirty tricks, beat Soviet hockey players stealthily and in every possible way provoked conflicts.

In the middle of the third period, passions were heated to the limit. By that time, the winner of the match as a whole was already clear, so the Americans continued their provocations simply from anger. In the end, Vyacheslav Fetisov could not stand it: he charged one of the opponents with his elbow directly in the face. A mass brawl began immediately, in which literally everything took part: from judges to spare players and even coaches. After one of the Americans showed Tikhonov three fingers (they say, you are only the third), the coach of the USSR national team began to swear loudly with the bench of rivals.

According to eyewitnesses, the defender Irek Gimaev was also noted in that fight. He jerked one of the Americans so for the form that he tore the country’s flag. After some time, the judges managed to stop the fight, and the meeting continued, and the main participants in the brawl received fines.

The USSR eventually again defeated the United States with a score of 10: 3 and took bronze. And the next year, he answered all critics, returning the title of world champion again.