News from December 1986

Under-17s no match for Soviets; Soviets 7, Ontario 4
by Don Campbell - - The Ottawa Citizen.
27th December 1986

Two years ago, in the first-ever series between a Team Ontario Under-17 squad and the Soviet Union, Team Ontario prevailed easily by scores of 12-2 and 13-1.

CAHA officials attributed the outcome to a misunderstanding on the part of Soviet hockey officials. They said the Soviets misinterpreted how strong the Canada teams would be.

Well, any concern of a repeat of that misunderstanding this time around was dispelled in less than 10 minutes of hockey Friday night.

And, this year it's Team Ontario that's completely outclassed by the Soviets.

The Soviets had the 20 best 17-year-olds in the province chasing the puck all over the ice for the better part of 60 minutes on their way to an easy-enough-looking win before 4,027 spectators at the Civic Centre Friday night.

Game Two of the three-game series goes tonight in Peterbrough with the concluding game Monday in Kitchener before the Soviets head west for identical series against Team Western (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) and Team Pacific (Alberta and B.C.).

The score actually flattered Team Ontario. The shots on goal - 55-20 in favor of the Soviets - was more indicative of things.

Only in the third, while being outshot 24-7, did Team Ontario show signs of life, somehow outscoring their opposition 2-1 to make things appear close.

"If it's 9-7 instead of 7-4, does it really change things?" asked Team Ontario head coach Wayne Gowing of Kitchener. "We were badly outplayed and I don't think there's anyone who will see it any differently. I felt we had a good skating club and we did not show that.

" But we have 20 players and a coach who have nowhere to hide and let's hope it was a learning experience. Some will learn and some might say 'oh well I'm going to play in the NHL anyway' and look for excuses. But I'm sure the competitiveness of these kids, that we'll get it going.

"I think we have better skills than we showed. I still think we can match them in skating."

Team Ontario enjoyed a couple of good opening minutes but the Soviets made them pay on their first power-play.

Alexey Kokovin beat Steve Udvari in the Ontario goal only 32 seconds after Ontario's Troy Mallette went off for cross-checking at 6:15.

The goal deflated Team Ontario quickly and the Soviets pushed the count to 3-0 on goals by Stanislav Tugolunov and Alik Gareyev before Ontario got on the board with the period's final goal at 14:49.

Team Ontario's Robert Cimetta, a rookie with the Toronto Marlboros, scored on a great individual effort, crashing into Soviet goaltender Andrei Batalov to score.

The Soviets held a wide advantage in shots, 17-8.

"They're the fastest skaters I've ever seen," said Team Ontario Matt Giesebrecht, a memberof the Ottawa 67's. "It was tough to handle their style of play. It isn't like that in the leagues we play in. They caught us off guard.

" We thought about hitting them but... we definitely have to be physical to a point. I imagine they don't like playing that way and that could give us a little edge. "

The Soviets outscored Team Ontario 3-1 again in the second on goals by Pavel Bure, Sergei Boldoveshko and a second by Gareyev, their best player on the night. They also held a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal.

London Knights Trevor Dam, of Scarborough, was the only one able to reply for Team Ontario. That goal cut the Soviet lead to 4-2.

Richard Borgo and Ray Edwards cut the score to 6-4 in the third before Favel Bure closed out the game's scoring with less than a minute to play.

" It's like the difference between two schools of thought, " said Soviet head Gennady Tsygurov, through an interpreter. " Our style was not one they were used to. They're not used to the international style. "

Referee Pat Frost only added to the frustration of the players and fans calling 13 minors against Team Ontario and nine against the Soviets

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Soviets crush Ontario
- - The Ottawa Citizen.
27th December 1986

MONTREAL (CP) - Forward Carey Causey of North Delta, B.C., scored the only first-period goal and the Pacific team went on to defeat Atlantic 5-3 in the Quebec Esso Cup under-17 hockey tournament Tuesday. In other round-robin games, defending champion Quebec and Finland played to a 6-6 tie, Sweden edged Western (players from Manitoba and Saskatchewan) 9-8 and the Soviet Union crushed Ontario 10-3. The Soviets led 2-0 after the opening period and scored seven times in the second to hand Ontario its second consecutive loss. Pavel Bure led the Soviets with three goals and Viacheslav Kozlov and Oleg Davidov added two each. Jeff Gardiner, Scott Thornton and Jarrod Skalde replied for Ontario.

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