Debacle On Ice: Lake Placid Still Haunts Soviets -- 1980 Olympic Defeat Put Ussr Hockey In Turmoil

NEW YORK - On the breast pocket of his navy blazer, the words ``Moscow Duty Free'' were embroidered in red thread. With his gray slacks and striped tie, Vladimir Myshkin could have been the salesman you ask the price of cigarettes or cognac at the airport.

Except that isn't Myshkin's job. Myshkin, these days, tends goal for Moscow Dynamo and he got the neat clothes from the team sponsor. But another time, with another team . . .

``Ten years ago?'' Myshkin asked, frowning. ``Why do you want to know about that?''

Because 12 days short of 10 years ago, Vladimir Myshkin gave up the goal that knocked this nation - and his - for a loop. That's why. Because one snowy Friday night in February nearly 10 years ago, Myshkin was told to replace one of the great goalies in hockey history, Vladislav Tretiak, who had been sent to the bench in disgrace as the hockey world observed. Because 10 years ago in Lake Placid, after one of the truly stunning setbacks the Soviet hockey team ever would suffer, none of the players was permitted to discuss the other side of the miracle - the 4-3 American triumph that was a Soviet Debacle on Ice.

``Hockey was the No. 1 sport in the Olympics,'' recalled defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov. ``If the team wins, the Olympics are a success. We lost, so the Olympics were a failure.''

Soviet teams had won the prior four Olympics since America's 1960 upset at Squaw Valley, Calif.; the best American finish in that span was a silver at Sapporo, Japan, in 1972. The Soviets had won 16 of the prior 18 World or Olympic championships.

Barely a year earlier, Myshkin had pitched a 6-0 Garden shutout at the NHL All-Stars in the Challenge Cup's decisive game.

And for good measure, three days before the 1980 Games opened, the Soviet Olympians crushed their American counterparts, 10-3, at the Garden.

``Some guys on our team really believed we could beat them,'' American left wing Rob McClanahan recalled, ``but I just didn't believe we would beat them. Never. Ever.''

The Soviets had the world-famous Tretiak. They had the imposing defense of Fetisov and his new partner, Alexei Kasatonov. They had astounding speed up front in Helmut Balderis and 19-year-old Vladimir Krutov, to name two. They had crafty captain Boris Mikhailov, whose 427 goals still are the most in Soviet National League history. They were coached by rigid Viktor Tikhonov and they had the menacing aura of invincibility - because their team was so good and because America was so angry about the Soviet troops in Afghanistan.

``When you're in awe, you just freeze,'' said Herb Brooks, the U.S. coach. ``So I pointed out Mikhailov. He looked like (comedian) Stan Laurel. I said to the team, `You guys can't play against Stan Laurel?' ''

Comic roles were better played by the first Soviet opponents. Opening night, after Bill Baker's last-minute goal provided the United States a 2-2 tie with Sweden, the Soviets snored through a 16-0 rout of Japan. Two nights later, before the Americans stunned the highly regarded Czechoslovakians, 7-3, the Soviets trampled Holland, 17-4.

``We thought our closest competition would be Czechoslovakia, and they didn't even make it to the final. That weakened the team psychologically,'' Kasatonov recalled. ``We thought we already had it (the gold medal) in the bag.''

They thought wrong.

``For us,'' Fetisov said, ``the Olympic Games are the ultimate an athlete can do, and we lost to a team of students - youngsters. It was a shock.''

Somehow, it shouldn't have been. In crushing Japan, the Soviets seemed sloppy. In pounding Holland, they looked lazy. In deep trouble against Finland, the Soviets had to rally, 4-2. And Canada was vanquished, 6-4, but only through another late burst.

``We usually started all tournaments a little bit weak, because they prepared us to peak toward the end of the tournament,'' Fetisov said. ``The first games are always bad ones; the good ones come later.''

In 1980, the good one never got there.

``Our thing was, play the way you've played all year. Have some fun with it,'' Brooks said. ``Stress and anxiety in a big game is really fun and euphoria if you've prepared for it.''

The Americans reached the medal round with a 7-2 victory over Romania and a 4-2 decision over West Germany.

The Soviets were next, Feb. 22.

``I haven't watched the tape that many times,'' McClanahan said, ``but I saw them miss some chances that normally, they never, ever missed. We got outplayed as bad as anybody.''

Fetisov disagreed.

``The American team,'' he said, ``outskated us and beat us tactically.''

Recalled Kasatonov: ``They fought for every meter of space. Five players were on offense, five players were always back for defense, and the goalie (Jim Craig) played very well.''

There were whispers that Tretiak was vulnerable on long shots, and that seemed true in the first period.

After Krutov gave the Soviets a 1-0 lead, veteran Buzzy Schneider sent a blue-line shot past Tretiak's glove. And though Makarov pulled away from Mark Johnson to bury a 15-foot wrist shot at 17:34, putting the Soviets up 2-1, Johnson caused chaos in the Soviet delegation with just one second remaining in the period.

David Christian dumped in the puck from center ice, 90 feet away. And Tretiak, wobbly, kicked it 20 feet in front of his net. Johnson darted in and beat the buzzer by drilling the rebound past Tretiak.

Apparently thinking the period had ended, the Soviet team left the ice. Referee Karl-Gustav Kaisla had to summon the Soviets from their dressing room, but when they came back out, Myshkin was their goalie. Tikhonov was telling the world the great Tretiak could not be trusted with a faceoff at center ice and one tick left on the clock.

``Right away, he (Tikhonov) was trying to get some of the pressure, or some of the blame, off his shoulders,'' said Fetisov, an outspoken warrior who says he had differences with the coach even then. ``He (Tikhonov) should have remembered Tretiak only makes one mistake a game. No more.''

Kasatonov had a similar thought.

``I was confident Tretiak would not let any more in,'' he said. ``There is a saying, `Once the battle has started, you don't change the horse you're riding.' It is very complicated for a goalie to come into a game like that.''

The goalie who came in was Myshkin, who 10 years later termed himself ``very surprised'' to get the call.

``Tikhonov just said, `Go stand in the net,' '' Myshkin said.

Myshkin was standing in front of it with 11:21 left in the third period, when a Dave Silk pass bounced off the skate of Sergei Starikov to Johnson, who canned a five-footer - negating a 3-2 Soviet lead. Eighty-one seconds later, Mike Eruzione made Myshkin a trivia answer with what McClanahan called ``a 30-footer, from the slot, that Mike Eruzione closed his eyes on.''

Six hundred seconds remained.

``That third period, I remember looking over at their bench and seeing them starting to argue back and forth,'' Brooks said. ``Our team doctor (George Nagobads) knows a little Russian, and he said they were going at it pretty good.''

``With us,'' Fetisov said, ``if the team played well, the coach got the credit. If we don't play well, all the blame goes on the players.''

When it was over, the Soviets, stunned, leaned their chins on their stick knobs and watched the ``students'' celebrate with America.

``After we won the thing and were jumping around like fools on the ice,'' defenseman Mike Ramsey recalled, ``it was almost like they were humored by it - seeing us rolling around. They just sat there and waited for us to get done so they could shake our hands. It was like - look at these guys making fools of themselves.''

For certain Soviets, it would be a last look. After the Americans completed the formality of beating Finland and winning the gold, the Soviets beat Sweden for the silver medal, left Lake Placid and never took a backward look.

``For a lot of players, that was the end of their careers,'' Fetisov said. ``They were not allowed to play on the national team after that. They were punished. I don't really know what happened to them; I just know they didn't play any more international events.''

Three years after those Olympics, Tretiak, now in the NHL Hall of Fame, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens. He retired years before Fetisov and Starikov this year would become the first Soviets freed for NHL duty. Kasatonov came to the New Jersey Devils last December; he and Fetisov team with Mark Johnson, who killed them in Lake Placid.

The arrival of Soviets to the NHL, Fetisov said, ``has nothing to do with Soviet hockey; it has to do with Soviet changes, within the country. Hockey had no effect on any changes. The whole time since (1980), the Red Army's been winning everything and interest in hockey has gone down because many good Soviet players are here.''

Meanwhile, Tikohonov still coaches the Soviet Central Red Army team and still fends off Fetisov's criticisms.

``To criticize is easier than to play,'' he said recently. ``I have to answer all the criticism with my work (which) I think was done on a rather high level. Life is the best referee. In his work as a coach, only results show if someone's is doing something good or bad. My results show I'm doing my job well.''

For 12 wondrous days in 1980, the Americans did their jobs better.

Where are they now?

A decade ago the U.S. hockey team stunned the sports world by winning the gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Here is a thumbnail look at that team:

COACHES

-- Herb Brooks, 52, head coach. Coached New York Rangers from 1981-82 season until he was fired in January 1985. Coached Minnesota North Stars in 1987-88 and also spent time at St. Cloud State. Now a hockey commentator for SportsChannel and a representative for a ring company in St. Paul, Minn.

-- Craig Patrick, 43, assistant coach. Became general manager of New York Rangers after the 1980 Games and remained until he was fired in 1986. Also became Rangers coach after Brooks was fired. Now general manager and interim coach of Pittsburgh Penguins.

-- Warren Strelow, assistant coach. Fired last summer as goaltending coach of the Washington Capitals. Now a goaltending adviser for several teams in Minnesota.

PLAYERS

-- Bill Baker, 33, defenseman, Grand Rapids, Minn. Scored tying goal in third period of first game against Sweden. Played three seasons in NHL, splitting time with the Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. Retired after 1983-84 season. In last year of dental school at University of Minnesota and intends to become an oral surgeon.

-- Neal Broten, 30, forward, Roseau, Minn. Scored a goal and had an assist in the Olympics. In 10th season with Minnesota North Stars, who drafted him in 1979. Became first American-born player to score 100 points in a season in the NHL when he scored 29 goals and assisted on 76 others for 105 points in 1985-86. Entering this season had 193 goals and 382 assists for 575 career points.

-- Dave Christian, 30, center, Warroad, Minn. Led Team USA in assists. Son of Bill Christian, who played on the 1960 U.S. team that won the gold medal at Squaw Valley, Calif. and scored the winning goal against the Soviet Union in a 3-2 victory. Drafted by Winnipeg Jets in 1979. Traded by Jets in June 1983 to Washington Capitals. Traded to Boston Bruins earlier this season. Entering season had 269 goals and 346 assists for 615 points.

-- Steve Christoff, 32, forward, Richfield, Minn. Scored the team's first goal in the second period in gold-medal game against Finland. Played five seasons in NHL for Minnesota, Calgary and Los Angeles. Now a pilot for Mesaba Airlines, a Northwest airlink.

-- Jim Craig, 32, goalie, North Easton, Mass. Played every minute of every game and allowed only 15 goals in seven games. Proved toughest in the third period, when Team USA came back three times to win or tie. Overall, he allowed only three last-period goals. Drafted by Atlanta Flames and played in four games at end of 1979-80 season. When Flames moved to Calgary the next year he was traded to Bruins, where he posted a 9-7-6 record in 1980-81. Played part of next season in American Hockey League, tended goal for the U.S. national team in 1982-83 and ended his NHL career with Minnesota in 1983-84, finishing with a career record of 11-10-7 and a 3.78 goals-against average. Sells advertising for Valassis Inserts of Brockton, Mass.

-- Mike Eruzione, 35, forward, Winthrop, Mass. Captain of the team. Scored winning goal in 4-3 victory over the Soviets and a goal against Czechoslovakia. Graduated from Boston University, played two seasons with Toledo of the International Hockey League as an amateur because he had not been drafted by a pro team. Has worked in television as a hockey analyst and for sponsors of Olympic Games. Also travels around the country as a motivational speaker.

-- John Harrington, 32, forward, Virginia, Minn. Had two assists against the Czechs and one against the Soviets. Played in Lugano, Switzerland, for one year, also played on two national teams, coached and taught at Apple Valley High School in Minneapolis. An assistant hockey coach at University of Denver since 1984.

-- Steve Janaszak, 33, goalie, White Bear Lake, Minn. Was the only American who did not play at Lake Placid. Played briefly with the Minnesota North Stars and Colorado Rockies. Quit playing professionally six years ago. Lives on Long Island, N.Y., with wife Jackie and daughter Brittany. Sells bonds on Wall Street for Bear Stearns.

-- Mark Johnson, 32, center, Madison, Wis. Played brilliantly in the Olympics, scoring five goals, including two crucial scores against the Soviets, and assisting on two others. Drafted in 1977 by Pittsburgh Penguins. Traded to North Stars in March of 1982. Traded in September 1982 to Hartford, where he played 2 1/2 seasons. Traded in February 1985 to St. Louis Blues, who dealt him to New Jersey Devils that September. Recently notched his 500th point in the NHL.

-- Rob McClanahan, 32, center, St. Paul, Minn. Scored gold medal-winning goal in third period against Finland and scored twice against West Germany. Drafted by Buffalo Sabres in 1978. Played five seasons in NHL for Sabres, Whalers and Rangers. Retired after 1983-84 season with 39 career goals and 63 assists. Now works as an institutional equity sales broker for Bear Stearns in Chicago.

-- Ken Morrow, 33, defenseman, Davison, Mich. An unspectacular but extremely reliable defender, both in the Olympics and on the four Stanley Cup-winning New York Islander teams. Scored two goals and added one assist in the Olympics. Drafted in 1976 by Islanders. Only player ever to win an Olympic gold medal and Stanley Cup in same year. Injuries forced him to retire after nine seasons. Now works for Flint Spirits of the International Hockey League as assistant director of operations and assistant coach.

-- Jack O'Callahan, 32, defenseman, Charlestown, Mass. Missed first game against Sweden, but later had an assist against Romania. Drafted by Chicago Blackhawks in 1977. Played 2 1/2 seasons in American Hockey League and five with Blackhawks. Selected by Devils in 1987 waiver draft. Retired after 1988-89 season. Now an independent stockbroker in Chicago.

-- Mark Pavelich, 31, center, Eveleth, Minn. Had two assists against Soviets. Drafted by St. Louis Blues in 1980. Played one year in Switzerland before signing as a free agent with New York Rangers in 1981. Played six seasons in New York and Minnesota. Left North Stars during 1986-87 season, having scored 137 goals and 191 assists for 328 points in 353 NHL games. Now fishes and hunts in Lutsen, Minn.

-- Mike Ramsey, 29, defenseman, Minneapolis. Became first American to be selected in the first round of the NHL draft when the Buffalo Sabres picked him 11th overall in 1979. Joined Sabres shortly after Olympics. Has played in four NHL All-Star games and is considered one of the top defensemen in the league.

-- Buzz Schneider, 35, forward, Babbitt, Minn. Oldest player on team and tied for the scoring lead with Johnson. Had four goals and three assists. Played on four national teams and only player on the team who played in the 1976 Games. Played in the minor leagues for two seasons as an amateur. Now a sales and service representative for Western Temporary Services in Minneapolis.

-- Dave Silk, 32, forward, Scituate, Mass. Scored two goals for Team USA. Drafted in 1978 on fourth round by the Rangers. Played seven years for Rangers, Bruins, Jets and Detroit Red Wings. In 249 NHL games scored 54 goals and added 59 assists for 113 points. Now playing hockey in West Germany.

-- Eric Strobel, 31, forward, Rochester, Minn. Scored a goal against Romania and collected an assist against West Germany and Norway. Drafted in 1978 on eighth round by Buffalo. Played in AHL for Rochester for a couple of months after Olympics. Decided not to pursue NHL career, went back to University of Minnesota and graduated in 1982 with marketing degree. Works for North Tel, a secondary market vendor of telecommunications hardware for ATT in Minnesota.

-- Bob Suter, 32, defenseman, Madison, Wis. Had no points in Olympics but played superb defense. Runs Gold Medal Sporting Goods in Madison, Wis.

-- Phil Verchota, 33, forward, Duluth, Minn. Scored the tying goal against Finland and also scored against West Germany and the Czechs. Chosen in 1976 by the North Stars but never played in NHL. Commercial banker at First Bank of Edina in Edina, Minnesota.

-- Mark Wells, 32, center, St. Clair Shores, Mich. Had limited playing time in the Olympics. In four years at Bowling Green scored 77 goals and had 155 assists. Now a restaurant manager for Heartland Restaurants, Inc. in Rochester Hills, Mich.