Tretiak told how a Canadian journalist ate a newspaper after the first game of Super Serie-72

Legendary goalkeeper, President of the FHR Vladislav Tretiak in an interview with , he spoke of the excitement ahead of the USSR–Canada Super Series 72 and the initial skepticism towards Soviet hockey players overseas.

The USSR-Canada Super Series in 1972 was the first attempt to arrange meetings between Canada’s top professionals and the Soviet Union team. The series consisted of eight games. The first four matches were held in Canada, the next four – in Moscow. As a result, the Canadian team won four, the USSR – three, one meeting ended in a draw. The Soviet team scored 32 goals, the Canadian team scored 31.

The first game in Montreal ended in a sensational way with the victory of the Soviet team (7:3).

— After the first match, the Canadian journalist ate his newspaper. Have you seen it with your own eyes?

There was a lot of hype in the press. And he wrote before the series that Canada would definitely win all eight games. If suddenly there is a draw in at least one, it will eat the newspaper where it is printed.

And here we win 7:3. We are already leaving for Toronto after training, the weather is wonderful. Right in front of the bus there is a laid table, there is a plate with borscht. And this journalist comes and congratulates us. Bobrov said to him: “You don’t need to eat the newspaper, we forgive. But we also know how to play hockey. But the reporter insisted there is a need. And so we all threw a piece of that newspaper into his soup. And he ate it all, it was filmed on camera.

In Canada, the attitude towards us immediately changed after the first game. We were immediately respected. And the same reporter before the series-74 said that the Soviet team will win all matches.

Two years later, in 1974, the USSR national team won the Super Series, winning four out of eight matches, drawing three and losing once.

At 1 p.m., watch a special broadcast on the 1972 USSR-Canada Super Series on the channel.