1974 Western Canadian Junior All-Stars & European Exhibitions

1974-75 • 1974 Canada-USSR Summit Series

In preparation for the 1974 Summit Series with the USSR, the WHA all-stars, collectively known as Team Canada, played a series of exhibition games to prepare for the Soviet squad. Team Canada played a five-game series with the Western Canada Junior All-Stars. The USSR series began on September 17, with the fourth and final game in Canada on September 23. With a week before resuming the series in Moscow, Team Canada scored two victories over Finland and Sweden. After returning from the USSR, a tired Team Canada dropped a 3-1 decision to Czechoslovakia. The Western Canadian Junior All-Stars were composed of select players of the Western League, plus a handful of notable graduates, players who would be in the WHA the coming season, such as Pat Price, Ron Chipperfield, Mike Rogers and Dennis Sobchuk. Other notables on this squad were Bryan Trottier, Rick Blight and Kim Clackson. A future WHA player, Dale McMullin, who played just one game for Edmonton in 1977-78, had a brief moment in the spotlight with two goals and an assist in the series. The goaltenders were Larry Hendrick and Ed Staniowski, and Scotty Munro coached the team. Team Canada won four of the five contests. Bobby Hull scored a hat trick in the first game, but then hurt his knee in the third game and sat out the rest of the series to recuperate in time for the USSR series. Gordie Howe had a hat trick in the fourth game, and John McKenzie scored his own hat trick in the fifth game. Game Summaries Game 1 • September 5, 1974 Medicine Hat Canada 7, WJCA 2 Canada 2 2 3 - 7 WCJA 0 1 1 - 2 1st period: 1. Can: Kirk 6:21; 2. Can: Stapleton (Bernier) 9:31. 2nd period: 3. Can: Backstrom 2:42; 4. Can: Hull (Lacroix) 7:11; 5. WCJA: Price (Blight, Sobchuk) 16:48. 3rd period: 6. Can: Hull 1:59; 7. Can: Backstrom (Henderson) 3:10; 8. WCJA: Ashby 8:19; 9. Can: Hull (McKenzie) 17:17. Shots: Can: 17-15-15—47; WJCA: 5-8-9—22 Goaltenders: Can: Cheevers & McLeod; WCJA: Hendrick. Game 2 • September 6, 1974 Brandon Canada 6, WJCA 5 Canada 3 0 3 - 6 WCJA 2 2 1 - 5 1st period: 1. WCJA: Chipperfield (Blight) 0:08; 2. WCJA: Klassen (McDonald) 8:12; 3. Can: Hull (Dillon) 14:30; 4. Can: McKenzie (Hull, Dillon) 15:14; 5. Can: G. Howe (Smith, Backstrom) 17:09. 2nd period: 6. WCJA: Rogers (Price) 11:37; 7. WCJA: Chipperfield (Price) 16:26. 3rd period: 8. Can: Webster 9:14; 9. WCJA: Blight (Chipperfield, McMullin) 12:53; 10. Can: Shmyr (Henderson) 13:25; 11. Can: Mahovlich (Webster) 19:01. Shots: Can: 16-8-22—46; WJCA: 8-7-4—19 Goaltenders: Can: Cheevers & McLeod; WCJA: Staniowski   Game 3 • September 8, 1974 Calgary WCJA 3, Canada 2 Canada 0 1 1 - 2 WCJA 0 2 1 - 3 1st period: No scoring. 2nd period: 1. Can: Lacroix (McKenzie) 10:57; 2. WCJA: Ashby (Bucyk, Arndt) 12:17; 3. WCJA: Trottier (Sobchuk, B. Shmyr) 19:39. 3rd period: 4. WCJA: McMullin 16:19; 5. Can: Harrison (Walton) 18:20. Shots: Can: 10-10-14—34; WJCA: 8-9-7—24 Goaltenders: Can: Cheevers & McLeod; WCJA: Hendrick. Game 4 • September 10, 1974 Saskatoon Canada 6, WJCA 1 Canada 1 3 2 - 6 WCJA 0 1 0 - 1 1st period: 1. Can: Walton (Tremblay, MacGregor) 5:53. 2nd period: 2. Can: G. Howe (Henderson) 2:00; 3. Can: Tardif (Bernier) 8:08; 4. WCJA: McMullin (Chipperfield) 15:41; 5. Can: G. Howe (Backstrom) 16:11. 3rd period: 6. Can: G. Howe (Backstrom) 1:58; 7. Can: Walton (MacGregor) 8:42. Shots: Can: 11-15-15—41; WJCA: 5-6-6—17 Goaltenders: Can: Cheevers; WCJA: Staniowski   Game 5 • September 12, 1974 Edmonton Canada 8, WJCA 0 Canada 4 4 0 - 8 WCJA 0 0 0 - 0 1st period: 1. Can: Mahovlich (G. Howe) 12:33; 2. Can: Webster (Shmyr, Harrison) 13:11; 3. Can: McKenzie (Tremblay, Lacroix) 14:21; 4. Can: McKenzie (Lacroix, Mark Howe) 15:34. 2nd period: 5. Can: Mark Howe (Lacroix, Smith) 0:26; 6. Can: Tardif (Stapleton, McGregor) 3:41; 7. Can: McKenzie (Houle) 9:00; 8. Can: Shmyr (Lacroix, Mark Howe) 12:43. 3rd period: No scoring. Shots: Can: 17-17-12—46; WJCA: 5-6-11—22 Goaltenders: Can: McLeod; WCJA: Hendrick. September 26, 1974 Helsinki, Finland Canada 8, Finland 3 Canada 3 1 4 - 8 Finland 0 1 2 - 3 1st period: : 1. Can: Backstrom (G. Howe, Marty Howe) 0:47; 2. Can: G. Howe (Backstrom, Marty Howe) 6:48; 3. Can: Lacroix (Hull) 11:24. 2nd period: 4. Fin: Oksanen (Marjemeki) 16:16; 5. Can: Lacroix (Hull, Selwood) 18:23. 3rd period: 6. Fin: Ahokainen 0:58; 7. Fin: Lindstrom 4:06; 8. Can: Houle (Hamilton, Marty Howe) 8:06; 9. Can: Mahovlich (Ley) 12:04; 10. Can: Webster (Mark Howe) 14:38; 11. Can: Mahovlich 18:47. Goaltenders: Can: Gratton & McLeod; Fin: Kiili   September 29, 1974 Gothenburg, Sweden Canada 4, Sweden 3 Canada 3 0 1 - 4 Sweden 0 1 2 - 3 1st period: 1. Can: Hull (Lacroix, McKenzie) 1:57; 2. Can: Walton (Mahovlich, Houle) 11:20; 3. Can: G. Howe (Mark Howe, Hull) 18:38. 2nd period: 4. Swe: Johansson (Sundquist, Brasar) 4:46. 3rd period: 5. Swe: Lundstrom (Lindstrom, Bend) 14:02; 6. Swe: Ahlberg (Lundstrom) 15:21; 7. Can: Mahovlich (Houle, Stapleton) 17:14. Goaltenders: Can: Cheevers & McLeod; Swe: Holmquist October 8, 1974 Prague, Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia 3, Canada 1 Canada 0 1 0 - 1 Czechoslovakia 2 0 1 - 3 1st period: 1. Cze: Bubla (Hlinka) 4:07; 2. Cze: Hlinka (Eberman) 9:55. 2nd period: 3. Can: Webster (Hull) 16:40. 3rd period: 4. Cze: Haas (Novak) 3:16. Goaltenders: Can: Gratton & McLeod; Cze: Holecek.   _______________________________________ Home • Credits & Legal Stuff   Reviews, Podcasts and Media • Article: Color of Hockey: Alton White (The Hockey News), by William Douglas — March 8, 2020 • Review: US Sports History, by Rick Macales — Feb 6, 2021 • Podcast: Good Seats Still Available, by Tim Hanlon — Feb 28, 2021 • Podcast: Digital to Dice (Youtube), by Dave Gardner — July 3, 2022   WHA Fact Book, 2nd ed Book Details Complete WHA, 11th ed Book Details   (c) Scott Surgent