Skip to main content

Historic Night: Seattle Totems vs. USSR National Champions

Now here's a historic program! This is from a game between the Western Hockey League's Seattle Totems and the USSR National Champions. This is the first-ever encounter between a Soviet team and a North American professional hockey team.


1972-73 Exhibition--Totems vs. USSR
     USSR teams would eventually play exhibition games against NHL teams in the mid-late 1970s, but their first game against a North American pro squad was against the Totems. The game was held at Seattle Center Coliseum (now Key Arena).
     Seattle was part of the old Western Hockey League, a minor-pro loop that was about on-par with the American Hockey League and, at one time, was rumored to make a jump to major league status. A competitive team for most of it's existence, by 1972-73 the Totems were in decline. The team finished 26-32-14, in fifth place and out of the playoffs. 
     Despite their mediocre season, the Totems did have some talent. Rob Walton led the way in scoring with 40 goals and 101 points, with Danny Seguin right behind with 32 goals and 79 points. Future Saginaw Gears forward Dave Westner played 71 games with the Totems, scoring 15 goals and 40 points. Dan Brady played the bulk of the games in net, going 16-19-14 with a 3.84 GAA.
     The USSR squad was a loaded roster, one that could have challenged for the Stanley Cup. The Soviets had star players such as Vladislav Tretiak, Aleksandr Maltsev, Boris Mikhailov, Aleksandr Yakushev and Valeriy Kharlamov. Several of the players on this roster would eventually be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
    

Ticket Stub for the game!
     Despite being over-matched, Seattle put up a fight. After the Soviets jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, the Totems eventually tied the game at 4 in the second period. However, the Russians were simply too talented, and scored 5 unanswered goals to win, 9-4.
     Two years later, the Totems would exact revenge on the USSR, scoring an 8-4 win over the same Russian squad.
     I found this program on eBay a few years ago and grabbed it as soon as I saw it. It came with two newspaper clippings as well as an actual ticket stub from the game. It cost a little more than I like to spend on programs, but I thought it was worth it, considering the history involved.











Sources:
Totems vs. the U.S.S.R. From the website SeattleTotems.org
Seattle Totems Stats: 1972-73 (from Hockeydb.com)
Russian National Champions lineup from Seattle Totems-Russian National Champions: Souvenir Magazine. December 25, 1972


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the...

Indianapolis Checkers (IHL, 1985-86)

1985-86 Regular Season Checkers vs. Flint Spirits      The Indianapolis Checkers were back for their second season in the IHL after five seasons in the defunct Central Hockey League. The Checkers remained a secondary affiliate of both the New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars. Larry Woods purchased the Checkers after the 1984-85 season and moved the team to the 15,900-seat Market Square Arena, home of the NBA's Indiana Pacers. The team kept their Islanders-styled uniforms, but changed the logo.      Former Port Huron Flags coach Ron Ullyot was named Coach/GM of the Checkers, and his team greatly improved on their first IHL season. Indy finished with a 41-35-6 mark. They finished last in the very competitive West Division, which had all the teams win at least 40 games. The Checkers' 88 points would have easily taken fourth place in the East.     Indy scored just 296 goals that year, better than only Flint and Toledo. Longtime minor lea...

Muskegon Mohawks (IHL, 1965-84)

I know, I said earlier I was going to look at Detroit's minor league teams. That would mean the Vipers would be next, but I decided to cover them later when I had time (I have a TON of programs from that team). Instead, I'm going to look briefly at Muskegon.  Muskegon has had a long, colorful past in professional hockey. It all started in 1960 with the expansion Muskegon Zephyrs of the IHL. Five seasons later, 1965-66, the Zephyrs became the Mohawks, and remain so until 1984-85, when they became the Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks would remain in town through the 1992-93 season. After that season, the franchise would relocate to Cleveland, Ohio. Here are the Mohawks programs I have, along with a couple bonus scans.        The Mohawks existed from 1965-84, about 20 seasons, and had two vastly different eras of success. From 1965-76, the Mohawks finished above .500 10 times, winning the Huber Trophy (Regular Season Championship) six times and the ...