1976
SITTLER vs DZURILLA
defeats
Canada rolled with ease through the preliminary stages of the first Canada Cup and then met the Soviets in the semi-finals, dashing any hopes for a repeat of the Summit Series in the final. Canada defeated the USSR 3-1, then moved on to face upstart Czechoslovakia.
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GAME ONE
MAPLE LEAF GARDENS
TORONTO, CANADA
CSSR 0 - CANADA 6
Canada lost their only match of the round robin tournament to the Czechs when their star goalie Vladimir Dzurilla shut them out 1-0. Team Canada was eager for revenge and Czechoslovakia had to suffer their wrath.
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GAME TWO
MONTREAL FORUM
MONTREAL, CANADA
CSSR 4 - CANADA 5
The lasting memory of the 1976 Canada Cup was the tight game and solid play of game 2. The game was 4-4 after 3 periods and the match went into over-time. Darryl Sittler scored the thrilling winning goal in the first overtime period, giving Team Canada the inaugural championship. The play was a beauty. Sittler broke in off the left wing and faked a booming slap shot causing Dzurilla to fall to his knees. Once the star goalie was down, Sittler skated by and popped the puck into the wide open net.
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Final Standings
1: Canada
2: Czechoslovakia
3: USSR
4: Sweden
5: USA
6: Finland
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Canada Roster
HEAD COACH
Scotty Bowman
FORWARDS
Bill Barber / Bobby Clarke / Marcel Dionne / Phil Esposito / Bob Gainey / Danny Gare / Bobby Hull / Reggie Leach / Guy Lafleur / Pete Mahovlich / Rick Martin / Lanny McDonald / Gilbert Perreault / Jean Pronovost / Rene Robert / Steve Shutt / Darryl Sittler
DEFENSEMEN
Dave Burrows / Guy Lapointe / Dan Maloney / Bobby Orr / Denis Potvin / Larry Robinson / Serge Savard / Paul Shmyr / Carol Vadnais / Jimmy Watson
GOALTENDERS
Gerry Cheevers / Chico Resch / Rogatien Vachon
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