|
The Soviet Union had been dominant through the first nine games of the tournament. Still it took a late third-period goal by Vyacheslav Bykov to give them a 3-2 win over Sweden and their 20th world title in the final game of the medal round. A very good Swedish team faced the Soviets without its top goalie Peter Lindmark, who was injured. The Swedes earned the silver medal and Canada, coached by Pat Quinn, defeated Finland 4-3 in the game that decided the bronze. Finland had now gone 37 years since it first participated in a World Championship without winning a medal of any color. In winning the gold medal, the Soviets introduced two NHL stars of the future into their lineup. Nineteen-year-old Vladimir Konstantinov, normally a defenceman, did an admirable checking job as a fourth-line centre. Winger Valery Kamensky, 20, also made his debut with the national team scoring two goals.
The biggest surprise of the tournament was the poor showing of Czechoslovakia. The 1985 World Champions didn't even qualify for the medal round and finished fifth after losing not only to the Soviets, but also Poland, West Germany, Finland and Canada. It was the first time since 1967 that Czechoslovakia finished out of the medals. Brett Hull of the United States enjoyed a strong international debut by scoring seven goals and 11 points in 10 games.
|