It had been an unmitigated disaster for Team Canada on home ice, and overwhelming success for the Soviets. The Russians had shocked the hockey world with a stunning 7-3 win in Montreal, a slight misadventure in Toronto in losing 4-1, a come-from-behind 4-4 tie in Winnipeg, and a solid 5-3 win in Vancouver.
Canada was in a deep hole and in a depressed and pressure-packed state as they prepared for part two, the four final games in Moscow. We were behind our Canadian boys, but we hunkered down for more heartache. Everything seemed bleaker than those shots of dismal street scenes of Russian life we had come used to seeing in grainy newsreel footage.