He was Hasek before Hasek (and Dominik Hasek's childhood idol), Mister Fantastic from the Eastern Bloc, denier of snipers, having one of the half dozen best games a goalie ever did. Dzurilla, though, might as well have been a gymnast in goalie pads. 1987: Canada wins arguably the best hockey series ever played by rallying to defeat the Soviet Union 6-5 in Game 3 of the Canada Cup final. The game-winner didn’t come until there were five minutes left in regulation, with Vachon having one of his finest performances, too. The Czechs prevailed 1–0 in what was being called one of the best games ever before the next day’s sun had risen. Going undefeated seemed almost inevitable, but hockey is not basketball, in that you can be much better than an opponent and still lose on account of a hot goalie, which the Czechs had in Vladimir Dzurilla during Round Robin play on the night of September 9. He dominates with a fraction of his body, and it’s not the portion of that body that you would have previously thought was his key attribute.Ĭanada opened the tournament on September 2 by routing Finland, 11–2. His poke-checks, his high slot dishes to snipers, a slap shot that seemingly is aided by a rifle scope. All of his greatness at this tournament comes from his stick and hands. The finals took place in Montreal on September 11, 1987, and Hamilton, Ontario, on September 13 and September 15, 1987, and were won by Team Canada.
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