The opening of the 1977 IIHF World Hockey Championship did not go well for the rag tag United States. They got blown out in the first preliminary game on April 21st by a score of 4-1 by Team Canada who didn't even bother to start goalie Tony Esposito, they started their backup goalie Jim Rutherford. Still, at least they kept the game competitive. The Soviet Union juggernaut crushed Finland 10-3, the Czechoslovakian crunch bunch bashed West Germany 10-0 and Sweden knocked Romania out 8-1.
The following day Sweden actually beat Canada 4-2 which set up the second game of the day, the United States against Romania. The Romanian national team featured nobody from the NHL, AHL or anywhere so they weren't meant to be taken seriously. Still, even a group of rag tags like Team USA couldn't afford to not take them seriously. Last video I went over the roster for Team USA but if you want a quick recap, check this out.
For reference points, the Soviets beat the Fins 11-6 and the Czechs beat West Germany 9-3 so the US had to win to stay in front of Romania and Germany in the standings. Can the rag-tags beat the Romanians? Let's find out.
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