Rare footage: Olympic hockey heats up Saskatoon in 1988
Saskatchewan has played host to plenty of high-level hockey over the years, but few top the rivalry between Canada and the Soviet Union.
You wouldn’t have expected both nation's men's Olympic hockey teams to be facing off in Saskatchewan. However, Olympic hockey has been played in our province, sort of.
We found rare footage of Olympic hockey teams playing games in Saskatoon in 1988.
That year, the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team faced off against the Soviet Union and Sweden in a pre-tournament series just days before the Calgary Olympics.
The games were some of the first to be played at the new Saskatchewan Place arena in Saskatoon, known today as SaskTel Centre.
This was before NHL players paused their season to play in the Olympics, so fans saw a Canadian Olympic roster that included Trent Yawney, Marc Habsheid, and Goaltender Andy Moog.
The Soviet Union had a stacked roster that included the likes of Igor Larionov, Alexander Mogilny, and Valeri Kamenski.
Both teams lit the lamp early, each getting a goal within the first two minutes. But Canada would get two unanswered goals after that and hang onto a 3-2 victory.
One day later, Canada’s Olympic team faced off against team Sweden.
This match was also a back-and-forth battle, where the teams exchanged two goals throughout the game, with the final score being a 2-2 tie.
Canada went into the Calgary Olympics but finished off the podium in fourth place behind Sweden, Finland, and the Soviet Union.
But those rare opportunities to see Olympic hockey in Saskatchewan, gave fans plenty to cheer about, with many showing their Canadian hockey pride.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.