THN Archive: 'Case of the Extra Puck' Made Controversy at 1989 World Juniors

The world juniors occasionally create controversy – this 1989 story from THN's archive reported on a fascinating development when a second puck appeared on the ice during a game.

The IIHF’s annual World Junior Championship never fails to make news. And in this feature story from The Hockey News’ Archive – Vol. 42, Issue 17, with a cover dated Jan. 13, 1989 – we profiled a controversial saga from the 1989 WJC – “The Case of the Extra Puck.”.

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In a game between the Soviet Union and Sweden on Dec. 29, 1988, controversy erupted when a second puck appeared on the ice with approximately 90 seconds remaining in the game. Soviet netminder Alexei Ivashkin made a save and pushed the puck into the corner. Meanwhile, a second puck appeared and was shot into the Soviet’s net to apparently tie the game. But American referee Steve Piotrowski immediately waved off the goal, and the game ended 3-2 in favor of the Soviets.

The IIHF did not rule that the second puck was the legal puck and instead confirmed the result that gave the Soviets the win.

“We watched three videotapes of the incident (and)...looked at the Canadians’ tape, the Americans’ tape and the Soviets’ tape,” said Gyorgy Pasztor, chairman of the IIHF’s tournament directorate. “No one can say conclusively where that extra puck came from.”

Dave Draper, the Canadian team’s director of operations, did not agree with the IIHF’s view of the sequence.

“Our interpretation, after watching our videotape, is the game puck was the one that went in the net,” Draper said. “And the referee signaled a goal. It was only after the second puck was introduced that he waved off the goal. It’s unfortunate something like this has to happen, especially since it may ultimately have an impact on who gets the gold medal.”

Sweden filed an official protest, but it was cast aside – and even if the IIHF had ruled that the second puck was the legal puck, the tournament rules do not allow for a referee’s decision to be overturned.

“A tournament directorate cannot reverse the decision of a referee and the result of a game,” Pasztor said. “The best the Swedish protest could have done was to discipline anyone caught cheating.”

Ultimately, the on-ice official’s call was the deciding call, and any clamoring about the sequence did not change the final result.

“The case is definitely closed,” Pasztor said. “(T)here is nothing we can do.”

Vo. 42, No. 17, Jan. 13, 1989

By Bob McKenzie

Circumstantial evidence suggests there was a cheater at the 1989 World Junior Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.

But the Case of the Extra Puck will go down as an unsolved mystery.

“The case is definitely closed,” said Gyorgy Pasztor, chairman of the International Ice Hockey Federation tournament directorate.

The controversy arose Dec. 29 in the Soviet Union’s 3-2 win over Sweden at Sullivan Arena.

The Swedes apparently tied the game at 18:32 of the third period, but a second puck was discovered on the ice. Referee Steve Piotrowski of Detroit, after consulting with his linesmen, disallowed the goal.

Sweden filed an official protest, to no avail.

“We watched three videotapes of the incident,” said Pasztor at a Dec. 30 hearing. “We looked at the Canadians’ tape, the Americans’ tape and the Soviets’ tape. No one can say conclusively where that extra puck came from. Therefore, there is nothing we can do.”

Even if the tapes had shown a Soviet player putting the extra puck into play — as the Swedes charged — the outcome of the game wouldn’t have changed.

“A tournament directorate cannot reverse the decision of a referee and the result of a game,” Pasztor said. “The best the Swedish protest could have done was to discipline anyone caught cheating.”

Swedish coach Claes-Goran Wallin was satisfied, even though a tie against the Soviets would have given his club a better shot at the gold medal.

As it turned out, the Soviets (5-0-0) needed only one win in their remaining two games (against Czechoslovakia Jan. 2 and Canada Jan. 4) to wrap up the gold medal. The loss to the Soviets left Sweden at 4-1-0 and requiring at least a win and a tie in their final two games (against West Germany on Jan. 3and the U.S. on Jan. 4) to get a silver.

Pasztor said the game puck went into the corner at the same time the second puck was dropped in front of the net, then was fired into the goal and waved off by Piotrowski.

But Dave Draper, the Canadian team’s director of operations, disagreed with the official IIHF version of the sequence.

“Our interpretation, after watching our videotape, is the game puck was the one that went in the net,” Draper said. “And the referee (Piotrowski) signaled a goal. It was only after the second puck was introduced that he waved off the goal. It’s unfortunate something like this has to happen, especially since it may ultimately have an impact on who gets the gold medal.”

The Canadians (3-1-1), extreme longshots for the gold, but with a shot at silver or bronze depending on their final two games (against Finland on Jan. 3 and the Soviets Jan. 4), had other complaints.

In Canada’s 5-4 loss to Sweden on Dec. 31, Rod Brind' Amour had a goal disallowed because Soviet referee Guber Natorov ruled he gloved it into the net.

Videotape replays and a photograph clearly showed Brind’Amour directed the puck into the net with his stick.

Then, on Jan. 1 in a 2-2 tie against Czechoslovakia, Canada was unhappy with a stick measurement conducted by Finnish referee Juhani Jokela on Czechoslovak captain Zdeno Ciger.

Because no stick gauge was on hand, officials traced the curve of Ciger’s blade on a piece of paper and then used a measuring tape. The stick was ruled legal and Canada was assessed a delay-of-game penalty late in the third period.

“We’re not looking for excuses,” Draper said. “The fact of the matter is we haven’t been playing as well as we’re capable. But it’s unfortunate at a world-class event to be worried about off-ice problems. It’s not fair to the players, any of them.”

Heading into its final two games of the tourney (Jan. 2 against Norway and Jan. 4 against Sweden) the U.S. was still in the medal hunt along with Czechoslovakia and Finland (all 2-2-1).

The Hockey News Archive is a vault of 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com