East York Lyndhursts
[1] It was referred to as a "day of reckoning" in Canada by writer Michael McKinley, and a symbol of what went wrong with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association's international strategy.
He did not reveal a complete list of teams invited, but offered to pay room and board, travel fares, and C$20 per week spending money per player.
[9] Canada had not participated in the 1953 Ice Hockey World Championships due to costs and abuse over the Canadian style of play.
[7][10] Senior teams eligible to compete for the 1954 title expressed similar concerns about the increasing costs of travel, and little financial gain from the gate receipts to exhibition games played to sold-out crowds in Europe.
[9] They were convinced to accept the offer, with the promise that senior A-level players would be added to the roster after league playoffs to strengthen the team.
[5] The announcement of the East York Lyndhursts as the Canadian representative was made in October 1953, and received little press coverage at the time due to the 41st Grey Cup playoffs and the beginning of the 1953–54 NHL season.
In response, Dudley said it was an annual problem and "it's impossible to take a team or supply funds for senior or junior A-level squads".
Members of the 1954 East York Lyndhursts team included, coach Greg Currie, secretary Don Preston secretary, trainer Larry Kearns; and players Tom Campbell (captain), Earl Clements, Don Couch, Harold Fiskari, Moe Galand, Norm Gray, Bob Kennedy, Gavin Lindsay, John Petro, Russ Robertson, George Sayliss, John Scott, Vic Sluce, Reg Spragge and Dan Windley.
[3] Team coach Greg Currie stated they felt confident going into the tour, despite skepticism about their talents by media in Canada.
[17] The Lyndhursts played their first game of the tour on January 30 in Paris, and lost by an 11–2 score to a team of Canadian all-stars from the British National League.
Dudley announced that four more players would be flown in from Toronto to strengthen the roster, including Don Lockhart, Eric Unger, Tom Jamieson, and Bill Shill.
[17] The event marked the first time that the Soviet Union national ice hockey team was participating at the World Championships.
[15][21] Moe Galand's wife gave birth to a son while he was in Sweden, and his teammates collected money to pay for the phone call home.
[3] The Lyndhursts needed only a tie versus the Soviet Union in the final game of the round-robin on March 7, to claim the World Championship title for Canada.
[24] He felt that the Lyndhursts lacked the experience necessary to deal with the political situation in Europe,[25][26] and believed that much of the criticism by newspapers in Sweden had been anti-Canadian propaganda.
[27][28] He recommended that Canada continue to play at the World Championships, and denied reports from East York's manager that spectators in Sweden treated the Canadian team unfairly.
Reg Spragge remarked that, "You would have thought we lost World War Three, not a hockey game";[3] whereas George Sayliss felt that, "I think we got more publicity over losing than if we'd won it".
[31] Writer Michael McKinley referred to the loss by the Lyndhursts to the Soviets as a "day of reckoning" in Canada, and a symbol of what went wrong with the CAHA's international strategy.
[1][2] It was the beginning the a rivalry between Canada and the Soviet Union, and increased interest by the Canadian public in the Ice Hockey World Championships.
[3][19] Journalist Scott Young wrote that any game versus the Soviet Union became a matter of national honour and pride for Canadians, and a concerted effort was made to regain the title when the Penticton Vees were unanimously selected to represent Canada at the 1955 Ice Hockey World Championships with ample finances and resources to support the team.
