 Led by goaltender Vladislav Tretiak and forwards Valeri Kharlamov , Alexander Yakushev , Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov , the Soviet Union won gold at the 1970 and 1971 World Championships and the 1972 Winter Olympics . 1972 marked the first time that both the Olympics and World Championships were held in the same year as separate events . At the World Championships in Prague , the Czechoslovak team ended the Soviet team 's streak and won their first gold since 1949 . The Soviet team quickly returned to their winning ways , winning 1973 and 1974 World Championships . However , during the latter tournament , the Czechoslovak team defeated the Soviets 7 – 2 . It was one of the biggest margins the Soviet team had ever lost by in an official game . The 1976 World Championships were held in Katowice , Poland . On the opening day of the tournament , Poland defeated the Soviet Union 6 – 4 thanks to a hat @-@ trick from forward Wieslaw Jobczyk and the goaltending of Andrzej Tkacz . It was one of the biggest upsets in international hockey history ; two months earlier at the 1976 Winter Olympics , Poland had lost 16 – 1 to the Soviets . The Soviets lost two more games and won the silver , and Czechoslovakia won gold . Poland finished seventh and was relegated to Pool B , the division in which teams play for ranking purposes and not the championship ( now known as Division I ) . 
