Canada's Wayne Merrick of the NHL's Cleveland Barons scored the first goal of the game against Czechoslovakia in their final game of the medal round.
At the 1977 World Championships, Merrick played 10 games, scored 4 goals, had 3 assists, and totalled 7 points.
Phil Esposito scored 2 goals to lead Canada to a 8-2 victory over Czechoslovakia (the gold medal winning team). Canada was poised to salvage the tournament with a bronze medal.
But, the Soviets were upset by the Swedes in the final game of the tournament — and the Swedes would jump from 4th place and finish with a silver medal.
Instead of gold, the Soviets settled for bronze.
And then Canada was then pushed back to 4th place and went home without a medal.
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This video commemorates Canada's mixed results and the legacy of the 1977 World Championships in Vienna, Austria. I do not own the images or artwork. This video is for educational purposes only.
