“We will fight for the whole country”
For the Russian team, the victory over the national team of Sweden has become, if not historic, then significant. Wards Valery Bragin for the third time in ten years beat the Scandinavians in the semifinals of the youth world hockey championship and reached the final for the first time in four years. At the end of the match, the head coach noted both positive and negative moments in the game of the wards.
“They acted very well, compactly, aggressively. We conceded not very obligatory goals. The main thing is that they believed in victory to the end, ”Bragin quotes Sport-Express.
The mentor admitted that the Scandinavian hockey players did not surprise him, and also said that shortly before the semi-final he had a serious conversation with the authors of the doubles against the Swedes - Ivan Morozov and Yegor Sokolov.
“We have all normal guys, their future is ahead, it will depend on them how they will develop further. Yesterday there was a serious conversation with him (Morozov. - RT ) after a meeting with Switzerland. He played poorly. But it worked. Sokolov? With him too. There is experience with the psychology of young hockey players, ”said the mentor.
One of the key points was the replacement of goalkeeper Yaroslav Askarov during the third period. The young goalkeeper missed the fourth puck and left the ice, and Amir Miftakhov came out instead. Nevertheless, Bragin did not call the performance of the gate guard of SKA-Neva a failure.
“Not to say that it is bad (spoke. - RT ), but in such games the goalkeeper must help out. We also need to see what kind of interference there was, ”added Bragin.
In addition, the mentor said that in the final from the first minutes Miftakhov will most likely come out. The last time he went on the ice in a meeting with the United States, after which he spent two games in a row on the bench.
One of the main characters was Ivan Morozov. The central striker looked great on the faceoff, and also became the author of the double. He distinguished himself at the very beginning of the first period, and then became the author of the winning puck in overtime.
“Is this the craziest match of my career? Maybe yes. We played well and knew that we should own the puck more. Otherwise, it would be difficult for us to defend ourselves. The Swedes have a good attack, but it is weaker than the defense. They responded well to the five-minute removal, they should have realized this majority, ”Sport-Express quotes Morozova.
Previously, the striker was not marked by goals in the tournament, and before the semi-finals in his asset there was only one assists. According to him, this contributed to his aggressive mood for a duel with “tre krunur”.
“My coaches told me to quit more, because sometimes I’m looking for an extra pass. (In the episode with the winning goal. - RT ) I wanted to pass Marchenko, but decided to throw it. Plus, before that I did not get into the empty net. Vasya gave it to me, I was at speed, but the defender didn’t. I saw that I can go to the center. Well, that helped, ”said Morozov.
At the same time, he admitted that hockey players of the Russian team continued to believe in themselves, even after the Swedish team was able to recoup from the score 1: 3.
“All the boys understood that this is our game and we need to win it. No wonder we worked so much, we must be in the finals. In overtime, it is always difficult to take away the puck, because there is a lot of free space. We waited for them to lose. It’s good that now everything turned out, the team won. Tomorrow is the main match for gold, and it must be won, ”Morozov concluded.
At the same time, SKA striker expressed the opinion that the title of the best player in the match belongs to Yegor Sokolov. Like Morozov, he designed a double and turned the game into overtime.
“This is probably the most pleasant feeling in my life. Never experienced this. We reached the final of the youth world championship. However, this is not the end of our mission ... The final step remained, we will fight for the whole country, we will present it with a gift, ”Sokolov admitted.
Also, the attacker commented on the episode with the replacement of Askarov. According to him, this has become an additional motivation for Russian athletes.
“I wanted to support Yaroslav, he is a young goalkeeper. They wanted to help Amir get into the game as soon as possible, try to even the score. We did it, then we had to go out in overtime and finish off the Swedes. Vanya Morozov did everything superbly, he hit perfectly. I couldn’t reach him: I tripped three times, my legs gave way, ”Sokolov added.
As the author of two assists Vasily Podkolzin admitted, the victory over “tre krunur” was one of the most significant episodes in his career.
“Until now, I’m as if in the astral plane. Not every day such moments happen, they are very memorable. It’s hard to find the words, you have to forget all this and get ready for the finale. We don’t care, Finns or Canadians ”, - quotes Podkolzin“ Championship ”.
The striker admitted that he was surprised by the overtime in the format of "three by three", and also praised Sokolov.
“Yes, he played great! This is confidence for him and the whole team. And Vanya Morozov scored, also good. The main thing is on time, ”emphasized the tenth issue of the 2019 NHL draft.
According to the assistant to the captain of the Russian national team Alexander Romanov, the Swedes tried to intimidate domestic athletes, but failed.
“As the match showed, we are not afraid of them, even such a thought was not. Yes, the fight was tough, you can’t say anything. But this is the semifinal, everyone wants to go further, but not everyone succeeds. We were not nervous, we only encouraged each other, believed in success, played as a single family, ”the hockey player said.
It is noteworthy that the outcome of the match could be decided much earlier, but Cyril Marchenko could not realize a great moment. He could only send the puck into an empty corner, but Swedish goalkeeper Hugo Anelfeldt played above all praise. As the SKA forward said, he reacted heavily to this episode.
“Experienced. Let's review the game - we will analyze. The main thing is not to dwell on this and play on, ”the athlete admitted.
He noted that the Swedes have serious problems when playing on the defensive, and also said that Morozov’s winning goal was noted.
“We almost crushed him when we jumped near the side. He is a young man. Cool game turned out, ”added Marchenko.
“I wish I were in their place”
In turn, the head coach of the Swedish national team Thomas Monten commented on the defeat in the semifinals and named the main trump card of the Russian team.
“Goal Morozov upset. I don’t think we looked bad when playing five by five. Russia was not surprising. Its strength is the depth of the composition, ”said Montaigne.
In addition, he commented on the removal of Niels Heglander in the first period. Already in the fifth minute, the best scorer “tre-krunur” received a match penalty for hitting Grigory Denisenko in the head and went to the locker room.
“I agreed with the removal of Heglander. There was "5 + 20". In general, a very stubborn match with a lot of deletions, so much was decided in the special teams, ”Monten added.
Scandinavian forward David Gustafsson admitted that his team had many chances to win, and noted that the Russians should not be afraid.
“When the score was 1: 3, we remained calm. They abandoned in the majority, some goals were complete crap. We had a good match, showed character, made a comeback. The goalkeeper of Russia was not to blame for our goals. Now it’s very difficult, ”Gustafsson said.
According to Samuel Fagemo, Russian athletes were lucky to excel twice in the majority.
“Now you feel sad. Yes, we lost Hoeglander at the very beginning, we had to act a lot in the minority. This is difficult, but the opponent took advantage of successful bounces. Yes, Alnefelt made a great save and left us in the game. Russia is a good team. Cool to them, they will play in the finals. I would like to be in their place, ”Fagemo admitted.