"We will be remembered for the last game, and this was the first": how the victory of the Russian national team over the USA at the MFM-2021 was discussed

"They told the guys that the 4: 1 score is the most dangerous"

For the first time since 2016, the Russian national team beat the US team at the World Youth Hockey Championship.

Igor Larionov's wards successfully started at the tournament in Edmonton, simultaneously interrupting a five-match losing streak in matches with the Americans.

They had a particularly striking second period, in which they scored three goals and increased the score to a large one - 4: 1.

Despite two conceded goals in the third segment, domestic hockey players brought the meeting to victory, and in the end, Yegor Chinakhov put an end to it.

“The match turned out to be difficult today.

The beginning of the tournament, a serious contender.

In any case, we won thanks to Askarov's excellent play.

Let's fix the moments that were in the third period.

Let's talk with Nikolai Khabibulin and Yaroslav.

We have no doubts that Askarov plays great and will play even better.

The first match will be attributed to the excitement, which is typical for any player, not to mention the youth, "- quotes Larionov" Sport-Express ". 

The head coach of the Russian squad admitted that before the start of the third 20-minute period, he tried to warn the charges against losing concentration.  

“They told the guys that the 4: 1 score was the most dangerous.

When you play three goals and give your opponent some oxygen, that is, you miss the second goal, he gets confidence.

We will talk about this later.

Ilya Safonov was sent off, but on the whole we did not fall apart.

We continued to be more patient, won key faceoffs in our zone when the Americans took a timeout, ”Larionov said.

At the same time, Larionov noted the game of the fourth link, whose representatives organized three goals out of five.

Vasily Ponomarev scored a double, and Zakhar Bardakov scored another accurate shot. 

“Together with the coaching staff we tried not to have a nominally third, fourth or first and second line.

In the match with the Canadians, we started with the very link that scored three goals today.

We expect from every triple and from every player the contribution they can give.

Today I am very happy for these guys.

They played brilliantly ... It's nice that we have trump cards that we can use throughout the tournament, ”Larionov stressed.

Among other things, the specialist commented on the unsuccessful performance of the main goalkeeper of the Stars and Stripes Spencer Knight.

It was a gross mistake by the goalkeeper that led to the fourth goal of the Russians, the author of which was Ilya Safonov.

“When two strong teams play, there is a crazy pressure on the goalkeeper.

Someone withstands, someone - no.

He made mistakes, but they were made when we put a lot of pressure on the defense, on the goalkeeper.

We are looking for any ways to create dangerous moments at the opponent's goal and score, ”concluded Larionov.

"I didn't really understand what Zegras was shouting."

After such a successful start, the youth hockey players also did not skimp on flattering words addressed to their mentor.

So, Vasily Ponomarev, who scored a double and was recognized as the best player of the match, admitted that he had incredible feelings from working under the leadership of the ex-forward of the Detroit Red Wings.

“Larionov is a legend not only in Russia, but also in world hockey.

I think he will be a famous coach, perhaps like Tarasov.

He has great potential, "- quotes the striker" Championship ".

He noted that the Russian national team played their hockey in the match with the United States, and expressed confidence that it will become even more aggressive and will add during the tournament.

“The matches with the USA and Canada weren't that different, we just got acclimatized more.

This is the first game, you have to work hard.

We will be remembered for the last meeting, and this, I repeat, was the first, "said the Carolina forward.

The hockey player also answered a question about the episode involving Trevor Zegras.

The American striker scored the third goal of his team, after which he shouted something at the Russians' bench.

Domestic athletes ignored the actions of their opponent, and Ponomarev admitted that he did not understand the words of his counterpart.

“I'm not very good with English.

Therefore, I did not really understand what Zegras was shouting, "Ponomarev admitted.

Goal author Safonov drew particular attention to the tense ending, saying that the national team has no right to do this in matches with such strong opponents as the USA and Canada.

“We will work on it and exclude such mistakes.

We worked the whole match, and in the second period, chances began to appear.

We have implemented them, nothing special, ”said the forward.

"We showed Russian character, fought for each other"

The victory over the US national team caused a great resonance in the Russian sports community.

The success of Larionov's squad was appreciated by both the leaders of domestic hockey and former players and coaches, noting its importance both from the point of view of tournament prospects and the psychological state of the team.

Thus, the head of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR) Vladislav Tretyak praised the athletes for their dedication, but stressed that it is necessary to maintain maximum concentration until the final siren.

“We played well, there is potential, we showed character, but we cannot relax for a second.

The first game is always exciting - I myself remember my first match, and when you go out, there is always excitement, no matter how strong your team is ... Youth hockey is dangerous because players tend to make mistakes, emotions are inherent.

When in 2011 in Buffalo the Canadians, after two periods, were leading 3: 0, they already hanged gold medals, and we threw them five goals in one period, "TASS quotes Tretyak.

The first vice-president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, Roman Rotenberg, called the victory over the Americans a step forward and noted its importance for the national team.

“Anyway, now we need to do an analysis, we are working, we will analyze the game and mistakes with the coaching staff.

In the next match we will be even better ... We showed a Russian character, fought for each other ... The more difficult the opponent, the better for us, we were ready for this, did the job, ”said the TASS functionary.

Two-time Olympic champion Alexander Kozhevnikov was also pleased with the game of the Russians, but expressed the opinion that it is too early to assess the influence of Larionov on the team's actions.

Nevertheless, he noted that all the links managed to prove themselves.

“Our disease is that we do not know how to finish games with a good score.

We create experiences for the public all the time.

We must continue to play responsibly, ”said the Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.

He also did not attach much importance to the behavior of Zegras after the goal.

In his opinion, such emotions are part of the sport.

“Let them shout!

This is at all times.

Nothing wrong, our people were shouting too.

Emotions, youth.

There was no dirty play on the part of the Americans, they just wanted to score.

Nothing special, ”said the two-time Olympic champion.

The triumphant of the 1993 world championship, Andrei Nikolishin, reacted more calmly to the performance of the Russians in the third period.

He admitted that at that moment he was not worried about the team, and called the missed goals a natural consequence of wrong actions in defense.

“We took the lead due to good pressure and roll.

We made the goalkeeper falter - out of five goals, three of him, and it is no coincidence that he was changed.

In the third period, leading the score, the guys calmed down, controlled the puck, and it looked like the game Larionov wants to see.

This is a good control of the puck, a second pace, reset, accurate passes, and Askarov outplayed his counterpart, "Nikolishin TASS quotes.

Former youth mentor Vladimir Plyushchev also drew attention to the fact that the performance of the Russian national team was not ideal, especially focusing on the ending.

“The mistakes that were made led to exciting moments at the end of the game.

In general, the guys showed us good hockey, especially taking into account the first match and nervousness on the part of both teams, "- quotes Plyushchev" Sport-Express ".

According to him, one of the problems of the team was unjustified deletions.

In the course of the meeting, the Russians remained in the minority four times, and the negligence of Ilya Safonov led to the goal of the Stars and Stripes.

With 2 minutes 18 seconds before the end of the third period, the Americans realized the numerical advantage and reduced the backlog to a minimum.

“So our fans strained a little towards the end.

Although all the main matches will still be ahead.

And this match with the United States carries a purely psychological moment.

But this victory is a positive moment for us and, naturally, conclusions for the Americans.

It's nice to start the World Championship with a victory, especially since the United States is one of the favorites in this championship, ”Plushev said.