"The best gift for the country for the New Year": what they said after the victory of the Russian national team over Sweden at the MFM-2021 hockey

For the Russian national team, the meeting with the Swedish national team has become one of the most dramatic at the 2021 World Youth Championship at the moment.

Let Igor Larionov's wards never lost in the score, but in the course of the match they had to overcome many difficulties.

Most of them arose due to frequent deletions in the domestic team, which remained in the minority five times in total.

It is not surprising that after the match the mentor was asked about his attitude to the behavior of his players and how well-founded the decisions of the Canadian referees were.

“Our headquarters have no complaints about refereeing.

Everyone is wrong.

Players, judges.

The question is in the mood.

Emotional play, emotions overwhelmed.

We have warned that patience and discipline are essential ingredients for success.

It's daunting to play with strong teams for so much time in the minority, "- quoted Larionov" Championship ".

As for the deletions, we are mainly talking about the second period, during which the Russian national team was in the minority four times.

First, Arseny Knyazev earned two small penalties in a row, and then Rodion Amirov and Mikhail Abramov alternately went to the penalty box.

Moreover, the latter succumbed to the provocation from Arvid Kostmar, and the punishment was received for his actions during the non-fiction episode.

“We drew attention to this during the break.

This will be a lesson, we have received unreasonable deletions in such matches many times.

Young guys have such things.

Let us explain to them that we do not have time for such moments, we have no right to leave.

Especially when away from other people's gates and personal grievances, "- said the specialist.

Speaking of the positive aspects, the mentor could not fail to note the performance of the first link, who organized three goals out of four.

Rodion Amirov chalked up the puck and two assists, Marat Khusnutdinov became the author of the decisive accurate shot in overtime, and Vasily Podkolzin made a pass.

“There was a conversation, and not only with them.

The guys realized how important their role is.

The match with Austria added confidence to them.

This is an essential element for any forward.

We know that with us everything can affect the result.

I'm glad that leaders played a key role today.

The whole team played a men's match that demanded character, courage and patience, ”said Larionov.

Representatives of the first link performed all their effective actions in the majority.

Amirov and Khusnutdinov themselves distinguished themselves in unequal compositions, and at the beginning of the third period, Rodion assisted Kirill Kirsanov.

Taking into account the fact that in the previous three matches the Russians have realized the numerical superiority only once, there has clearly been progress in this aspect.

“It's nice when guys score in key matches.

In today's hockey it is necessary to combine all the elements that can give a chance for success ... Of course, we release more recent ones.

We simplified everything a little, it was important that the defender knew how to get the puck to the goal.

Kirsanov is a very interesting guy, he reads the game, works calmly with the puck, he has no panic ... We give a chance to all the guys who are fresh, ready to score and sacrifice themselves, ”Larionov stressed.

At the same time, the mentor shared his opinion about the health of Yegor Chinahov, who was injured in the confrontation with Austria.

According to him, the condition of the Avangard forward will be assessed after the hire on Friday, following which a decision will be made on his participation in the next match.

Larionov also assessed the prospects of the national team in the quarterfinals of the competition, where it will fight with Germany or Slovakia.

The specialist noted that in the playoffs the result is largely unpredictable and assured that the team will approach the next meeting with maximum concentration.

“You go to an opponent who has nothing to lose.

One match can solve everything.

Error of the referee, goalkeeper, striker.

Of course, we will figure out who we are playing with, and we will prepare fully armed, ”concluded Larionov.

One of the most talked about hockey players was the Swede Alexander Holz.

During the meeting, he declared the superiority of Tre Kronur in skill, and also condemned the Russians for their “dirty” game. "

Such words were not to the liking of his opponents, in particular, Khusnutdinov. 

“There was no dirt.

We have no focus on such a game.

I don’t know, maybe it looked like this from the Swedes, but we didn’t play dirty, ”Khusnutdinov replied to his opponent.

The winner of the winning goal also expressed the opinion that the judges could be less strict with the Russian athletes, noting that some of the referees' verdicts were in doubt.

“I can't say there were obvious deletions.

The downside is that we gave the minimum reason.

Everyone understands that you cannot leave.

We will talk about this later, ”the forward noted.

Kirsanov, who distinguished himself in the majority, did not agree with Holtz in terms of assessing the strength of his opponents and said that he allowed him to score the first goal at the tournament in Edmonton.

“All teams at the tournament have high skills.

I cannot say that Sweden is a more skilled team.

We also have a skilled team, it was not for nothing that we were chosen to the national team.

In terms of my goal, I have to thank the coaches for entrusting me with the majority, this role.

And thanks to the partners that they brought me to the shot.

I gave it there without looking - she flew in herself.

My physical condition is more than normal, I feel great and I am ready to play for 30 minutes all the time ”, - quotes the defender of RIA Novosti.

In Russia, they reacted with enthusiasm to the successful completion of the group stage performed by Larionov's squad.

The head of the Russian Hockey Federation (FHR) Vladislav Tretyak expressed the opinion that this match was worthy of the decisive stages of the competition and highly appreciated the performance of Russian athletes.

“Validol game, valid last minutes.

I want to say that this is how the final matches are played - it is a fight to the end between two worthy teams.

It is a pity that a goal was scored to us a minute before the end, but the ricochet was so stupid.

Well, we played the majority.

Today it was clear that our team was playing: competently, without any special mistakes, at high speeds, ”TASS quoted Tretyak as saying.

Right now, the MFM standings look like this, the final position of the teams will be determined after the completion of all matches of the group stage 🏒 # russia in my heart pic.twitter.com / VLh0s3OkRF

- Hockey of Russia (@russiahockey) December 31, 2020

At the same time, the vice-president of the FHR Roman Rotenberg noted that the match against Tre Kronur was of key importance from a psychological point of view.

According to him, the victory over the Swedes will help the Russians gain confidence in the run-up to the quarterfinals.

“Today was a very important game in order to strengthen the spirit and psychology of the winner.

It was very important to win ahead of the playoffs.

The national team showed Russian character, dedication, team play.

A very big progress is seen in comparison with previous matches in terms of correcting errors.

We already see the picture of the game that we want to see in the playoffs, a huge step forward has been made in terms of team, tactical actions, "Rotenberg told RIA Novosti.

The well-known hockey player Alexey Badyukov admitted that he was pleased with the performance of the Russians in the opening.

He especially noted the actions of the representatives of the first three, already in the 37th second, hitting Jesper Walstedt's goal.

“Even if the puck was not counted there, he used his movements and style to the fullest.

It's hard to single out someone in the team today.

Askarov - the barbells helped him.

The same Abramov, who played the second match very well, earned a removal.

Three goals were scored in the majority.

Amirov, Khusnutdinov had many chances.

They were not inferior to the Swedes in skating, ”Sport-Express quotes Badyukov.

In turn, the three-time Russian champion and two-time Gagarin Cup winner harshly criticized Holz's words about the "dirty" game performed by Larionov's charges and advised the Swede to take care of himself.

“Let this Holtz and everyone else look at themselves.

As they beg for removal, they are substituted.

Today, questions arose about the refereeing precisely on the interpretation of the fact that the Swedes tried to somehow provoke us, that they were beaten.

Although this is our style of play, real men's hockey.

The Swedes just wanted to make the most of it easy for themselves.

If they want to aim for high places, they have to play more adult hockey, ”Badyukov advised.

The former general manager of Salavat Yulaev and Avtomobilist, Leonid Vaysfeld, partially agreed with him.

He agreed that at some moments the Russians behaved intemperately, but reproached the Swedes for provocations.

“The fact that they played dirty ... There was a moment with Abramov when they held his club.

On the one hand, I really didn’t like that he could not stand it.

On the other hand, the Swedes themselves provoked ... And the judges missed this moment.

Therefore, another question is who played dirty here.

What Holz said is a common emotion, for the World Youth Championship it is not uncommon.

I would not say that ours played somehow dirty, "Weisfeld said.

The performance of Russian hockey players was also appreciated in the State Duma.

Thus, Dmitry Svishchev, a member of the committee for physical culture, sports, tourism and youth affairs, expressed his admiration for the performance of the national team, especially drawing attention to the fact that the Swedes have not been inferior at the group stage of the youth championship of the planet since 2006.

“This victory is the best gift for the country for the New Year.

I would even call it one of the most beautiful in the outgoing year, which was overshadowed by the pandemic.

It is especially valuable because it was obtained in the homeland of hockey - in Canada.

Let me remind you that the Swedes have not lost in the group stage of the youth world championships for 14 years in a row, and it was Russia that put an end to this.

Moreover, it should be noted that this happened with a very strange refereeing, especially in the second period, when the referees almost did not notice the violation of the rules by the Swedish national team.

And the leader of the Swedish team, Holz, who said during the break of the match that the Swedes are more masterful, I would like to remind the Russian proverb - do not boast, going to the army, but boast, walking from the battlefield.

Scoreboard - Russia is stronger.

They arranged a second Poltava for the Swedes! "

- said Svishchev.