32 saves Askarov, the puck from the "zero" corner of Misyul and Chibrikov's debut goal: how the Russian team won the Eurotour ahead of schedule

One victory before triumph

On the eve of the Swedish stage of the Eurotour, many Russian fans worried about the result.

And they could be understood, because the domestic national team arrived in Malmö in the most experimental composition, the basis of which were young hockey players.

The head coach of the youth team Igor Larionov led the team, as in the Karjala Cup.

However, already in the first match, Russia beat strong Finland - 3: 2.

Moreover, the domestic team led most of the meeting with an advantage of two goals.

Following in the shootout were the hosts of the tournament, the Swedes - 2: 1.

“From what happened, we are trying to create a combat-ready team, give the guys the opportunity to prove themselves, so that they can get a call to the final part of the season - the Eurotrip in the Czech Republic and the World Cup,” Larionov noted.

The Russian team, having won the eighth victory in eight matches of the current season of the Eurotour, practically guaranteed its overall success.

In order to be out of reach for rivals, Larionov's wards on Sunday had to beat the main pursuer Czech Republic, which was ten points behind four meetings before the end of the tournament.

Satisfied, including a victory in overtime or a shootout.

Judging by the statistics of face-to-face meetings, the domestic team should have had no problems.

As part of the current Eurotour, she confidently defeated her opponent twice: 3: 0 at the Karjala Cup and 4: 1 at the Channel One Cup.

And the team of Philip Peshan in Sweden suffered two defeats with the same score 2: 3: first they lost to the owners, and then to the Finns.

Good start and failure in the middle of the match

The teams began the match without swinging and immediately began to threaten each other's goal.

The Czechs tried to act as number one, while the Russians carried out dangerous counterattacks.

18-year-old Yaroslav Askarov, who replaced Alexander Samonov on the last line of the national team, had to reflect unpleasant throws from the first minutes, and the young goalkeeper confidently coped with his task.

And the opponent was rescued by Dominik Grakhovina, who parried several shots from a nickle.

However, on the eighth minute he was powerless too.

Kirill Kirsanov made a click from almost the blue line, and the goalkeeper was unable to fix the puck and reflected it directly at Zakhar Bardakov, who had no difficulty in transferring it into the net from close range. 

So, the young striker scored his debut goal in the national team.

And Nikita Chibrikov scored the second point for performance in the tournament.

Having missed, the Czechs immediately pressed the opponent to the gate and began to bombard Askarov's possessions even more actively.

However, the young goalkeeper for the time being coped with threats and sometimes rescued Larionov's wards in incredible situations.

For example, he did not allow David Tomasek to realize a one-on-one exit.

But in the 17th minute, the Peshan team still bounced back.

After throwing on a penny, Michael Spacek literally pushed the puck into the net.

A massive fight broke out on the ice.

Hockey players of the Russian national team tried to convince the judge Linus Elound that the opponent acted in violation of the rules, but the referee counted the goal.

The Russian national team began the second period much more actively and again seized the initiative.

Domestic hockey players wove combinations in a foreign zone and, at the first opportunity, made dangerous throws.

It seemed that the team was about to score, but instead it created problems for itself out of the blue.

First, Daniil Pylenkov received a two-minute fine for rudeness, and then Sergey Zborovsky.

Thus, Larionov's wards were left three against five Czechs.

But at the cost of incredible efforts, they managed to survive.

Askarov spent another strong segment.

However, as it turned out, the forces were wasted, since the Russians already conceded in equal compositions almost out of the blue.

Jakub Fleck, under pressure from a defender, rolled out from behind other people's gates and threw at random from a rather acute angle.

Askarov was not ready for this and did not have time to close the near post.

The trouble did not come alone.

Literally a minute later, Špáček won the throw-in in the zone of the national team, and Lukasz Klok immediately made an accurate throw.

The young goalkeeper did not help out this time either. 

Finding themselves in such a difficult situation for the first time in the current season of the Eurotour, Larionov's team tried to seize the initiative, but regularly missed the most dangerous counterattacks.

So, David Tomasek almost increased the advantage of the opponent in the scoreline.

But the Russians still realized the next majority three minutes before the siren for the break.

Nikolai Kovalenko fought to the end for the puck behind someone else's goal and rolled it onto an empty target to Pavel Kraskovsky, who had no choice but to miss from a lethal position.

Five goals of the Russian national team in four minutes and 12 seconds

The Russian team also started the final period actively, and the Czechs unexpectedly wavered under pressure.

They allowed the opponents to calmly own the puck in their own zone and make shots.

In addition, the Peshan team, unfortunately, got involved in open hockey, for which they instantly paid.

On the 49th minute, Kovalenko showed himself again.

This time, after a pass from Daniil Misyulya, he beautifully beat the goalkeeper and rolled the puck into the near corner.

And just 3.5 minutes later, Misul himself was noted with an incredible throw from an acute angle.

The puck, after its click from the "zero" angle, miraculously flew into the near nine, and Grakhovina had no chance to save the team.

In this situation, the Czechs had no choice but to go forward.

Peshan took a time out and tried to get the charges.

They began to act on the ice as rudely as possible and tried to piss off the opponents. 

The Russians answered directly in the game.

In the 55th minute, Vasily Podkolzin caught the opponents' defender on an unsuccessful exit from the defense, intercepted the puck and calmly beat Grachovina.

Trying to escape, the Czechs shot the goalkeeper shortly before the final siren, but not only failed to realize the numerical advantage, but conceded again.

This time, Vladimir Butuzov from the left side sent a shell into an empty target.

And 20 seconds later, the birthday boy Chibrikov scored his debut goal in the Russian national team.

The young hockey player, out of joy, even forgot to take the puck as a keepsake, but Podkolzin did it for him - 7: 3.

Only Tomasek spoiled the mood of the fans.

At the very end of the meeting, he earned a bullet and confidently converted it.

This did not prevent the Russian team from winning the ninth consecutive victory within the current season of the Eurotour and winning the trophy ahead of schedule.

Under the leadership of Larionov, the team also does not allow any misfires.

And the success in the match against the Czech Republic turned out to be especially valuable, since young domestic hockey players showed a truly masculine character and managed to get out of a difficult situation.