The Russian national ice hockey team defeated Finland with a score of 6: 5 in the semifinals of the junior world championship.
Abandoned goals were scored by Nikita Chibrikov and Ivan Miroshnichenko, who made doubles, as well as Matvey Michkov and Daniil Lazutin.
In the final of the tournament, the Russians will have to meet with the national team of Canada, which defeated Sweden - 8: 1.
Experts and specialists commented on the performance of Albert Leshchev's charges, and also noted the importance of the upcoming confrontation.
Summing up the results of the semifinals, the head coach himself remained restrained, drawing attention to some of the players' mistakes.
“It is clear that the emotions after reaching the final are positive.
But the end of the match was blurry.
With such a score, you need to keep the game, play more concentrated.
The guys are good fellows, they survived ... In preparation for Finland, they paid attention to getting out of the pressure, to how to do it correctly.
In the second period it worked out especially well.
The success of our majority is the fruit of work in the training process, we played it off, ”Leshchev explained.
Roman Rotenberg, First Vice-President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR), was one of the first to congratulate the juniors on reaching the final.
He highlighted their solidarity and dedication, which led to their success.
“I think you can be happy for half an hour and prepare for tomorrow's finals.
The coaching staff will sort everything out, there is always something to work on, the same minority needs to be tightened up.
The most important exam for the Russian national team is tomorrow.
It is very important to recover and leave emotions for the final meeting ", - quotes Rotenberg" Championship ".
For most of the semifinal meeting, the Russians looked more confident, and nine minutes before the final siren, their advantage was three goals.
However, the Finns managed to close the gap to a minimum, which made the fans nervous.
At the same time, two-time Olympic champion Alexander Kozhevnikov admitted that this victory did not come as a surprise to him.
According to him, the decline in the ending can be explained by a little relaxation.
“The main thing is that we won. It will be tough against the Canadians, but with the right play we have 50-50 chances. We need to endure the first period in the final. Then everything will depend on our attackers. We are in no way inferior to the Canadians. In such games, emotions and individual skill are decisive. You have to be confident in your abilities. We leave to play only to win, "- quotes the words of Kozhevnikov" Sport-Express ".
For the first time in 12 years, the Russian national team will play in the decisive match of the junior world championship twice in a row. In 2020, the tournament was canceled, and in 2019 they lost to the Swedes in the fight for gold. The last time a domestic team won the highest award was in 2007, winning the US final. Two-time Olympic champion and seven-time world champion, State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Fetisov suggested that the long absence of triumphs at the junior level would be an additional motivation for hockey players.
“First of all, you need game discipline.
Probably, we need to play more closely in the defense zone.
At this age, emotions can help the team, but they can also hurt.
I hope that the game plan will be clear to the guys.
Our team can score, it has character ... Let's hope that the Russian team will realize its dream.
Let's just wish them luck, ”Fetisov said.
Alexey Badyukov, two-time Gagarin Cup winner with Ak Bars Kazan, also discussed what needs to be done to defeat the principal rival.
In his opinion, the Russians need to act carefully in their zone, primarily fearing an attack by the Canadians.
At the same time, he advised not to pay attention to the previous results of the North American team.
“There is no need to be afraid of Canadians, there is nothing like that in them.
In no case should you close and allow stupid deletions.
We have problems in the minority, it was noticeable in the match with the Finns.
You need to play your hockey, as with Belarus and Finland.
We have every chance of becoming champions.
Our team can do it, ”Badyukov is sure.
Honored coach of Russia Yuri Novikov pointed out the weaknesses of the domestic team.
He stressed that she needs to stay focused until the end of the match and pay attention to the line of defense.
“I think that the final is an obligatory task for all our teams, especially for this one, which brings together good, strong, promising guys. Here the other is not even considered. As for the match with Canada, the opponent played a rather difficult match with Sweden, the score was drawn for a long time, and only then the Swedes fell down. This speaks of the good physical preparation of the Canadians, that they are playing the whole match and in the end they increase the pressure, ”Sport24 quotes Novikov.
The well-known coach Fyodor Kanareikin agrees with the position that the Russians need to follow the opponent's attacking line. He stressed that for each team, the final may develop according to a different scenario than the rest of the tournament. The specialist especially noted the role of the leader of the World Championship sniper race, Matvey Michkov. At the moment, he has 11 goals scored, which is three less than the performance record in one tournament held by Alexander Ovechkin and Cole Caufield.
“Our juniors have done a great job to come to this decisive match.
The very sign of Russia versus Canada suggests that the confrontation between the teams, which has been for many years, continues.
Great interest in this game, I would like to wish good luck to our guys.
They are motivated, energized, the most important thing is to show their potential that they have.
I hope that no one will drop out in this game, everyone will complement each other, ”Kanareikin commented.
The unpredictability of the decisive meeting was also stated by the ex-mentor of the youth and adult national teams of Russia, Vladimir Plushev.
“Everything will be decided from the first to the last minute of the match - who will have stronger nerves, who will have stronger goalkeepers.
You can play with any team if you have the right tactics.
The coaching staff had enough time to watch the matches of the Canadians.
In the final, everything is equalized.
You could beat your rivals with a double-digit score, but in the final you may well lose by one goal, "Plyushchev explained.
In turn, the former head coach of the Russian national team, Vyacheslav Bykov, did not highlight the strengths and weaknesses of both rivals, emphasizing how significant a confrontation awaits them.
“The final with the Canadians is a hockey classic for a Soviet person.
Playing against them in the final is an honor.
It's exciting all the time.
The very fact of playing in the final is grandiose.
Especially for our young guys who are just starting their professional hockey career.
I would just wish them luck.
And I want them to enjoy this match.
Our national team knows how to play no worse than the Canadians, it was proved by reaching the final.
Now you just need to show your best hockey and control your emotions.
We wish good luck to our guys in the final! ”Bykov said.
The well-known commentator Dmitry Guberniev did not remain aloof from an important event in Russian hockey.
He also did not make a prediction for the outcome of the meeting, only urging the fans to enjoy the game of Leshchev's wards.
“Russia versus Canada is the final of a dream! Whether it's adult hockey, youth or junior hockey. It will be a great match, we look forward to it and hope that Russia can win. We have a good team, but the Canadians are also strong. In any case, the guys are already great for reaching the final. The team plays mature hockey, attacks and defends well, ”Guberniev said.