“You can’t call the Finns the undisputed champions”
“Although Finland won the championship, they were not stronger than their rival in the final”, explained Boris Mayorov. – The result of the match was strongly influenced by the fact that in the third period the Canadians lost their main goalkeeper. It turned out that their reserve goalkeeper hadn’t played a single minute at the World Championships before, he was on the bench all the time. And suddenly, in the third period of the final, with equal scores, they throw him into battle while the team is in the minority. Tomkins was not ready for this level, two shots – two goals.
– Can we say that the Finns took the gold thanks to miscarriages of justice?
– In such a match, in principle, it should not be that one of the teams constantly receives a numerical advantage, playing more than twice as often as its majority rivals. Too much difference. The Finns made mistakes that the judges didn’t notice, but they didn’t forgive the Canadians for anything. Moreover, the Finns made extensive use of this numerical superiority – they scored three out of four goals in uneven compositions. So a champion, of course, is a champion, but you can’t call him hardcore.
– Personally, I had the impression that sometimes the referees not only did not forgive the mistakes of the Canadians, but also expelled them.
– It was like that. For example, at the start of the third period. The Canadians had been shorthanded for more than two minutes, had just gone 3-5, and suddenly their player was ejected again for a high stick. And repeatedly they show that the Finn accidentally hit himself in the face. Well, it happens. But the judges did not change their decision, despite the protests of the Canadian player and coach, who tried to explain to them what had really happened. Again left the Canadians “3 of 5”, and they missed. Very controversial deletion. In such a tense match, twice in a row, the tournament hosts got a double power play! In such a situation, the suppression should be two hundred percent. But here, on the contrary, it is very doubtful.
– Why have Canadians generally given up a lot at this championship? Maybe in the NHL they are judged differently than in Europe?
– Indeed, in North America, hockey is a little different. And there I got a little hooked, the referees give two minutes at once. It’s hard to readjust.
“You can be amazed how Canadians, at the right time, know how to bring out both their emotions and their skills”
– If you don’t take eliminations into account, how do you play in the final?
The Finns were not surprised by anything. Once again they have proven to be a team that clearly does the installation. They are very clear in this regard. The coach said to stand here, which means the player will stand there under all circumstances. But there are creativity problems in the Finnish team. Canadians in this regard looked better. But it was clear they had an uneven team. Hockey education there, of course, everyone has, but the level of talent is too different. Overall a good team though. They began, as usual, indistinctly, as the composition was clearly collected from the world one by one. But by the end of the tournament, the Canadian team is transformed into a solid fighting unit.
– During this tournament, I was struck by the way the Canadians use the 6 v 5 game at the end of the game when they change goalkeepers for the sixth outfield player. In the playoffs, they scored four goals like that!
– Yes, it was thanks to this that they beat the Swedes and in the final the match was moved to extra time. It’s the character. You can be amazed, because Canadians at the right time are able to come out of themselves and emotions, skills and desire.
– How to instill such qualities in the Russian team? Because such a crazy mobilization at decisive moments is really expensive.
– All this is defined in the children’s teams. It’s hard enough to change an adult player-athlete. It works as it was taught. Another problem is that the level of our players is too different. Take 17-year-old Matvey Michkov, who has recently been widely heralded as a star. He really is above everyone in the youth teams. Well, where does he show character there? The skill is enough to beat the opponents. Character is tempered only in a battle with equals, which must be broken, otherwise there is no way. Therefore, our gifted players sometimes grow up with a bit of a soft body.
“Europeans themselves are bored without Russia”
– Do you share the opinion that Finnish hockey looks boring?
“So I just talked about it. In Finnish hockey, the most important premise is ‘order beats class’. And indeed there is always more order in Finnish teams than class. There is has a clear pattern for the match, and not a single Finnish player will ever deviate from it. Why did I win the Finnish championship with Jokerit in 1992? I told them: “Yes, there should be a pattern, start by this one, but don’t sink into it completely.” For the rivals, it was a surprise. Because they don’t have that freedom. I live in the same house as Vitaly Karamnov. Back from the NHL , he played in Europe, especially in Finland. Somehow we told him about it. He says the same thing: “Slightly, immediately from the Finnish coach a complaint – why didn’t you stay where you were?”
– Without the Russian team, the championship has really become tasteless?
– I agree. Europeans are bored playing with each other. Now, for them, perhaps, only Canada remained some kind of irritant. And before, they did not hide that they always had a particular attitude towards our team.
World Championship. 2022
Finland – Canada – 4:3 OT (0:0, 0:1, 3:2, 1:0)
Goals: Granlund, 44:13 (bol.) (VIDEO ), 45:57 (bol.) (VIDEO ). Army, 54:04 (VIDEO ). Manninen, 66:42 (bol.) (VIDEO ). — Cozens, 24:00 (bol.) (VIDEO ). White cloud, 57:48 (VIDEO ). Comtua, 58:36 (VIDEO ).
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
