Posts from 2008 World Ice Hockey Championship (Canada)

On Albion (in America, the European Union), they refer to us as Belarusians. I've seen opposition literature printed in the European Union, and it referred to us as Belarusians. And I'm not sure if you haven't made changes in connection with the change in the country's name. For example (although not entirely accurate): we have a tennis player named Azarenko. Previously, her surname was written that way (i.e., Azarenko), and now in Russian (I saw it on the "Russia" channel), they write Azarenka (because it is written as Azaranka in Belarusian). So, you haven't convinced me.

Thank you for enlightening me. I thought that "Belarusian" in English was Byelorussian. Now I'll know, and I'll throw out all the dictionaries that lie.
Proper nouns are a different story. So, you haven't convinced me (c) Andrey.

Daniil Markov, Alexander Radulov and Evgeni Nabokov to play against Sweden

Russian national team players Daniil Markov and Alexander Radulov have been included in the roster for the match against Sweden, which takes place today. The national team coaching staff will announce later which players will remain as substitutes. Evgeni Nabokov will take the position in goal for the meeting with the Swedes, according to the official FHR website.

Ovechkin suffered a minor hand injury

In the match against the Belarus national team, Alexander Ovechkin suffered a minor hand injury.
Commentary from Vyacheslav Bykov on the matter:
"I will note: the referee should have given either a penalty shot or a penalty. I was surprised that this didn't happen. He was going one-on-one. He took a hit. The opponent, thereby, knocked the puck off the blade and caused the injury. I think this was a refereeing error. I hope the doctors work their magic and everything will be fine."

Afinogenov's brace was "taken away" - it turns out Ovechkin scored

As reported by the "Championat.ru" correspondent at the World Championship in Canada, the officials of the Russia-Belarus match made corrections to the game protocol. The third goal, which was initially credited to Maxim Afinogenov, was rewritten to Alexander Ovechkin, and Maxim received an assist in his statistics. Thus, Afinogenov had his brace in the match "taken away," while Ovechkin, conversely, gaining a brace, tied for the number of goals with the Russian national team captain Alexei Morozov - both have 4 goals scored.

I disagree with this, in the video it is visible that Afinogenov scored...

I disagree with that. In the video, it's clear that Afinogenov scored...

Definitely Afinogenov. Were the referees in Canada blind?

Proshkin and Mozyakin will not play against the Swedes

In today's match between the Russian national team and the Swedish team, defenseman Daniil Markov and forward Alexander Radulov will play.
They will take the ice instead of Vitaly Proshkin and Sergei Mozyakin, the press service of the FHR reports.

Maxim Afinogenov's yesterday's double was returned to him!

Yesterday, in the qualifying round match between the Russian and Belarusian national teams (4:3 SO), after the third goal scored by the Russians, the announcer announced over the stadium that the goal was scored by forward Maxim Afinogenov.
However, in the official match protocol, which was never presented for signature to the Russian delegation at the end of the game, the goal was recorded as scored by Alexander Ovechkin. Therefore, today, at the meeting of the World Championship Directorate, the general manager of the Russian national team, Igor Tuzik, presented the corresponding video recording, and after viewing it, the members of the Directorate decided to correct the official statistics and still credit the third goal of the Russians to Maxim Afinogenov.

They saw the light =)

A little off-topic. Who else is watching Sweden vs. Russia right now and already harbors resentment towards the Swedes, planning to go and trash an IKEA supermarket while shouting, "You broke our..." (followed by a lot of bad words)... "You broke our captain, we'll break your Swedish stuff!" (because IKEA is a Swedish product).

Those monsters, damn it....
The battle was intense....
But they got what they deserved....
Ovechkin is great =)

Bastards, damn it....
The battle was intense....
But they got what they deserved....
Ovechkin is great =)

All our guys are great :)
And if Murray isn't suspended for the rest of the championship, then in the quarterfinals, we need to just take him out of the game.

Our guys are simply amazing.

And if Murray isn't disqualified before the end of the championship, then in the quarterfinals, he simply needs to be taken out.

Ideally, Morozov should be the one to do it.
I'm praying that our captain returns to the lineup.

Thanks for the clarification. I thought "Belarusian" was "Byelorussian" in English. Now I know, and I'll throw out all the dictionaries that lie.
Proper nouns are a different story. So you haven't convinced me (c) Andrey.

And I said that the example wasn't entirely correct. It was just an example of how language changes. You can also argue about your letter "a." The country is called Belarus, so does that mean the nationality can no longer be Belarusian? It sounds almost identical. And your joke about the name of the nationality in English is superficial. I didn't say that it's correct to write "Belarusian" in English; I said: "...in Albion...".
Our team, as always, lost to the Czechs (I'm talking about the Belarusian national team)...Even though there was practically no chance of qualifying, it's still a little disappointing that they conceded the first goal to the Czechs, which they scored with their foot.

Italy and Slovenia leave the elite division

The consolation round of the 2008 World Championship has ended. The second team to be relegated after Slovenia is Italy. Next year, Austria and Hungary will play in the elite division.

Alexei Morozov will not play with Switzerland

The captain of the Russian national team, Alexei Morozov, will miss the final qualifying match against Switzerland. The reason is an injury sustained in the game against "Tre Kronor".
A medical examination showed that Morozov has no bone or traumatic injuries. On Sunday, he will undergo a follow-up examination at the hospital, the press service of the Russian Hockey Federation reports.

Our team, as always, let the Czechs down (I'm talking about the Belarusian national team)... Although there were practically no chances of qualifying, it's still a bit disappointing that they conceded the first goal to the Czechs, which they scored with their foot.

The Belarusian national team has filed a complaint

After the match between the Czech Republic and Belarus (3:2 in a shootout), the Belarusian delegation filed a complaint about the work of the refereeing team.
The reason was the decision to allow the first goal of the Czech national team, which, according to the Belarusians, was scored in violation of the rules – with an intentional movement of the forward Tomas Rolinek's skate. If our delegation's claims are deemed justified, the penalty will most likely be imposed not on the on-ice referees, but on the video replay judge, Slovak Juraj Okolicany, who decided to allow the Czechs to score in the Belarusian goal, reports "Pressball".

Unlikely, of course, but maybe they'll achieve something...

I did say that the example wasn't entirely accurate. It was just an example of how changes occur in language. You can also argue about your letter "a." The country is called Belarus, so does that mean the nationality can no longer be Belarusian? It sounds practically identical. And your joke about the nationality's name in English is superficial. I didn't say that it's correct to write "Belarusian" in English; I said: "...in Albion...".

In Belarusian, the country is called Belarus, and the inhabitants are Belarusians. In Russian, it's Belarus, and the inhabitants are Belarusians.
Similarly: in English, England - Englishmen, in Russian, England - Englishmen.

One thing surprised me in the Czech Republic vs. Belarus match. Why were the same players taking the penalty shots as in the match against Russia? On one hand, it's understandable, as they seem to be the designated penalty takers. But on the other hand... Melezhko, in both the first and second instances, showed the most beautiful execution of the penalty shot, leaving no chance for the goalkeeper. And Grobovsky, I don't even remember the second one. Both times, he didn't offer the goalkeeper anything interesting, just a simple shot that didn't even require him to use a blocker. In general, in my opinion, the coach acted foolishly, because these players were already under pressure from the missed penalty shots against Russia. And now, it seems to me, they have suffered a serious emotional trauma.

In Belarusian, the country is called Belarus, and its inhabitants are Belarusians. In Russian, it's Belarus, and the inhabitants are Belarusians.
Similarly: in English, England is called England, and its inhabitants are Englishmen; in Russian, England is called England, and its inhabitants are Englishmen.

Dear Catch!

Could you please explain the basis for your assertion that Russia's western neighbor is called Belarus in Russian?

With genuine interest,
Gur

Dear Catch!

Could you please explain on what basis you claim that Russia's western neighbor is called Belarus in Russian.

With genuine interest,
Gur

Based on publicly available facts and a basic knowledge of the Russian language. For example:

http://enc.mail.ru/article/?1900395411

And here is information about Belarusians:

http://enc.mail.ru/article/?1900395423

"Soviet Sport":

EVENT OF THE DAY. HOCKEY
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. THROUGH-BALL PASS

The question of the day: will the Russian national team continue to lose its key players in every tense match at the World Championship? The trend, as established since last year's quarterfinals, continues. Will opponents just keep knocking our team captains out of the game? Lucky Morozov...

Let's not be naive. I refuse to believe that this Swedish-Canadian, Murray, "appeared" in Tre Kronor's first pair by accident. And that this "brother" simply didn't like how Morozov looked at him, and therefore decided to hit our captain in the head with an elbow on a whim. I don't know why the Swedes went all out in a preliminary match, which was essentially a warm-up. But! Using the example of the Moscow semifinal against the Finns, our team, alas, unwittingly let all future opponents know: a tactic of foul play in matches against them yields maximum effect. Simply put, they allowed themselves to be treated this way.

Remember what followed Morozov's beating on Saturday. Kovalchuk got fired up and started shouting—and thereby removed himself from the game. Ovechkin got nervous. He nipped at a Swede, and then at referee Afinogenov. And our team's play crumbled for the rest of the first period. That is exactly what the Swedes were aiming for!

It shouldn't be Kovalchuk who gets fired up and takes revenge on whoever happens to be there. It needs to be done fundamentally differently. We pretend to swallow the foul. But then, at a convenient moment, say, Vorobyov quietly slides up to Backstrom (or whoever else is particularly dear to Sweden)—and carries out an adequate revenge for Morozov. Mind you, I only named the debutant Vorobyov because there were no other worthy candidates for "the roasting rack," as Tarasov used to say, in our lineup on Saturday. A more experienced fighter is needed for this special mission. And, for example, if I'm being completely honest, I see no other reason for Proshkin's presence at the championship than to keep opponents in check. And perhaps it would have been worth adding Artyukhin to the fighting contingent, sacrificing, say, the expectedly sluggish Mozyakin.

Look around: everyone is doing these nasty things to us. Remember, at the youth World Championships, the Canadians specifically targeted Malkin and Ovechkin. Now even the "peace-loving" Swedes have joined in. Yet the danger could and should have been warned against back in that Moscow semifinal. How? By sending Koivu Jr. for prolonged treatment in retaliation for Lucky. And Koivu Sr., the current leader of the Finns, might then have cautioned his team ten times over—using his brother's sad example—against hockey banditry in another match with Russia, which is very likely now and would be crucial. But we just keep asking for it, excuse my bluntness. Will we continue to offer up our leaders as sacrifices to the Finns or Canadians? Or perhaps a second round to those same Swedes in the quarterfinals?

"Poor safety standards"—that's how I commented on Eremenko's injury in the game against the Czechs. We have a disaster, a catastrophe, with both our security tactics and safety standards—I insist twice as much after the nightmare with Morozov. We didn't introduce these laws of the jungle on ice. But we are the ones who must continue to play in these jungles. And if we don't prepare or work out adequate deterrent measures—we will leave the Canadian ice perhaps noble, but beaten and defeated.

The worst-case scenario did not happen—thank God, Morozov does not have a severe injury. Yesterday morning, the forward took part in the Russian national team's general practice. Alexei hit the ice in a red jersey. This means that theoretically, he could even take part in today's match against Switzerland.

The Russian national team bus hasn't arrived yet, but IIHF staff are already busy on the ice. They rolled out several benches and chairs to the center of the rink and set up an umbrella for a studio photograph.

– We want to take a team photo of the Russians, in two jerseys—red and white. The national team arrives—a silent pause. "What shoot is this? No one warned us!"—President of the FHR Vladislav Tretiak and general manager Igor Tuzik throw up their hands. The benches fly off the ice...

Joyful news—Alexander Eremenko and Alexei Morozov enter the rink.

– Do you know that Murray apologized for his action after the match? – Tretiak says. – We carefully studied the video recording. Only then did we realize that in that episode, Morozov did not have possession of the puck.

– The Swede broke the rules on three points immediately, – Tuzik adds. – Attacking a player who does not possess the puck—one. Shoving into the boards—two. Hitting from behind—three.

After practice, Morozov willingly gives an interview to "Soviet Sport".

– How do you feel?

– Not great. There is pain.

– And dizziness? There was a suspicion of a concussion.

– My head is fine. But the upper part of my body hurts. As for exactly where—excuse me, I won't specify.

– Did you sleep normally?

– Not really. It was hard to turn over. I spent the whole night in one position.

– Ovechkin said you were even coughing up blood after the match...

– That happened. Murray's hit was very strong.

– No wonder, that guy weighs 109 kilos! What do you remember about that episode?

– The puck was in the corner. I remember a hit from the side. Of course, I didn't see the moment of attack—I was looking the other way. And then I fell on the ice. Everything inside started to hurt. I didn't realize what happened right away.

– How do you evaluate Murray's action?

– He thought the puck would reach me, so he attacked in advance. But a Swedish player intercepted it. And Murray couldn't stop anymore. It was a dirty move. You can't hit a player who doesn't possess the puck like that. If I were controlling it, then yes, I should be ready for any collisions. But here—there is a rule that Murray grossly violated. What else is there to say?

– Are you ready to go on the ice in the next match against Switzerland?

– Physically, it's still hard for me. But we'll see what happens on Monday. Maybe I'll play.




Representatives at the International Federation should raise the issue of a long disqualification for Murray in particular and the fight against dirty play in general. In this regard, the national team coach expects decisive steps from IIHF Council member Alexander Steblin.

"I CONGRATULATED KOVALCHUK"

Swedish defenseman Doug Murray was in high demand in the mixed zone. You'd think a man who was ejected for the rest of the match and slapped with a disqualification would stay away. But he felt it his duty to face the press. However, there were no revelations in Murray's speeches. Doug stated that the power move was clean. Moreover, he hit Morozov not in the neck, but in the shoulder. It is a pity, of course, that the Russian captain was injured. But hockey is a harsh game in general.

– The fact that our guys caught so many penalties after Alexei's injury showed exactly that Murray acted very roughly, – Vyacheslav Bykov stated at the press conference. – But, in my view, the Swede received too light a punishment.

We will raise the question that if a player is injured and out for the rest of the World Championship, especially after a hit to the head, then his offender should be excluded from the tournament for the same period.

– Was Kovalchuk penalized correctly?

– I don't think so. Both hockey players had gloves on. The referee should have given each of them two minutes and continued the game.

– Do you justify Ilya's action?

– I even congratulated him for what he did.

– And what can you say about Ovechkin, who started hitting every Swede who came his way?

– When Sasha was penalized the first time, it should have been the Swede who was ejected, not him. The opponent deliberately pulled the helmet off Ovechkin's head. It's good that Alexander has a strong neck and escaped without injury.

– During the first break, did you try to calm the guys down so they would think less about revenge?

– We tried to do that even at the end of the first period. It was important to play, not kill the opponent... But look at the rules. And think how I could theoretically act. So, during the match, I say to one of my players, who can easily sit out the next two matches due to a possible disqualification: "Beat up that Swede over there!". And he injures one of their leaders. That's it! Hockey turns into a duel of gladiators.

We will definitely raise the issue with the IIHF. I hope that our people, who are members of the International Federation Council, can protect the interests of the Russian national team.

"LET STEBLIN PROTECT US"

– Murray says he played clean.

– A hit to the head is always punishable. Of course, our players must be focused on the ice expecting a power move. But note: this is not the first case from the Swedish side. The tournament directorate should take this circumstance into account.

– Do you mean the incident when Tre Kronor defenseman Rickard Wallin injured Swiss player Roman Wick?

– I spoke with colleagues from the Swiss national team. Even now, Wick cannot sit on a stationary bike; his head constantly hurts. And this could stay for life! Yet Wallin was given only two matches of disqualification, and he will soon return to the lineup calmly. He'll go on the ice and bash opponents again.

The IIHF needs to draw certain conclusions. If we are creating rules that clean up hockey, then moments like those with Wallin and Murray must be burned out with a hot iron.

– Maybe file a joint protest with the Swiss?

– In any case, you need to contact the directorate. Recently I saw a representative of the IIHF rules committee, which I myself was once part of. I also explained the situation to him—that if I wanted to, I could also break the Swedes. He understood me perfectly...

I repeat, I am counting heavily on the support of our people in the IIHF, who, I hope, came here not just to watch hockey.

– Who do you mean?

– Alexander Steblin and other representatives holding posts in the International Federation. The initiative to protect the Russian national team should come from them. In Soviet times, our country was represented in the federation by Andrey Starovotov, who lobbied our interests excellently.

– Have you already spoken with Steblin on this topic?

– No. But he represents Russia's interests here, not the IIHF's. If he cares about the team's fate, he could be closer to us himself.

– And when was the last time you saw Alexander Yakovlevich?

– Recently. He's walking around somewhere here...

"ASKED MY WIFE TO GO TO CHURCH"

– Who will perform the duties of captain while Morozov is being treated?

– We have two assistants (Sushinsky and Fedorov. – Ed. note.)—one of them will be captain.

– Are you satisfied with Nabokov's play?

– Absolutely.

– Could any of the other goalies on our national team have played at the same level as Zhenya?

– That's difficult. Nabokov is one of the best goaltenders in the world. An extra-class player.

– If we face Sweden in the quarterfinals...

– I will not focus the guys on beating the Swedes. The task is different—to win.

– Do you have an explanation as to why an epidemic of injuries has hit the Russian national team at this championship?

– Maybe someone jinxed us? – Bykov mused. – I agree that the injuries are coming in a series.

– Is it worth going to church?

– I've already asked my wife to do so. She lit candles for the team's health.

The Swedish coach Bengt-Åke Gustafsson also expressed his point of view. To the question of whether Murray intentionally broke Morozov, he only laughed: "That's a stupid question. Of course, I didn't give such an instruction. There was no malicious intent in my defenseman's actions."

When Gustafsson was asked what would happen if Tre Kronor met Russia in the playoffs, the coach answered without hesitation: "We will play the same way. Hard and with maximum commitment."

Added after 4 minutes

they broke the captain, we'll break your Swedish heritage (since Ikea is a product of Sweden)

After such an answer from the Swedish coach, I am ready to break their Swedish "heritage," excuse me, for the entire Swedish team.