A young and daring team humiliated NHL stars. Russia’s phenomenal debut at the World Cup
Russia won the tournament with a debutant coach at the helm and came out with almost no stars.
Many fans believe that hockey players from the NHL always matter in a game with players from other leagues. It is believed that if the team is replenished with a stream from across the ocean, it is guaranteed to become stronger.
However, from this point of view there are weighty arguments, including historical ones. So, our team won its first World Championship with the departure only from Russia and the European Championship.
In the semi-finals, Russia lost a fantastic comeback against star-studded Canada. But after the starting draw with the Italians, they collected everything and buried it.
Just a fabulous twist!
Failure at the start
After winning the Albertville-92 Olympics, our hockey leadership went on an experiment. Head coach Tikhonov remained at the helm of the Olympic team for its preparation for the Games-94, and the national Victory team for the World Cup was entrusted to young coach Boris Mikhailov. He brought the team to Germany for the tournament in 1993.
The composition was almost experimental. Two years later, only five hockey players remained in the team from the gold Olympic team: Bykov, Khomutov, Yushkevich, Butsaev and goalkeeper Trefilov. Overseas regions are available only to Dmitry Yushkevich (Philadelphia Flyers), as well as goalkeeper Trefilov from the New York Islanders farm club (Salt Lake Golden Eagles). The rest are delegates from the top teams of the championship of Finland, Germany, foreign affairs and Russia.
48-year-old Mikhailov, who by that time had only an experienced St. Petersburg SKA, began to aggravate. In the opening meeting – a draw with a modest Italy. It was a blow to the pride of the players and souls for Mikhailov. However, from the point of view of the tournament perspective, this result was not catastrophic: four teams advanced from the group to the playoffs, with the exception of our real competitors on paper, who looked only in Canada and Sweden, from which we flew out in the quarterfinals a year ago.
To misfire in the future against Austria meant almost a game on the verge of relegation. And in the initial period, we missed the first ones, who went on a break with a backlog of one puck. But then they gathered – and won with a creak (4:2).
However, this success and the victory over the Swiss (6:0) remained unfulfilled. We have already entered the fight against the Swedes and Canadians with a score of 2:5 and 1:3, respectively.
Incredible comeback
With third places in the Bulls group, they went to the hosts of the tournament – Germany. At the time when this team has not yet reached the finals of the Olympics, so the results of the analysis turned out to be very convenient. However, the Germans had won four out of five games in their group before that – and this was already saying something. However, our hockey players in the fight with Germany still did not experience: 5:1.
The next in line are the Canadians, who defeated Russia relatively easily in the group. The beginning of the semi-final match for the “maple leaves” was also successful. By the middle of the meeting they were leading 3:1. Doesn’t it remind you of anything? Yes, now the fans can have a reliable Quebec 2008 final, where Kovalchuk and partners burned with the same score, but heroically pulled the match in anticipation.
However, in Munich-93, Khomutov and Bykov returned our team to the game already in the second period, while Karpov and Titov ruled out the possibility of an advantage over the proportional segment. Through the efforts of their leader Lindros, the Canadians bought the initiative, but Titov quickly regained the advantage in two goals, capturing the torment of the North Americans Astrakhan: 7:4.
Easy win and phantom goal
Convincing in terms of the score and very nervous in terms of the game, the victory by Canada was born the fate of our fans to survive before the final with the Swedes. Will the guys have enough emotions to take revenge for the achievement in the last tournament and take the trophy from its owners?
But with the motivation of the hungry team to win, everything was in order. By the eighth minute we were leading 2:0, and by the middle of the match Andrey Khomutov increased the advantage by one more puck. Fabulous alignment in the main match.
True, 10 minutes before the end of the third period, the Swedes still pushed one goal into Trefilov’s gate. The judges could not understand for a long time whether the puck was found in the goal or not, since our defender was on the line of its wings with his ammunition, and there were no video replays then. But in the end, the team of referees wrote down the scoring action at the expense of Mikael Renberg, who later became famous for playing on the Philadelphia first line along with Lindros and John Leclerc. This trio in the mid-90s was also called the “Legion of Death” for their power style of play.
But the Swedes were not enough for more. Ours won the final in the tournament, which started very badly, while maintaining faith in themselves. Boris Mayorov, two-time Olympic champion and eight-time world champion, after the game:
– For me personally, this victory means a lot, even more than all the titles that I deserve as a player.
The galaxy of 1993 champions will immediately leave for the NHL: Mikhailovsky – to the farm of Detroit (Adirondack Red Wings), Byakin – to the farm of Edmonton (Cape Breton Oilers), Karpov will receive the 3rd number of the 1993 draft and get in the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, the now calm Karpovtsev will fly to New York and win the 1994 Stanley Cup with the Rangers.
That triumph became a springboard for our hockey players, although in Germany few people feel themselves in these players. They proved that it is possible to smash the Canadians without speaking across the ocean with them.