Olympic hockey tournament. Canadian hockey players defended the title of Olympic champions in Sochi

Canadians confirmed the status of the strongest hockey nation in the world / REUTERS / Laszlo Balogh

The Swedish national team went to this match as an almost equal rival to Canada, and left after the final siren, as a student who skipped the session and received a “bad luck” from the honored professor.

I see no reason now to analyze all the pre-final layouts, but those (and there were many) were right who claimed that the owner of the Olympic Games gold medals was determined in the duel between Canada and the USA. Per Morts, who said before the final that his wards, if necessary, would impose a power struggle on Canada, turned out to be only partially right. The Swedes really fought, but one detail caught my eye - the Canadians went to each power move intuitively, without spending extra nerves and effort, and the Swedes - as if that was the installation. It is not difficult to guess that at a distance of the whole match, those who do not waste extra strength and nerves lose less strength in such a struggle.

An equal fight on the ice lasted for the first ten minutes, when the Swedes made several good attacks. The same Karlsson dangerously corrected the puck after the transfer of a partner. But the Canadians gradually overpowered the opponents, and in the 13th minute, Teyvs opened the scoring after a good pass from Carter from the side, sending the puck from the patch between the shields to Lundqvist. Do not forget that before that, the Swedish goalkeeper was saved by the bar after Bergeron's wrist throw, and indeed Lundqvist worked much more and more actively - the Canadians' attacks were sharper and sharper.

In the second period, the situation on the ice did not change, except that Canada began to control the puck more, fighting back in the minority after the removal of Chris Kunitz at the end of the first segment of the match. The Maple Leaves themselves had a chance to realize the majority at the beginning of the second period, but Silverberg served two penalty minutes from bell to bell. And then there was the mistake of Jonathan Eriksson, who was robbed by Crosby. Sidney did not feel sorry for the Swedish defender, laying Lundqvist on the ice and sending the puck into the net - 0:2. For such a game, this was already a weighty bid for victory, and a personal tragedy for the Detroit defender. Before the second break, Berglund gave Canada another chance to increase the gap in the score, but the Canadians did not convert the majority.

However, in the third period, the Canadians finished off the opponent, who already showed almost no signs of a struggle. Wards Babcock controlled the match completely, were stronger in every component of the game. Could throw Doughty, but again Lundqvist was saved by the bar. But without a chance for the gate guard "tre-krunur" in the middle of the period, Chris Kunitz threw - the puck went exactly over the goalkeeper's right shoulder.

Then the teams just played out the meeting. The Swedes never found the strength and character to rush to storm the gates of Carey Price, who issued a shutout. Canada - 2014 Ice Hockey Olympic Champions! The second time in a row, the third time in four Olympic cycles and the ninth time in history. From now on, Canada is the sole leader in the number of victories at the Olympic Games, ahead of Russia, or rather the USSR, which has eight such victories. Bravo Babcock - bravo Canada!

The final match of the hockey tournament of the Olympic Games in Sochi:

Sweden - Canada 0:3 (0:1, 0:1, 0:1)

washers:

0:1 Toews (Carter, Weber) - 12:55

0:2 Crosby - 35:43

0:3 Kunitz - 49:04

Goalkeepers: Lundqvist - Price

throws: 24 (11+9+4) - 36 (12+11+13)

Fine: 6 (2+4+0) - 4 (2+0+2)

The Russian national team scored 6 points at the preliminary stage and took second place in its group. In the match for reaching the 1/4 finals Russian hockey players defeated Norway, and lost to the Finns in the quarterfinals.

In the final of the tournament, Canadian hockey players beat Sweden 3:0.

Schedule and results of the hockey tournament of the 2014 Olympics:

Preliminary round

Group composition:
A - Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, USA
V- Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway
WITH- Czech Republic, Latvia, Switzerland, Sweden

February 12, 2014, Wednesday
21:00 Czech Republic - Sweden - 2:4 (0:2, 2:2, 0:0)
21:00 Latvia - Switzerland - 0:1 (0:0, 0:0, 0:1)

February 13, 2014, Thursday
12:00 Finland - Austria - 8:4 (4:2, 2:0, 2:2)
16:30 Russia- Slovenia - 5:2 (2:0, 1:2, 2:0)
16:30 Slovakia - USA - 1:7 (0:1, 1:6, 0:0)
21:00 Canada - Norway - 3:1 (0:0, 2:0, 1:1)

February 14, 2014, Friday
12:00 Czech Republic - Latvia - 4:2 (2:1, 2:1, 0:0)
16:30 Sweden - Switzerland - 1:0 (0:0, 0:0, 1:0)
21:00 Canada - Austria - 6:0 (2:0, 4:0, 0:0)
21:00 Norway - Finland - 1:6 (0:3, 0:2, 1:1)

February 15, 2014, Saturday
12:00 Slovakia - Slovenia - 1:3 (0:0, 0:0, 1:3)
16:30 USA - Russia- 3:2 B (0:0, 1:1, 1:1, 0:0, 1:0)
21:00 Switzerland - Czech Republic - 1:0 (1:0, 0:0, 0:0)
21:00 Sweden - Latvia - 5:3 (1:1, 3:1, 1:1)

February 16, 2014, Sunday
12:00 Austria - Norway - 3:1 (2:0, 0:1, 1:0)
16:30 Russia- Slovakia - 1:0 B (0:0, 0:0, 0:0, 1:0)
16:30 Slovenia - USA - 1:5 (0:2, 0:2, 1:1)
21:00 Finland - Canada - 1:2 OT (0:1, 1:0, 0:0, 0:1)

The final position of the teams:
Group A: USA - 8 points, Russia- 6 points, Slovenia - 3 points, Slovakia - 1 point.
Group B: Canada - 8 points, Finland - 7 points, Austria - 3 points, Norway - 0 points
Group C: Sweden - 9 points, Switzerland - 6 points, Czech Republic - 3 points, Latvia - 0 points

Playoff regulations

After the preliminary round, the teams are ranked in total standings places from 1st to 12th (D1...D12).

When distributing places (D1 ... D12), the following criteria are taken into account: place in the group (A, B or C), number of points scored, goal difference, number of goals scored, IIHF-2012 rating.

Thus, the first four places (1D, 2D, 3D, 4D) will be taken by the winners of groups A, B and C and the team with the most points among the teams that finish second in the preliminary stage.

Teams 1D, 2D, 3D, 4D skip the qualifying stage and advance directly to the quarterfinals.

Group D: 1. Sweden - 9 points, 2. USA - 8 points, 3. Canada - 8 points, 4. Finland - 7 points, 5. Russia- 6 points, 6. Switzerland - 6 points, 7. Czech Republic - 3 points, 8. Slovenia - 3 points, 9. Austria - 3 points, 10. Slovakia - 1 point, 11. Latvia - 0 points, 12. Norway - 0 points.

Qualification (5D-12D, 6D-11D, 7D-10D, 8D-9D)

February 18, 2014, Tuesday
12:00 Slovenia - Austria - 4:0 (2:0, 1:0, 1:0)
16:30 Russia- Norway - 4:0 (0:0, 2:0, 2:0)
21:00 Switzerland - Latvia - 1:3 (0:2, 1:0, 0:1)
21:00 Czech Republic - Slovakia - 5:3 (3:0, 1:1, 1:2)

1/4 finals (1D-E4, 2D-E3, 3D-E2, 4D-E1)

February 19, 2014, Wednesday
12:00 Sweden - Slovenia - 5:0 (1:0, 0:0, 4:0)
16:30 Finland - Russia - 3:1 (2:1, 1:0, 0:0)
21:00 Canada - Latvia - 2:1 (1:1, 0:0, 1:0)
21:00 USA - Czech Republic - 5:2 (3:1, 1:0, 1:1)

1/2 finals (F1-F4, F2-F3)

February 21, 2014, Friday
16:00 Sweden - Finland - 2:1 (0:0, 2:1, 0:0)
21:00 USA - Canada - 0:1 (0:0, 0:1, 0:0)

Match for 3rd place

The final

SOCHI, February 23 - R-Sport, Alexander Rogulev. The last gold medals of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi were won by the hockey team of Canada, who defeated the team of Sweden with a score of 3:0 in the final. They won the Olympic tournament for the ninth time in history and defended the title won four years ago in Vancouver.

Apart from reigning champions In the 2014 Olympics, the Finnish team won the 2014 Olympic medals after beating the Americans 5-0 in the match for third place. The Russian team failed the home tournament, losing in the quarterfinals to the Finns (1:3) and taking the final fifth place.

Most titled

Canadians have become real triumphs of team sports in Sochi. The men's and women's teams of this country took all the gold in both curling and hockey. Team Canada, led by Detroit NHL head coach Mike Babcock and Steve Yzerman as general manager, went through the entire tournament consistently, winning six out of six games. In the group, the Canadians passed in turn the teams of Norway, Austria and Finland, in the quarterfinals the Olympic champion knocked out the Latvians with some difficulty (2:1), in the semifinals with even greater resistance the US team (1:0).

A separate hero of the tournament was the captain of the winners Sidney Crosby. Throughout the Olympics, the star of “Pittsburgh” was under pressure from the press and could not score. Crosby scored the only goal in the tournament in the final, essentially deciding the outcome of the match for the gold medals. “There was such a situation that I simply would not have forgiven myself if I hadn’t scored, running one on one with the score 1-0 in the Olympic final,” Crosby said after the final.

In addition to Crosby, ten more Canadian players became two-time Olympic champions. These are goalkeeper Roberto Luongo, defenders Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, Drew Doughty and forwards Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Toews, Rick Nash. Canadians became the winners of the Olympics for the ninth time, surpassing the USSR / United Team (8) in this indicator. For the first time since 1952, Canadians won the Olympics, which were held outside of North America.

Selanne Tournament

If the Canadians turned out to be the strongest team in the tournament, then, of course, the brightest hockey player is Teemu Selanne. The captain of the Finnish national team not only became the main driving force of the team, but also charmed the whole of Sochi with his charisma: from journalists to fans. Already at the first press conference, when Selanne was asked about the most anticipated final between Russia and Canada, the veteran replied: "Super! I would like to get a ticket for this match." Not surprisingly, the 43-year-old Finnish forward was almost unanimously voted MVP of the tournament by journalists, despite the fact that the Finnish team only finished third.

Selanne for the Olympic Games has updated several records related to his age. The most important of these was the title of the oldest hockey player to win an Olympic medal. In addition, Selanne's goal was the "oldest" in such tournaments. In total, the forward scored six points in Sochi (four goals, two assists), including a double in the match for third place. "My next goal is the Stanley Cup. If you can win it, the last season of your career will be fantastic," Selanne told reporters.

The completely symbolic team of the Olympics, according to journalists, is as follows: goalkeeper - Henrik Lundqvist (Sweden); defenders - Drew Doughty (Canada), Erik Karlsson (Sweden); forwards - Teemu Selanne (Finland), Phil Kessel (USA), Mikael Granlund (Finland). Three of the best players according to the directorate: goalkeeper Carey Price (Canada), defender Karlsson (Sweden) and forward Kessel (USA).

Kessel, among other things, received the title of top scorer of the tournament. The American striker scored 8 points (5+3) in six games, which, however, did not help his team get to the medals. Hockey players of the US team, which scored more than others by the semi-final round, did not score a single puck in two decisive meetings, losing to the Canadians and the Finns.

Will the NHL take an Olympic break?

With a high degree of probability, after the Olympics in Sochi, the leaders of the NHL will temporarily refuse to let their players go to such tournaments. In particular, the arrival of hockey players from North America to the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang is a big question, as this is extremely unprofitable for the owners of North American clubs. Injuries to Henrik Zetterberg, John Tavares, Mats Zuccarello and other players only added arguments in favor of such a decision.

“This is the fifth Olympics where NHL players come. I saw a lot of comments on this issue. The fact is that so far not a single word has been said about this. We have been negotiating for 20 years, and they always end in success. We are looking to make sure that the decision is made in the interest of all parties. It is very important to find a balance," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at a special press briefing in Sochi.

A serious blow to the relationship between the NHL and the IOC was a doping scandal that happened at the very end of the Olympics - two hours before the start of the final match. Swedish striker Niklas Beckström was convicted of using pseudoephedrine and removed from the game at the last moment. According to the hockey player and the headquarters of the Swedes, Bekström received the drug along with an allergy medicine. “I have been taking this medicine for seven years now, and I have never failed a doping test,” the hockey player reasoned at a special press conference.

© RIA Novosti / Grigory Sokolov /

Russia is only the fifth

The performance of the Russian team at hockey tournament can be considered the main disappointment for the country at the home Olympics. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov's team, which was named among the favorites, lost in the quarterfinals to the Finnish team with a score of 1:3 and dropped out of the fight for medals ahead of schedule. “Grief is hockey. The game of our team is the biggest disappointment. The team did not play the way we would like, and not in one match,” said Alexander Zhukov, head of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Before the start of the Olympics, Russian hockey players noted that these Games would become their main tournament in life. However, the team gave out only one match in which the players had nothing to reproach - against the US team. The Russian team lost the meeting in a shootout (2:3), but left a positive impression. Matches with the national teams of Slovenia (5:2), Slovakia (1:0 in shootouts) and Norway (4:0) were won by the Russians, but they did not get the best scores.

If the quality of the defense of the Russian team even before the start of the Olympic Games raised questions, then the unsuccessful game in the attack came as a surprise, given that some of the best forwards in the world played in the Bilyaletdinov team: Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk. “There weren’t enough goals that we didn’t score. We should have scored more,” stated head coach national team after the failure in the game with the Finns.

Bilyaletdinov took all the blame for the defeat. “It’s all my fault. If I didn’t complete the task, then it’s my fault. And that’s it. Eat me? Well, eat me right now! Eat me, I won’t be there - that’s all. What are you? I will live," said the expert.

“We need to figure out the reasons,” summed up the president of the FHR, Vladislav Tretyak. We will come to Moscow, convene the executive committee (FHR), listen to the experts. Bilyaletdinov will report and tell himself what the reason is. "Resignation? I obey the decision of the executive committee. As the executive committee decides, so be it."

Group stage for men

In the group stage of ice hockey Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi will be attended by 12 men's national teams, divided into three groups. As a result of the group stage, the four best teams will automatically advance to the 1/4 finals, the remaining 8 teams will play matches in the qualifying round in pairs, the winners of these matches will also advance to the quarter-finals.

Playoff bracket

Women's group stage

In the women's group stage, 8 national teams will play, divided into 2 groups, 4 teams in each group, respectively. According to the rules of the women's tournament, the two best teams from group A automatically advance to the semi-finals, and the third and fourth teams from group A, following the results of the group stage, play with the two best representatives of group B. The two remaining teams from group B, following the results of the group stage, are eliminated from further competition for medals.