November 16, 1999

Team Canada's Difficult Tour in Russia

The Canadian National team's Russian tour turned out to be not as succesful as they wanted.

In their first game against Lada Togliatti the "Maple leaf" team had a real chance to end in a tie but Ryabchikov was excellent and had a shutout. The only goal was scored by Skabelka.

In Nyzhny Novgorod, the Canadian team had not the slightest chance to win against Torpedo. They lost 1-3. The only Canadian goal was scored by Simpson.

On November 12, the Canadian team arrived in the ancient Russian city of Yaroslavl. They visited its ice arena and then preferred to have a rest. The next day all the towns people heartily welcomed the Canadians and were looking forward to see an exceptionally good game. Their expectations turned out to be a disappointment. First, the head coach of Torpedo, Peter Vorobyev, left for Finland with Russia's junior national team to take part in the Four Nations tournament. Second, many Torpedo players left for their national team. Third, there was a lot of confusion over who would be on the roster to play against Canada’s national team. There were hardly 15 players of the team in Yaroslavl. Finally, it was agreed to call up some junior players from Torpedo’s affiliate. One of two assistant coaches, Alexey Traseukh, who recently hung up his skates had to put on a jersey to play center. To tell the truth, he is still in good shape. The second coach, Alexander Pashkov, was appointed head coach for a game. Can you predict the outcome of this game?

Imagine this! Canada was beaten 4-3. The Canadians tried to impose a physical game with lots of bodychecks but failed to do so. Its players were terribly surprised by Torpedo’s good reaction to the bodychecks. Nearly every player was ready to drop the gloves and square off with its rival but all the fights were immediately stopped by the referees according to the rules of European hockey. Unfortunately, Andrei Yakhanov suffered a concussion when he was checked by Savoia. "There is nobody to blame in what has happened. Andrei is an experienced player and he must know the Canadian style of play. Afterall, he spent some years in the AHL," Alexander Pashkov commented after the occasion.

At the post-game press conference, Tom Renney said, "We got a nice opportunity to win the game because we had been informed beforehand about the situation with our rivals but as it turned out we could do nothing even in this case. Many Torpedo players know how to play a physical game. I liked many of the bodychecks made by Torpedo’s players. The only thing I can say to excuse our loss is our long tiring tour. My guys are constantly en route. Great Britain, France, Germany, Slovakia, Russia…"

Alexander Pashkov joked, "I was pleased by the play of Alexei Borisovich Traseukh (assistant coach and player for the moment). I hope the fans are as well. I think it's a nice chance for young players to try themselves in battles like this one. I‘m satisfied with the result. All the players did their best."

Next, Team Canada visited Cherepovets where it was successful. The game ended in a 3-3 tie.

Finally, on the 15th of November, Team Canada completed its exhausting Russian
tour after a game held in St.Petersburg against the local team SKA. The 2-1 game was the first win for the Canadians during this Russian Tour. It seems this city is lucky for Canadians. In September 1989, team SKA hosted the legendary Montréal Canadiens and was beaten 5-3. Moreover in the spring of 1990, the Canadian Olympic team won 7-3. It was the Canadians’ 21st game in the European tour. The aim of the head coach is to try and check as many players as possible for the World Hockey Championships which will be held in St. Petersburg in 2000.

During the opening ceremony of the game, the general council of Canada in St.
Petersburg, Linda McDonald, greeted the participants and hockey fans at the Jubileyny Ice Arena.

The scenario of the game greatly resembled the one of Yaroslavl with lots of bodychecks and fights. The only difference was the traditional win of Canadians in this city.

To sum up the results of the Russian tour, one must admit that it turned out to be a success for Russian clubs and was a kind of disappointment for the Canadians. They lost 3 games, tied one and had only 1 win during the tour.

Who knows, maybe this only win in St. Petersburg would be a lucky symbol in the race for the title of 2000 World Champions? Afterall, this city is a fortunate one for Canadians!

Denis Neznanov
HockeyZone's Russian Correspondent