The Russian team could have won more modestly, but the rivals themselves provoked the rout.
Denmark never belonged to the mighty hockey powers. However, before the match with the national team Russia At home, they believed in their team and considered it one of the best in history. The Danes gained experience and were ready to give a real fight to the favorite.
In the Russian team, however, the Danes did not notice much progress. Our hockey players tore apart the opponent’s defense, having scored as many as 10 goals.
And before the game, the Danes still remembered jokes about our hockey players … It’s true: the one who laughs last laughs best.
“Black mark for Russia”
The Danes arrived at the 2016 World Cup in good shape and seemed ready to make a breakthrough in their development. However, the Danish team’s statistics against the Russians were, to put it mildly, disappointing. By that time, the teams had crossed paths with each other eight times – and our hockey players won in all matches, scoring an average of more than five goals per game.
It was believed, however, that the current squad is capable, if not of defeating the Russians, then at least of imposing a fight. In Denmark, a talented generation of hockey players was growing up: bold, strong, accustomed to attacking play. Honored coach Yuri Novikov then warned the audience.
– Denmark for us has recently turned into some kind of black mark, an incomprehensible riddle. At the last two MFMs, our team miraculously bounced off it. This is an opponent whose knees no longer tremble in matches with our team, but he comes out to play calmly and liberatedly. The Danes must be treated with full mobilization, – quoted the “Championship” specialist.
Before the game, the Danes laughed at the Russian hockey players
With the Danish atmosphere, everything was really in order. Danish Forward of Russian origin Kirill Starkov, for example, shared with reporters that the then coach of the Danish national team, Janne Karlsson, told his players jokes about Russian hockey players.
But the Danes had all the fun in the locker room. The Russians crushed the opponents immediately after entering the ice, organizing several dangerous attacks and opening an account already in the third minute.
Instead of composure, our opponent showed extreme nervousness: in the next ten minutes, the northerners made a lot of unnecessary mistakes, earning three removals. At first, the Russians ignored the gifts of the Danes, but for the third time they realized their numerical advantage. And after only 22 seconds (!) We hammered in another puck – 3:0 after the first period!
The Russian national team in the fourth match at the home world championship inflicted a crushing defeat on the Danish team (10:1) / Photo: Vasily Ponomarev
From the break, the Russians returned with a different installation. The team took control of the game and planned to play by the score: two points were almost in their pocket, and it was pointless to waste energy before more important meetings. However, the outcome of the meeting, as it turned out, did not suit the Danes – and in the middle of the second period, a hockey siren sounded. Yannick Hansen opened the scoring for his team’s goals thanks to a rebound. The puck flew into the goal from the stick of Vadim Shipachyov, taking Sergei Bobrovsky by surprise – by that time he was noticeably cold in the absence of scoring threats.
The Danes, by and large, ran into defeat themselves. Hockey players understood that it was impossible to “let go” of the revived opponent – and over the next ten minutes they removed the questions that had arisen about the outcome of the match. Double Mozyakin, goals Shirokov and Dadonov – and 7:1 on the scoreboard!
double digit record
The final period has become a mere formality for the teams. The Danes simply had no strength left to resist the Red Machine. The Russians scored a couple more goals at a calm pace, and Znarok replaced the bored Bobrovsky with debutant Ilya Sorokin: at 9:1 – why not? To the delight of the home audience, the 21-year-old goalkeeper made a couple of crazy saves in half a minute.
At the 56th minute, Artemy Panarin put a third exclamation point in the match: ten!!! The final goal of the Russian striker provided the national team with a historical record – at that time this victory was the largest for the country in all official matches. And at that World Cup with a double-digit score, no one else won – not even the Canadians. And the Danes, for a second, even left the group after such a defeat – so Russia beat not hopeless outsiders, but a playoff-level team!
This achievement did not last long, however. At the 2019 World Cup, Russia beat Italy with a score of 10: 0, and today this result is considered a record for our team.
Denmark has really grown since then – and in 2022 made its debut at the Winter Olympics. In the first match, the northerners sensationally defeated the Czechs, and now they are waiting for a test of strength from the Russians.