Russia (bbabo.net), - The Russian national ice hockey team is completing preparations for the Winter Games at the base in Novogorsk. On Wednesday, February 2, our team will go to Beijing, where they will continue training.

The day before, the name of our captain at the Olympic tournament became known. They became the 34-year-old striker of the Moscow "Dynamo" Vadim Shipachev.

Shipachyov's assistants will be guards Nikita Nesterov (CSKA) and Yegor Yakovlev (Metallurg, Magnitogorsk), as well as forward Sergei Andronov (CSKA).

Before flying to China, Shipachev shared with reporters his impressions of the captaincy, the training camp in general, and expectations from the Olympic tournament.

Vadim, confess, did the coaching staff appoint the captain or did the team choose you?

Vadim Shipachev: We were given sheets of paper with three lines, we had to enter the captain and assistants. Everyone wrote their own version. A couple of days later everything was announced. Who did I enter? Gusev, Voinov and Yakovlev.

Being a captain in a club and a national team - different things?

Vadim Shipachev: The Olympiad is a very serious tournament, I'm glad that the guys chose it, it's nice. Honestly, I was happy when I found out. It is clear that captaincy is a big responsibility, but I will try to justify it, to do everything that depends on me.

As a captain, you will have to communicate with the judges in English.

Vadim Shipachyov: I watch TV shows in English, study with a teacher. But now there is such a schedule that there is no free time.

Tell me frankly, did you get tired after two weeks in Novogorsk?

Vadim Shipachev: An interesting question. Of course, they got a little drunk, they did a decent job. Second preseason. How necessary is it? There are no games, if they were, there would be a game tone. It was necessary to work, it is clear. We hope this will help us.

Tell us, with whom do you train on the link?

Vadim Shipachev: We are preparing in different combinations for different game situations. With Gusev and Gritsyuk, with Galiev and Grigorenko. Guys are crafty. For some reason, they put me with everyone who plays well!

Can it be a problem that the team has no game tone?

Vadim Shipachyov: We play in training, hold bilateral matches, and through this we gain a hockey tone. It's like that for everyone - the Finns and the Swedes also don't play now.

Follow the news from the women's team?

Vadim Shipachev: In fact, we don't have time to follow. We have two workouts a day, after a workout - dinner and rest. Tomorrow we get up early, we are gradually reorganizing for another time. Now I'll talk with my family - and sleep.

There were precedents when the captain of the hockey team was the standard-bearer of the entire delegation at the opening ceremony of the Games. But it happens that athletes refuse this in favor of rest before the starts. If they offer you, will you agree?

Vadim Shipachyov: It's an honor. But so far there have been no proposals. If they do, I will answer this question.

How they will play in Beijing

At the group stage of the Olympic tournament, the teams will be divided into three groups:

Group A: China, Canada, USA, Germany.

Group B: Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Denmark.

Group С: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Latvia.

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Olympics will take place from 9 to 20 February 2022. The competition will be held in 5 stages:

Group stage matches - from 9 to 13 February. So, the Russian team in the group stage will play with the teams of Switzerland (February 9), Denmark (February 11) and the Czech Republic (February 12).

The winners of groups A, B and C will advance to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Olympic Games. The team that showed the best result among all the teams that took second place will also get into the 1/4.

Play-off qualification - February 15. Simply put, this is the 1/8 finals.

At this stage, all other participants who took second places will play. They will be joined by the third and fourth teams from all groups. The winners of the four pairs will advance to the next round.

Quarter-finals - 16 February. The winners of their groups will play with the teams that have overcome the qualification of the playoffs.

Semi-finals - 18 February. As a result of these meetings, two lucky ones will get into the decisive game of the Olympic tournament. And the losers will fight in the match for third place. This meeting will take place on February 19.

Final - 20 February. The beginning of the "golden" match - at 12.10 Moscow time.

Back to news »

China is closed from the media

The training sessions of the women's and men's ice hockey teams of China before the Olympics in Beijing were closed from the gaze of the media.

From the very first day, when training began at the Olympic arenas in Beijing, the Chinese women's ice hockey team restricted the access of journalists and representatives of other teams to their classes. Following similar restrictions were introduced by the men's team.

As the organizers explained, they make this decision at the request of representatives of Chinese teams who are afraid of the coronavirus. Note that even when journalists are on the podium, there is no close contact with the players.

Recall that in the group stage of the hockey tournament, the Chinese team will play against the teams of the USA, Canada and Germany.

In the meantime

The Kontinental Hockey League has announced the best players of the month in the regular season following the results of January.

Among goalkeepers there was no equal to Shimon Grubets from Avangard. In three matches, his team won two victories, one of which was “to zero”. The percentage of reflected shots was 95.2%.

Defender "Severstal" Ilya Khokhlov was named the best defender. His coefficient of utility was "+7", while Khokhlov himself scored six points (1+5) in five matches.

His teammate Nikita Guslistov called him the best striker, he has five points (3+2) in five matches. But Arseniy Gritsyuk from Avangard was named Rookie of the Month, he scored three points (1+2) in three meetings.

bbabo.Net