“Mission accomplished”. Khristich summed up the results of the first matches of the Ukrainian national team
The Ukrainian national hockey team took 2nd place in the group at the Charkozy Memorial. The team beat Hungary 5:4, lost to Slovenia 4:5 and lost to Italy 0:1 in overtime.
These were the first matches of the new coach Dmitry Khristich, who summed up the results of the tournament. Ukraine is preparing for the 2024 World Cup in Division 1B, where the goal is to rise in class.
“The training camp went as planned, everything was up to standard. The performance was satisfactory, the opponents were serious, we felt good. They took 2nd place among the teams that compete in Division 1A. Ukraine was able to play at the speeds offered by the opponent. Overall, on par with the Division teams where we want to go.”
“It was important to me that the players could withstand the pace of the teams above the division for three matches in three days. Mission accomplished. Defensive problems? Associated with speeds that are higher than in the Ukrainian Championship. And most of our players are from our championship, so this is a serious result for us. Of course, we are unhappy that we conceded 10 goals, but were able to score 9. And in the same match with Italy we kept a clean sheet in regulation time.”
“It is important to improve the speed of transition from defense to attack. This will be necessary to fight for promotion in class.”
“Preparing for the selection for the Olympics? While there are no approved plans, I can’t say anything. Now I asked all members of the coaching staff to express their opinion on the team players.”
“Playing style? Defense comes first. And 9 goals scored in the first two matches is the result of an attack where the players showed that they are able to demonstrate an individual level. But now defense will come first. We did not have three pairs in defense fully equipped, plus we needed one more additional player. Not staffed yet.” – said Khristich.
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2023-11-17 20:50:00
