Before we talk about the new season, a little history. In April 2019, Slovakia was defeated 2-0 in the Swedish Örnsköldsvik, facing Canada in the quarter-finals. In the 51st minute of the game, the score was 1:2, the shots were 39:43, but, wanting to draw, Sorokin replaced goalkeeper Arturas Shilovs with the sixth player at the end of the game… That time it didn’t work out, 1:3. Then the year of the pandemic, so that in 2021 the United States would fall one position. April 23, 2022, in Kaufbeirene, Germany, Sweden was defeated 3:2 in the opening match of the championship. In the end, 7th place in the world. This year in Basel 1:0 against Norway, which again gave 8th place, allowing the Swedes to take revenge for 3:2 in the quarter-finals and the rejection of the test match – 1:6.
You have worked as the head coach of HS “Rīga” for five years. No success… There were no “play-offs” for three springs, once you lost in the quarter-finals, one year the “play-offs” were not played due to the pandemic.
Everything is correct, but it should be understood that HS “Riga” has completely different tasks – it is the development of players. We are always the youngest team in the league, but we have never finished last. We are on the verge of play-off. If only four teams play in the “play-off”, then it is difficult to get there, but our players have played either in the Youth Development Hockey League (JAHL). Moving to men’s or major league hockey is not so easy. But I remind the guys that youth alone cannot be an excuse for losses. In the spring, we were fifth, which we were not satisfied with, but “Prizma” strengthened towards the end of the season and we were not able to keep up in the end. Maybe we wasted something early in the season. There was a little lack of wisdom, cunning, desire. We made it to the play-offs, but the fifth place did not satisfy us.
If you were a bigger demagogue, you would interrupt me with the words: but in the World U-18 Championship…
2023-08-13 21:01:00
#Sorokin #Riga #Latvia #world #Finland #Baltics..