February 10, 2022 at 9:10 p.m. is a historic moment for Chinese ice hockey. In the men's hockey group stage of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese team appeared at the National Gymnasium and staged the "debut" of the Winter Olympic Games. Facing two Winter Olympic gold medallists, the United States, the hosts played a good game and lost 8-0.
Since the Chinese Ice Association joined the International Ice Federation in 1963, the Chinese men's team has never played in the main olympic matches of the Winter Olympics before. This time, the Chinese team, ranked 32nd in the world, participated in the competition with the host "wild card" and stepped on the stage of the world's top event for the first time at the "doorstep". "Everyone who plays hockey wants to play in the Winter Olympics, and we happened to catch that time, which is lucky and honorable." 23-year-old striker Ying Rudi said.
In the first game, the opponent of the Chinese team was the United States team. Because NHL (North American Hockey Professional League) players are unable to compete due to "slot" conflicts, the team is made up of NCAA (American University Sports Association) players and players from the KHL (Continental Hockey League), American Minor League and Swedish Professional League. Before the game, The head coach of the Chinese team, Saneta, repeatedly stressed to the players: "We are not going to participate in the performance, but to win the respect of the hockey world, whether it is technical tactics or physical, we must show the best state." ”
Sure enough, the game began, and the two sides engaged in a fierce confrontation. The Chinese team was defensive for most of the time, but at the same time used the counter-attack to find offensive opportunities, creating several threatening shots. Although he was forced to score a goal by his opponent in the middle of the first quarter, the chinese team's data in the whole quarter was not much different from the opponent. At the end of the first quarter, the hosts trailed only 0-1.
In the second quarter, the U.S. team scored the second goal in 5 minutes and 32 seconds, and then turned on the "bombing mode", and the scene gradually gained the upper hand. The U.S. team scored 3 points in the quarter. In the third quarter, the U.S. team scored again after only 1 minute and 06 seconds of the opening, scoring 4 goals in a single quarter. The "debut" of the Chinese team in the Winter Olympics ended 0-8. "I'm so proud of these kids, they never gave up and were trying to score until the last minute. This is the fighting spirit of the Chinese team. Saneta said.
"I personally don't think it should be this result, it's not a gap in levels, it's a gap in play." Ying Rudi believes that after the other side encountered stubborn resistance in the first quarter, the second quarter will definitely strengthen the offensive, but the whole team was not mentally prepared for this, "Suddenly it was broken." In fact, from the lineup of the two teams, this ball should have to be played, and the results of the first quarter also proved this. ”
According to the format, the 12 teams participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics were divided into three groups. Each group first played a single round robin, with the three teams that won the first place and the second place with the best results directly advancing to the top 8, and the other eight teams cross-elimination according to the results of the group stage, resulting in the remaining four top 8 places. That is to say, the Chinese team still has at least three games to play.
"After all, it is the Winter Olympics, and everyone may be a little nervous." Tune in, learn your lessons and get better prepared for the next game. Ying Rudi believes that although the other two opponents in the group, Canada and Germany, are in the top five in the world ranking, their level is not necessarily stronger than that of the United States, "Of course, I hope to win, but at least I can lose a lot." ”
Yuan Junjie, a Chinese player who printed "glory for the country" on his skates, also believes that everyone played well, "The first time we played the Olympic Games, we were very excited and excited, so we fought specially at the beginning." This is only the first game, I believe it will get better and better, and the next two games will definitely see our progress. ”