A gift to oneself

      On his birthday, Viktor Konovalенко defended the goal for the USSR national team several times, including at the World Championships. Hockey history knows of three such coincidences. Moreover, in two cases, the Torpedo goalkeeper did not concede a single goal. Let us remember these matches on the day of the 88th anniversary of the Great "Russian Bear."

      1961, Switzerland. For Konovalенко, this was his debut World Championship. On the verge of his 23rd birthday, he substituted for the main goalkeeper of the USSR team - Vladimir Chinov from Moscow's Dynamo during major victories over the national teams of Finland and East Germany. Then the Soviet team crushed the West Germans - 11:1. The second period ended with a score of 6:1, after which Chinov was replaced again by his backup. Viktor held the goal "clean," making himself, considering the World Championship, his first big birthday gift.

      1965, Finland. On March 11, Konovalенко successfully guarded the goal in a match against the Americans. Five unanswered goals in the second period predetermined the success of the USSR team, with Konstantin Loktev from CSKA being the best player, scoring a "hat-trick." The Torpedo goalkeeper, who turned 27, also performed excellently. The final score was 9:2 in this match, earning gold medals at the championship.

      1966, Yugoslavia. Vladislav Dzurilla played for the Czechoslovak national team at the World Championship in Ljubljana. Here’s what he said about his colleague from the USSR: "For some reason, it is commonly believed that Soviet goalkeepers are inferior to, let's say, our or Swedish ones. I firmly believe that Konovalенко is no worse. He is a player of high international class. Any goalkeeper would envy his reactions. The reason for this erroneous opinion, in my view, lies in his somewhat unremarkable external style. Konovalенко's manner differs from the classical style of play that we are used to seeing in the best goalkeepers. But this is only the external side of mastery."

      The best skills of the goalkeeper from Gorky's Torpedo were demonstrated on his birthday when the Soviet team defeated the Canadians in a packed Tivoli ice hall. The overseas hockey players attacked particularly sharply and dangerously in the third period. Trailing 0:1, they tried to equalize the score. In those moments, the USSR team, whose goal was securely locked by Viktor Konovalенко, showed itself in the best light: the will to win was much stronger.

      Interestingly, just days earlier, an exciting football match took place. The team lineups: Starshinov, Konovalенко on one side, Polupanov, Vikulov on the other. It was a game in the corridor of the hotel where our team was quartered. The friendly match with a tennis ball went with varying success...

      However, let's return to hockey. At this championship, Viktor "came out clean" once again - in a match against the Americans. "It is worth noting the excellent play of the Soviet goalkeeper," the press reported. "In the third period, when there were no doubts about the victory for the coaching staff of the Soviet team, Spartak player Viktor Zinger was allowed to play. Importantly, he also did not concede. After achieving a brilliant victory with a score of 11:0, the USSR team continued to race towards the sixth championship title at maximum speeds, not losing a single match in the tournament and only drawing once (3:3 with the Swedes). As a result, Arkadiy Chernyshev's team finished one point ahead of second-placed Czechoslovakia and three points ahead of the bronze medal-winning Canadians."

      The world champion title was the fourth title for the "Russian Bear" Konovalенко in his hockey biography. There were still four more to come, but with Viktor Sergeyevich's birthday, the matches of those tournaments, and the tournaments themselves, no longer coincided.

      Vladimir MOLCHANOV

      More news about the event:

      On March 11, Viktor Konovalенко celebrated his 88th birthday. On March 11, it was 88 years since the birth of the famous hockey goalkeeper Viktor Konovalенко, whose career is inextricably linked with Gorky's Torpedo and the USSR national team. 15:28 11.03.2026 Vremya N - Nizhny Novgorod

      A gift to himself

      On his birthday, Viktor Konovalенко defended the goal for the USSR national team several times. 13:49 11.03.2026 HC Torpedo - Nizhny Novgorod

      News from neighboring regions on the topic:

      HC Sochi lost to CSKA in Moscow in a hard-fought match with a score of 1:2. The Sochi hockey club lost to Moscow's CSKA in a KHL regular season match. 11:35 11.03.2026 Sochi24.tv - Sochi

      Stavropol handball players defeated their opponents from Astrakhan. The handball club "Victor" from Stavropol defeated Astrakhan's "Dynamo" with a score of 34:30 in the Russian championship among men's super league teams. 11:00 10.03.2026 News.1777.Ru - Stavropol

      Pass the puck more accurately to the stick. On March 7, a hockey tournament was held in the Railway District of Yekaterinburg in memory of the master of sports of the USSR A.L. 12:43 10.03.2026 Railway District of Yekaterinburg - Yekaterinburg

      Omsk's Avangard lost to Siberia in a home match. The game ended with a score of 1:2. In a tense match held on March 9 in Omsk, the Avangard hockey club lost to Novosibirsk's Siberia in a shootout with a score of 1:2. 11:24 10.03.2026 IA Omskregion - Omsk