The Wings, currently in second place in the Western Division of Russia's Interstate Hockey League, went 0-7 on their two-week road trip to seven Midwestern cities that ended Nov. 13, playing against teams from the International Hockey League.
"We struggled defensively," assistant coach Chris Reynolds said. "We're a good, skilled offensive team, but we need to make more checks."
The tour, during a scheduled break in the Russian league's season, was the second by a Russian team of the American minor-league circuit in two years. Last year, the CSKA Russian Penguins went 2-9-2. The tour was sponsored by Moscow's DialogBank.
The Wings looked like they would get off to a hot start, going up 3-0 in the first period of their first game against the Atlanta Knights on Nov. 3. But the Knights scored five times in the second period on their way to a 7-3 win, and "pretty much kicked our butts," Reynolds said.
Losses in Fort Wayne, Michigan; Detroit; Chicago; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Cleveland, followed, with the team being outscored in all 41-14. Worst were 10-0 and 6-0 blowouts against Detroit and Kalamazoo.
But the team, coached by Russian hockey legend Igor Dimitriev, improved toward the end of the tour. Reynolds said the best game was against the Milwaukee Admirals, where late defensive lapses led to a 6-5 loss.
Reynolds pointed to a different style of play in North America as a factor in the Wings' poor record. In the smaller North American rinks, the game is more physical, and there is more "clutch and grab" defense, conditions he said the Wings did not adapt to well.
The Wings are a young team, with an average age of 21. Reynolds did not think that American distractions played a major role in the team's losses, as three-quarters of the players had played there before.
The team will have a chance to see how well it learned its lessons. The Wings go on another tour Dec. 12-31, covering 10 cities from Peoria, Illinois, to Houston.
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Both sides in the National Hockey League's labor dispute agreed to a rookie salary cap, a tax on gate receipts and there appears to be movement on the luxury tax proposal, or salary cap, ESPN television said Monday, Reuters reported.
Following a three-hour afternoon session, Boston Bruins general manager Harry Sinden suggested to The Associated Press a breakthrough could be imminent. The talks lasted late into Monday evening in Boston. The two sides planned to resume negotiations Tuesday.
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