Viktor Tikhonov, coach of the Soviet national...

Viktor Tikhonov, coach of the Soviet national hockey team, said a major reason for losing the Canada Cup final earlier this month was “bias and errors in refereeing.”

In an interview with the trade union newspaper Trud, Tikhonov was also critical of his own defensemen and goalies and promised a shakeup at those positions.

The Soviets lost to the Canadians, 6-5, in the third and deciding match of the fourth Canada Cup at Hamilton, Canada, last week. The previous two games were split by 6-5 scores, one in overtime and the other in two overtimes.

Mario Lemieux’s 11th goal of the tournament with 1:26 left in the third period of the deciding game gave Canada the victory in a contest officiated by Canadian referee Dan Koharski and Soviet linesman Mikhail Galinovski.

Tikhonov did not mention Koharski by name.