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.