USA 4:3 KAZ | USA - Kazakhstan (World Championship)

World Championship

Canada2 – Italy veterans	6:1 (end)	\|	USA – Kazakhstan	4:3 (after OT)	\|	Sweden2 – Slovakia2	3:1 (end)
Finland – Switzerland	3:2 (1:0 after SO)

final/OT

USA

4:3 (1:1, 2:1, 0:1 – 1:0)

Kazakhstan

Friday 16.05.2014, 15:45 • Minsk-Arena, Minsk, Belarus • World Championship

		American anthem will follow, goodbye for now. (18:10:41)
		Roman Starchenko and Seth Jones are named the players of the game as they both scored twice.
		The Americans come away victorious despite a great performance by Kazakh goaltender Alexei Ivanov who made 35 saves in the game. Seth Jones won the game for Team USA with his second of the night just about a minute into the overtime.
		Game over.
	61:05	Goal for Team USA! And this one ends happily for the Americans, just like two years ago. And again, it's a defenseman who scores the game-winner. SETH JONES picked up the lose puck and showed all the fans here why he's a clutch player. Great shot upstairs to end the game. Assisted by Dan DeKeyser and Johnny Gaudreau.
	60:55	A couple of shots by DeKeyser and Nelson, but they either miss the net or get blocked in front.
	60:32	Huge one-timer from the right side by Jones, good stop made by Ivanov.
	60:01	Overtime began.
		And just like two years ago, these two are going to overtime following a great third period by Team Kazakhstan.
	60:00	3rd period finished.
	59:57	Jones was looking to beat the buzzer with a hard one-timer but it misses the target.
	59:12	Krasnoslobodtsev had the puck in a good position in front of Thomas, but Smith came back defensively to take it away.
	58:44	Panshin was almost sprung on a breakaway,but DeKeyser was there to halt him.
	57:44	Starchenko sprinted in and fired one from the left side, just wide of the net.
	57:25	Jones has the puck in his own zone looking to set up a counter-attack.
	56:42	Nelson has his shot deflected wide of the net.
	56:10	Romanov carried the puck in and then Litvinenko fired one hard, everything gets blocked in front of Thomas.
	55:19	Wingels skated out front, but the shot only deflects back to DeKeyser whose drive almost gets tipped in by Stapleton, but Ivanov holds on again.
	54:37	More shots on goal by Murphy, Gardiner and Nelson, but Ivanov comes up big and makes a couple of critical stops.
	54:13	Great feed for Johnson by Smith, but the Spokane native failed to pull the trigger in front.
	53:30	Big shot by Abdelkader misses the net.
	53:10	Goal for Team Kazakhstan! And finally the Kazakhs tie things up! They've played better in the last couple of minutes then they did before and now the puck finally gets past Thomas as ROMAN STARCHENKO jumps on it in front and fires it past the Michigan-born goaltender. Assisted by Nikolai Antropov.
	53:04	Starchenko carried the puck in and then fired one wide.
	51:44	Hard shot by Panshin from the right side, Thomas makes a good save.
	51:21	Backhander by Antropov blocked by DeKeyser and then an icing is called against Team USA.
	49:43	Wild sequence now in front of Ivanov, but a shot by Gardiner is blocked.
	49:15	A shot by Zhailauov deflected up and out of play by Jones.
	48:51	Great save on Nelson by Ivanov, but the rebound bounced to Craig Smith who puts it wide of the gaping net.
	48:30	Icing called against the Americans.
	48:07	Long wrister by Stapleton blocked.
	47:42	Starchenko and Zhailauov each with a centering attempt, no good with Americans intercepting pucks all over the place.
	46:55	Not much of a powerplay by the Americans as Zhailauov reenters the ice.
	46:35	A shorthanded break by Romanov, but the last defenseman Donovan didn't let him further.
	45:24	Kazakhs clear the puck.
	44:55	Talgat Zhailauov (KAZ) gets two minutes for hooking.
	44:35	Centering attempt by Krasnoslobodtsev goes through the middle of the zone, Litvinenko then fires one right on Thomas.
	44:00	A shot by Polishuk who used Petry as a screen, stays out of the net.
	43:29	Good block by Wingels on Panshin's shot.
	42:58	Big hit by Trocheck on Kazanstev behind the Kazakh net.
	42:07	Starchenko returns to the ice after a good PK by his teammates.
	41:53	Miele tried to bank one in from a bad angle, blocked in front.
	41:20	Blokhin fires one off Miele and Gaudreau, both American forwards visibly surprised.
	41:08	Romanov tried a couple of moves in front of Thomas, but the American goaltender stops the puck!
	41:08	Nelson turned the puck over, Romanov escaped everybody and Jones dove ahead to trip him up. Penalty shot!
	40:07	Roman Starchenko (KAZ) gets a minor penalty for slashing.
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
		Stay tuned for the third period that will be started at 6:26 PM EET.
		The Americans had an almost pefect second period against the Kazakhs as they outshot them badly and even managed to grab the lead following a goal by defenseman Matt Donovan. All the momentum is on the American side now and the Kazakhs will want to change that as soon as possible in the third.
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:38	A drive by Trocheck deflected aside by Ivanov.
	39:24	The Kazakhs get the puck deep into the American zone.
	38:36	The shots are 16-3 for the Americans in the second period.
	36:49	Jones fires one with Wingels screening on the doorstep, good glove save by Ivanov.
	36:43	Team Kazakhstan takes a timeout.
	36:43	All the momentum is on the American side and now Ivanov is forced to make a difficult glove save on a deflected shot by Gardiner.
	35:02	Goal for Team USA! Team USA takes the lead for the first time in the game. Gaudreau carried the puck into the zone, drew a penalty and while falling, he managed to dish the puck to MATT DONOVAN who just fired one from the left side and it found the back of the net. Assisted by Johnny Gaudreau.
	34:12	Good screen by Abdelkader with Gaudreau firing the puck from the left circle, Ivanov says he doesn't care and makes a save anyway.
	33:22	Now it's cleared after a giveaway by Jones.
	32:50	Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev (KAZ) gets two minutes for interference.
	32:05	We apologize as technical difficulties prevented us from telling you what's happening, but the Kazakhs have killed off the penalty.
	30:12	A weird play by Mueller leads to a shorthanded odd-man rush for the Kazakhs and Gavrilin sent a good cross-ice pass to Dallman who couldn't pull the trigger the way he wanted to in front of Thomas.
	29:16	Blokhin clears it the length of the ice.
	29:08	10,779 are in attendance here at the Minsk-Arena today.
	29:08	Nikolai Antropov (KAZ) gets two minutes for slashing.
	29:07	Now a great wrister from good distance by Stapleton, but he just misses the net.
	28:30	Americans have possession in the offensive zone, but don't seem too eager to fire the puck on Ivanov.
	27:20	Icing is called against Team USA following a pass by Gardiner that Abdelkader let go all the way down the ice.
	26:48	Polishuk leaves the box as the penalty expires.
	26:40	Nelson has been doing a great job setting the screen in front, but now a shot by Craig Smith goes up into the netting.
	26:25	Hard shot by Gardiner from the blue line, blocked in front.
	26:02	What a laser beam by Tyler Johnson from the top of the left circle, but it stays out off the crossbar.
	25:26	Bad pass along the blue line by Jones and Mueller has to go back into the neutral zone.
	24:48	Fyodor Polishuk (KAZ) gets two minutes for slashing.
	23:44	Goal for Team USA! And now the young Texas native gets the puck to avoid Ivanov and find the back of the net on the powerplay. After picking the puck up on the blue line, SETH JONES just made a couple of steps ahead and then fired one past everything that stood in the way but the back of the net. Ivanov had little chance to stop that laser beam. Assisted by Craig Smith.
	23:24	Shooting gallery by the Americans with Craig Smith and Peter Mueller among those who pulled the trigger, but it always went out off a post and then Ivanov made a huge save on Jones.
	22:52	Mikhail Panshin (KAZ) gets two minutes for tripping.
	22:52	Big shot by Kevin Hayes from a bad angle, Ivanov gets a piece of it and keeps it out.
	22:30	The Americans trying to change the way the game has went, Craig Smith was on the doorstep, but Ivanov stands tall.
	21:21	Goal for Team Kazakhstan! Quick break for the Kazakhs and they're back in front early in the second. KONSTANTIN ROMANOV received a pass from Panshin just after crossing the goal line and just sniped one past Thomas to get his team the lead back. Assisted by Mihail Panshin and Artemi Lakiza.
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		Seth Jones with 8:44 and Kevin Dallman (9:24) led their respective teams in ice-time in the opening twenty.
		Tune back in for the second at 5:36 PM EET.
		A careful first period is behind us and each team has managed to score one goal despite the fact that Kazakhstan outshot the Americans 13-11. Thomas has looked better than yesterday against Latvia and Ivanov has made some good stops as well. The Americans gained a lot of momentum in the last five minutes and if they hold on to it for the second period, it will be very hard for their opposition to match the pace.
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:47	Gardiner dumped the puck in and it got to Murphy for what could be the final shot of the period, Ivanov holds on to the puck.
	18:38	Goal for Team USA! What a quick powerplay goal and it didn't even take a great shot for it to get past Ivanov and into the back of the net. CRAIG SMITH fired one from a bad angle on the right side and as Ivanov couldn't hold on to it, the Nashville Predators forward found it in the bluepaint and tucked it home to tie things up. Assisted by Brock Nelson.
	18:28	Alexei Litvinenko (KAZ) gets two minutes for holding and that will maybe cause Ivanov to face some shots finally.
	18:20	Thomas goes behind his net to play the puck, but the Americans have had control lately, but can't get any shots away.
	17:45	Americans still on the puck even after a shot by Kevin Hayes is blocked in front.
	16:24	Big shot by Gaudreau and then a rebound given up by Ivanov, but the puck still stays out of the Kazakh net.
	16:06	Team USA has possession and will start out of their own zone.
	15:55	Long shot by Gaudreau bounced right in front of Ivanov who gave up the rebound, but his defensemen took care of it.
	15:46	Now an altercation besides the Kazakh net with Trocheck and Jimmy Hayes in the middle of it, no penalties will be called.
	15:41	Big rebound for Mueller, but he can't get to it first.
	14:32	Craig Smith looked to tie the score right away, but it stays out of the net.
	14:23	Goal for Team Kazakhstan! Now that was too much for Thomas to handle as the Kazakhs started to fire the puck more often and with the wide-open net, ROMAN STARCHENKO jumped on the rebound with Thomas out of position and crashed into and just tucked it home to give the underdog a lead in this one. Assisted by Dmitri Upper and Kevin Dallman.
	13:55	Now a block by Abdelkader on a shot by Dallman.
	13:42	Antropov fires one and a good diving block is made by Murphy.
	13:30	Andy Miele (USA) goes back to the penalty box, this time for slashing.
	13:30	Thomas comes up with a great save after a steal by Romanov.
	13:05	Abdelkader is back on the ice, but Kazakhs still have possession.
	12:39	Great cross-ice feed from Krasnoslobodtsev for Zhailauov and Thomas gets over quickly and the latter forward might have even fired it off the side of the net.
	12:27	Zhailauov carried the puck in and fired one, deflected up into the netting.
	12:09	Starchenko on the puck, but he couldn't fire it and so Nelson clears it out.
	11:49	Antropov set up in front of Thomas, good pad save as the Dallas Star stands tall in the net.
	11:23	DeKeyser clears it to the neutral zone.
	11:05	Justin Abdelkader (USA) gets two minutes for kneeing.
	11:05	Big collision between Pushkyarov and Abdelkader in the neutral zone and both are shaken up. The Kazakhs forward is still attended to on the bench, while Captain USA is trying to walk it off.
	10:46	Abdelkader carried the puck ahead and looked to feed Shore with a pass, but it's deflected in front.
	10:26	Miele returns to the ice.
	10:13	The Kazakhs have had the Americans locked in front of Thomas and now a big shot by Starchenko goes off the crossbar and out of play.
	08:26	Andy Miele (USA) gets two minutes for hooking.
	07:55	Starchenko carried the puck the other way and fires one, but misses the net.
	07:49	Jimmy Hayes on the doorstep again, but he can't jam the puck past Ivanov.
	07:28	The third American line causing trouble in front of Ivanov.
	07:06	Blast of a one-timer right after the faceoff by Abdelkader, Ivanov comes up with a solid save on that one.
	07:03	Abdelkader fires one from the left wing, but it's deflected immediately up into the netting.
	06:26	Long shot by Semyonov through screen in front, deflected out of danger.
	05:58	A pass by Jones gets deflected by a Kazakh player and deep into the Kazakh zone.
	05:49	Thomas covers up on the other side with Krasnoslobodtsev nearby.
	05:42	Kazakhs wanted offside on the last play by Petry, but he carried the puck closer to the net and fired one, good stop by Ivanov.
	04:32	Big one-timer by Savchenko and Thomas had to make a great shoulder save.
	04:22	Good-looking feed by Gaudreau for DeKeyser gets intercepted.
	03:57	Gaudreau carried the puck into the zone, but Ivanov doesn't face a shot on the sequence.
	03:00	Zhailauov got into the zone with Nelson reentering the ice, his shot is blocked by the first player.
	02:47	Great forecheck by Drew Shore in the offensive zone on the PK.
	02:34	Ivanov has to cover up on the other side after a shorthanded dump-in by Team USA.
	02:12	Huge blast by Dallman deflect in front, goes wide, and the rebound by Starchenko is blocked by an American in the front.
	01:37	Americans have been good on the PK since that chance for Krasnoslobodtsev.
	01:04	Big shot by Litvinenko from the blue line, the rebound goes to Krasnoslobodtsev, but he fires it wide.
	00:57	Brock Nelson (USA) heads into the penalty box for tripping.
	00:30	Two big saves by Thomas as he stops Antropov and then robs Zhailauov on the rebound.
	00:15	Dallman kind of fired one from the right wing, deflected up into the netting.
	00:01	The Kazakhs win the opening faceoff.
	00:01	Game started.
		The top line will start for Team Kazakhstan, same on the other side for the Americans.
		Starting lineups: USA: Thomas (Leggio) – Jones, DeKeyser, Gardiner, Murphy, Petry, McCabe, Donovan – T. Johnson, Nelson, C. Smith "A" – Gaudreau, Miele, Abdelkader "C" – J. Hayes, Trocheck, P. Mueller – K. Hayes, Stapleton "A", Wingels – D. Shore. Kazakhstan: Ivanov (Yeremeyev) – Dallman, Blokhin, Semyonov, Lakiza, Savchenko, Litvinenko "A", Vasilchenko, Kazantsev – Zhailauov, Starchenko, Antropov "C" – Upper "A", Puhskaryov, Romanov – Polishuk, Gavrilin, Krasnoslobodtsev – Panshin, Spiridonov, Rymarev. Referees: Nord (SWE), Sidorenko (RUS) – Fluri (SUI), Lederer (CZE)..
		The last time these two met was two years ago in Helsinki, Finland. Vitaly Kolesnik made 48 saves in the Kazakh net and gave his team one points as the Americans only managed to win in overtime on a goal by Justin Faulk.
		The Kazakhs have just one point, but they haven't done worse than expected. In the opener, Germany only managed to beat them in shootout and then Kazakhstan faced three other former Soviet countries in Russia, Belarus and Latvia. All games saw the Kazakhs getting no points, but they came close with the Latvians in a one-goal game.
		The Americans started the tournament well, beating Belarus and Switzerland in the opening couple of games, but after that, they struggled and got defeated hard by the Russians and also in a one-game affair with the Latvians. And what a game that was with the final score 6-5 in favor of Team Latvia telling you just how close the Americans came.
		Welcome to today's game that has the Americans up against Team Kazakhstan. Team USA should be a clear-cut favorite in this one, but you never one as they tend to be unpredictable just as well as the Kazakhs.
		Welcome. Game starts at 15:45.

Commentary by

Radoslav Vavřina

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 19. C. Smith (Nelson), 24. Jones (C. Smith), 36. Donovan (Gaudreau), 62. Jones (DeKeyser, Gaudreau) – 15. Starchenko (Upper, Dallman), 22. Romanov (Panshin, Lakiza), 54. Starchenko (Antropov)

USA: Thomas (Leggio) – Jones, DeKeyser, Gardiner, Murphy, Petry, McCabe, Donovan – T. Johnson, Nelson, C. Smith "A" – Gaudreau, Miele, Abdelkader "C" – J. Hayes, Trocheck, P. Mueller – K. Hayes, Stapleton "A", Wingels – D. Shore.

Kazakhstan: Ivanov (Yeremeyev) – Dallman, Blokhin, Semyonov, Lakiza, Savchenko, Litvinenko "A", Vasilchenko, Kazantsev – Zhailauov, Starchenko, Antropov "C" – Upper "A", Puhskaryov, Romanov – Polishuk, Gavrilin, Krasnoslobodtsev – Panshin, Spiridonov, Rymarev.

Referees: Nord (SWE), Sidorenko (RUS) – Fluri (SUI), Lederer (CZE).

Attendance: 10,779

1st period
	00:57
	11:05
	13:30
	14:23
	18:28
	18:38
1st intermission
2nd period
	21:21
	22:52
	23:44
	24:48
	29:08
	32:50
	35:02
2nd intermission
3rd period
	40:07
	44:55
	53:10
After 3rd period
Overtime
	61:05
Final/OT