RUS 3:0 1GE | Russia - Germany2 (World Championship)

World Championship

Canada2 – Sweden2	3:2 (after OT)	\|	USA – Finland	3:1 (end)	\|	Czech Republic – Norway	1:0 (end)
Russia – Germany2	3:0 (end)

final

Russia

3:0 (0:0, 0:0, 3:0)

Germany2

Sunday 18.05.2014, 19:45 • Minsk Arena, Minsk • World Championship

		There's the final buzzer, and Russia have maintained their perfect record in this tournament with a hard fought 3-0 win against Germany! They were made to work, but finally they found top gear in the third period. Vadim Shipachyov made the breakthrough, with then Sergey Shirokov and Viktor Tikhonov joining him on the scoresheet. Thanks for following the game with us, and see you again soon for more thrilling action from the 2014 IIHF World Championships! (22:07:26)
	60:00	Game over.
	59:47	Russia are of course now back to full strength as they are heading to their sixth victory in a row! They're in fantastic form!
	59:13	Goal for Team Russia! Just as the penalty came to an end the Russians ice it! Scrambling around for the loose puck VIKTOR TIKHONOV picks it up and hits the empty net just inside the German zone! It's 3-0! Assists- Artyom Anisimov
	58:20	Barta! Found right at the left of the crease, Alexander Barta is denied from point blank range! Germany are giving it a real go!
	57:31	Andrey Vasilevskiy gets his body onto a dangerous effort from the right flank! He really doesn't want to give up his shutout!
	57:13	And it's a six on four, Philipp Grubauer has been pulled in place of the extra skater already!
	57:13	For interference Denis Denisov has been called into the penalty box giving the Germans a vital powerplay chance to get back into it!
	56:01	The Germans drift offside with just under four minutes remaining
	55:15	Grubauer! Wonderful glove save from the netminder! Anton Belov with an absolute blockbuster of a slapper is somehow denied by Philipp Grubauer as he flashes leather!
	54:17	Kai Hospelt on a rather rare German attack has a fairly weak wrist shot deflected up and out of play from the left. Andrey Vasilevskiy has had very little to do in this period as yet
	53:16	Andrey Vasilevskiy fields a dump from deep into his crease and he doesn't take any chances with it
	53:04	Danis Zaripov hanging back at the blue line takes aim himself, his slapper is hit with real power and Philipp Grubauer just about gets his glove on it to freeze!
	51:52	Plotnikov! How didn't he score, it should be three! Sergey Plotnikov with the netminder slightly out of position has the goal at his mercy from the right of the crease, but he contrives to whip it high and wide!
	51:20	Germany are going to have to do something special to turn this around now, they look to have very little left in the tank
	50:10	Goal for Team Russia! They're settling into their game! SERGEY SHIROKOV cutting in from the left closes down from the high slot and unleashes a beautiful wrister that flies into the left hand corner! It's a wonderful goal and it's 2-0! Assists- Danis Zaripov and Artyom Anisimov
	49:40	Alexander Ovechkin now looks to have picked up a serious injury for the Russians! His knee got taken out by a German neutral ice, that's his night over for sure! And we all hope that it's not a tournament threatening injury, just about every team has had at least one player ruled out from injury already
	49:33	That goal has settled the Russians down, their puck control has noticeably improved as Germany seem to be tiring
	47:10	Danis Zaripov lands a seriously hard hit against his opponent behind the German net! That wouldn't have been easy to take!
	45:07	Burmistrov! Again Philipp Grubauer can't get a firm grip of the puck, a twisting Alexander Burmistrov takes it up and spins it just wide of the left hand post!
	44:40	With Thomas Oppenheimer closing down on the slot Andrey Vasilevskiy scoops up the puck into his glove. The Germans having held on for so long will be very disappointed to have conceded!
	43:58	Goal for Team Russia! We've waited for some time but finally we have the breakthrough! With the netminder already flat out on his crease the puck pops out to VADIM SHIPACHYOV who clinically wrists home from the right! Powerplay goal and it's 1-0! Assists- Yegor Yakovlev and Sergey Plotnikov
	43:52	For slashing Marcus Kink has been called and Russia have another great chance to get some dangerous shots on net
	43:46	Germany ice the puck as the Russians try and put the pressure on in their zone. They're frustrated by the scoreline so far
	42:54	Medvedev! Evgeniy Medvedev winds up from the point and his really powerful wrister is deflected not far wide of the net at all!
	41:48	Tobias Reider charges away on a counterattack himself down the right flank, takes on a wrist shot fairly early on and Andrey Vasilevskiy holds on. And the Germans are indeed back at full strength
	40:25	Russia are again back at full strength and have over a minute's powerplay time to try and break the deadlock!
	40:17	Akdag! As the third and crucial period gets going Sinan Akdag free on the left wrists hard and into Andrey Vasilevskiy's chest!
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
		Statistics after the first two periods- Shots on target- 20-18 Saves made by the goalkeeper- 18-20 Penalty minutes- 6-10
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:47	Just as Germany got back to full strength they've picked up another penalty, for high sticking Frank Hordler has now been punished. And there are just a few seconds left in the second period
	39:09	Anisimov! Artyom Anisimov just inside the blue line wrists in early, but his fierce effort flies wide! That wasn't far away!
	38:25	Sergey Plotnikov for boarding though has already evened up the numbers
	37:46	Ovechkin! Alexander Ovechkin is picked out open at the right faceoff circle, closing in unmarked he slaps in high on net but the defenders block it just in time!
	37:22	For slashing Frank Hordler of Germany has given the Russians a great opportunity to finally get something going
	35:31	A dangerous looking pass is flashed right across the Russian crease from the left! No one however could catch up with it!
	35:09	Icing is committed by the Germans as they're starting to be pinned in their own zone
	33:41	Denisov! Denis Denisov lets an absolute ripper go from the point but Philipp Grubauer makes an excellent glove save sitting on his backside!
	33:19	The Germans drift offside with just under seven minutes remaining in the second stanza
	32:24	Germany manage to press the Russians in their own zone for a prolonged amount of time, but they can't find any room in which to get away a shot
	29:14	Shirokov! It's almost a one on one for Sergey Shirokov down the left, from the faceoff circle he wrists into the near post but Philipp Grubauer at the second attempts sweeps it up!
	28:21	German defenders at the vital moment hack the puck away from their crease as it laid waiting to be swept into the net! Russia are looking to play more aggressively
	27:01	Yakovlev! Taking up the puck at the high slot Yegor Yakovlev takes his time, cuts to the left but his lethal wrister whistles over the bar! The goalkeeper would have struggled with that one!
	26:50	Evgeniy Kuznetsov charges down the center of the zone and cracks a fierce wrist shot inches wide of the left hand post!
	25:48	Barta! Alexander Barta beautifully beats Yegor Yakovlev, bullies his way through one on one but he's denied by Andrey Vasilevskiy! The Russian goalkeeper is looking on his game tonight!
	24:52	Benedikt Kohl takes a high wrist shot to the face! He's now being helped off the ice, that's got to hurt!
	24:48	Kulyomin! The German defence loses sight of Nikolay Kulyomin down the left, his effort into the near post is stopped and just before Artyom Anisimov can tap home the rebound the netminder freezes!
	24:32	Andrey Vasilevskiy kicks away a fairly weak wrister from the point, and as the puck is again dumped into his crease he covers as to not take any risks
	23:36	Russia are playing at a pretty pedestrian tempo, Germany aren't having to really work
	21:54	And now the Russians commit two very quick icings in succession
	21:40	Germany ice the puck as they look to not give their opponents any openings in their zone
	20:33	Oppenheimer! Again he's the main German threat! Found at the doorstep streaking in Thomas Oppenheimer can only one time the puck into Andrey Vasilevskiy! He's a really dangerous player!
	20:20	The second period is underway! Russia need to up their game after a disappointing opening twenty minutes
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		Statistics after the opening period of play- Shots on target- 10-9 Saves made by the goalkeeper- 9-10 Penalty minutes- 4-6
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:29	Germany are back to full strength with just over 30 seconds left in the first period
	19:11	Kulyomin! With the netminder slightly out of position the puck pops out to Nikolay Kulyomin, he takes it wide to the backhand but the goalkeeper just gets back in time!
	18:30	Artyom Anisimov to the right of the slot looks to get away a cutting snapshot, but traffic in front of him get in the way
	17:29	The Germans are getting penalised for that though, for interference Alexander Weiss has received a two minute minor
	17:29	Sergey Shirokov is laid flat out on the ice, he looks in considerable pain! He just skated into the back of a German who didn't know he was there!
	16:01	Marcel Noebels open between the circles tries his luck, but from a decent position he can't find the target
	14:38	And Russia are now back to full strength
	14:12	Russia skates away on a pacy shorthanded counterattack down the right flank, Vadim Shipachyov looks for the near post shooting powerfully but the goalkeeper fends it off!
	13:26	Kai Hospelt twists around with the puck for a long time by the right faceoff circle, eventually shoots in on net himself but the netminder is there!
	12:38	We're already seeing a fair few penalties, now Evgeniy Medvedev for tripping is the guilty party
	12:24	Russia just couldn't get set in the zone though and already their opponents are back to full strength
	11:08	Evgeniy Medvedev takes a slap from the point, but Philipp Grubauer kicks it away!
	10:24	Germany now have their first penalty against them, Marcus Kink in a controversial call has been called for hooking. But Moritz Muller in the same play has also been called for hooking, so it's a Russian five on three powerplay!
	10:07	Belov! The loose puck rolls to Anton Belov on the right faceoff circle, he cuts back sharply, wrists looking for the far corner but it gets deflected out of danger!
	09:29	Denis Denisov looks for someone to make a deciding touch on the crease as he wrists it in. but it only gets deflected up and out of play
	08:13	Tikhonov! Holding the puck away from his opponents Viktor Tikhonov drives in on the left, carries with his backhand but his effort smacks into the near post!
	06:27	Russia haven't started too confidently but they are now back to full strength
	06:07	Oppenheimer! Anton Belov really poorly gives away the puck by his own net, Thomas Oppenheimer takes control of it, winds up from the high slot but he's denied by Vasilevskiy's blocker!
	05:07	Rieder! Great chance there for the Germans to go ahead! Found from behind the net completely unmarked on the doorstep, Tobias Rieder can only poke right into Andrey Vasilevskiy's chest! That was a clear opening!
	04:27	We have the first penalty of the evening and it's against Russia, Denis Denisov for holding has been penalised
	04:05	Germany move offside. They have barely touched the puck at all so far
	03:48	Artyom Anisimov down the left now looks to catch out Philipp Grubauer near post, but his pacy wrister is taken a hold of easily
	03:13	Sergey Plotnikov feeds Viktor Tikhonov streaming down the right flank, but his pass across the crease doesn't find anyone
	02:10	It's a quiet start to the game, Germany are fending off Russia's attack comfortably so far
	00:20	Here we go! Russia despite already being in the quarterfinals won't want to lose momentum
	00:01	Game started.
		The teams are now out on to the ice and we're ready to get started!
		Starting lineups: Russia: Vasilevskiy (Bobrovskiy)- Chudinov, Denisov, Ovechkin, Tikhonov, Plotnikov- Kutuzov, Medvedev, Kulyomin, Shirokov, Anisimov- Belov, Yakovlev, Zaripov, Kalinin, Shipachyov- Burmistrov, Dadonov, Kuznetsov Germany: Grubauer (Aus Den Birken)- Reul, Braun, Ehliz, Mauer, Barta- Kohl, Hordler, Hospelt, Oppenheimer, Noebels- Akdag, Krueger, Draisaitl, Kink, Seidenberg- Muller, Plachta, Rieder, Weiss, Pietta Referees: Dremelj, Sindler, Nord, Lederer, Leermakers, Carnathan.
		The Russians have started the tournament in menacing form winning all five up to this point, beating the Swiss 5-0, Finland 4-2, the USA 6-1, Kazakhstan 7-2 and the Latvians 4-1. Germany have had a rather mixed tournament so far. They have emerged victorious against the Kazakhs 2-1 and Latvia 3-2, but they have lost three times to Finland 4-0, to Switzerland 3-2 and to the tournament hosts Belarus 5-2.
		This is how Group B looks before the opening faceoff. 1. RUS W5 L0 GS 26 GA 6 PTS 15 2. USA W4 L2 GS 22 GA 19 PTS 11 3. BLR W3 L2 GS 14 GA 14 PTS 9 4. LAT W3 L2 GS 17 GA 18 PTS 9 5. FIN W3 L3 GS 14 GA 12 PTS 8 6. SUI W2 L4 GS 16 GA 19 PTS 7 7. GER W2 L3 GS 9 GA 15 PTS 5 8. KAZ W0 L6 GS 13 GA 28 PTS 2
		Russia are always amongst the favourites at any tournament, and with this tournament taking place in Belarus, a country which was part of the Soviet Union, there is extra significance. The Germans are very much a developing ice hockey nation, but they are not to be underestimated.
		Good evening and welcome to this 2014 IIHF World Championship Group B match between Russia and Germany. There may be a clear favourite today, but the Germans are never willing to give up easily.
		Welcome. Game starts at 19:45.

Commentary by

Shaun Nicolaides

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 44. Shipachyov (Yakovlev, Plotnikov), 51. Shirokov (Zaripov, Anisimov), 60. Tikhonov (Anisimov)

Russia: Vasilevskiy (Bobrovskiy)- Chudinov, Denisov, Ovechkin, Tikhonov, Plotnikov- Kutuzov, Medvedev, Kulyomin, Shirokov, Anisimov- Belov, Yakovlev, Zaripov, Kalinin, Shipachyov- Burmistrov, Dadonov, Kuznetsov

Germany2: Grubauer (Aus Den Birken)- Reul, Braun, Ehliz, Mauer, Barta- Kohl, Hordler, Hospelt, Oppenheimer, Noebels- Akdag, Krueger, Draisaitl, Kink, Seidenberg- Muller, Plachta, Rieder, Weiss, Pietta

Referees: Dremelj, Sindler, Nord, Lederer, Leermakers, Carnathan

Attendance: 14021

1st period
	04:27
	10:24
	12:38
	17:29
1st intermission
2nd period
	37:22
	38:25
	39:47
2nd intermission
3rd period
	43:52
	43:58
	50:10
	57:13
	59:13
Final