RUS 1:0 1SV | Russia - Slovakia2 (Olympics - Men)

Olympics - Men

Olympics - Women

Austria – Norway	3:1 (end)	\|	Russia – Slovakia2	1:0 (2:0 after SO)	\|	Slovenia2 – USA	1:5 (end)
Finland – Canada2	1:2 (after OT)

after shootout (2:0)

Russia

1:0 (0:0, 0:0, 0:0)

Slovakia2

Sunday 16.02.2014, 13:30 • Bolshoy Ice Dome, Sochi • Olympics - Men

		It's Russia's day with a 1-0 victory after penalty shots against Slovakia! We may not have seen a goal in normal time but the action was more than enthralling, with Slovakia having Jan Laco to thank for taking the game all the way to penalty shots. In the shoot out Russia were stronger where Alexander Radulov and Ilya Kovalchuk found the net, and Semyon Varlamov kept the Slovaks out. Thanks for following the game with us, and see you soon for more action from the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi! (16:05:39)
		Game over.
		The winning penalty shot is scored by ALEXANDER RADULOV
		Ilya Kovalchuk now for the Russians and he finds the center of the net, it's 2-0 and it's Russia's victory!
		Tomas Tatar now for Slovakia, he goes low but Varlamov stays with him and denied him with his big pad!
		Alexander Radulov steps up for Russia, he goes with the backhand and finds the net, 1-0!
		Handzus steps up first, and he's denied by a big Varlamov leg save!
		Start of shootout.
		Slovakia will shoot first!
		Neither team could find a winner and we are off to penalty shots! Slovakia defended for their lives and owe a lot to their goalkeeper Jan Laco, and now it's a lottery to decide who will claim the win!
	65:00	Overtime finished.
	64:45	And it's now the final seconds of overtime
	64:45	Medvedev! His piledriver from the point rebounds against the boards and it almost hit Laco in the back!
	64:10	Miklik! Testing drive from the blue line and the goalkeeper puts it wide with his pads
	63:42	Meszaros from well outside the Russian zone blasts the puck into Varlamov who doesn't take any risks and freezes
	62:55	Icing from Slovakia
	62:10	Syomin and Tyutin somehow don't hit the net when in ideal positions! How is this game still goalless!
	61:02	Hossa is denied by Varlamov at his near post and then Tartar with an amazing block denies Ovechkin when the net was already empty!
	60:19	Laco makes a quick solid save off a long blast from the point
	60:01	Overtime began.
		It's overtime! Russia just couldn't force home the issue enough, and now the winner will get two points and the loser will still get one!
	60:00	3rd period finished.
	59:31	Datsyuk coughs up the puck to Tatar and Tatar rips his wrister wide!
	59:00	It's now the final minute of normal time, are we heading to overtime?
	58:02	Malkin can't beat Laco blocker side! And now again Slovakia are at full strength
	57:29	And with only just over two minutes left Slovakia have taken a timeout
	57:29	Syomin! Malkin, who is having a really strong game, passes to Syomin on the doorstep but Laco is equal to it once again!
	56:47	Laco palms a rebound right to Datsyuk but the Russian captain just can't make contact!
	56:02	Laco with his stick manages to keep a hold of the puck. But Marian Hossa for hooking has been called and it's a big chance for Russia now on the powerplay with time running down
	55:16	Icing from the Russians with just under five minutes remaining
	54:28	Datsyuk finds the open Fyodor Tyutin screaming in on the left but Tyutin misses the net when he should have kept that on target!
	53:07	Slovakia have once again survived and it's a five on five hockey game
	52:09	Evgeniy Malkin smacks the left hand post with a hard wrister! Laco was beaten!
	51:07	Radulov pokes the puck over the crossbar when off balance on the crease!
	50:18	Meszaros for tripping has been penalised and it's another powerplay chance for Russia to put the pressure on
	49:59	Datsyuk goes offside for Russia as he looked to break clean through
	49:37	Russia go offside
	48:40	Varlamov comfortably sticks aside a long and hopeful attempt from Milan Bartovic
	47:52	Ovechkin! Snapshot under the defender in front of him and Laco kicks it aside!
	47:39	Icing from Slovakia
	46:57	The referees did indeed review the play when Medevdev hit the bar and it's confirmed that the puck did not cross the line, we play on at 0-0
	46:57	Tereschenko on the goal line cannot force it up and over Laco's foot! The goalkeeper does really well there!
	45:32	Miklik charges out of the penalty box and just can't control the puck when all alone on the crease! The tempo now is seriously high
	45:55	Medvedev slams the bar when the puck already looked as though it had already gone in!
	44:10	Malkin feeds the open Syomin on the slot and he even misses the target! Russia are pressing heavily
	43:32	Powerplay coming up now for the fired up Russians, Miklik for high sticking has been sent to the penalty box
	42:37	What a period of play! At first Radivojevic squeezes a shot under Varlamov but inches wide of the right post, and the Popov goes one on one for Russia but Laco makes a fantastic sprawling save!
	42:08	Pass across the face of the net from Anisimov and Laco plucks it out of the air
	41:54	Tarasenko shoots right off the faceoff draw and it gets deflected out. Tyutin now from the following faceoff also shoots immediately, and Laco fields it
	41:44	Slovakia are back to full strength
	40:59	Radulov! Lurking on the right post he tries to spin round but he gets crowded out!
	40:28	Kovalchuk despite that knee injury is indeed back out on to the ice and he only just had a dangerous shot miss the far post
	40:01	Russia do start the third period on the powerplay with Chara in the penalty box for Slovakia
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
		Statistics after the first two periods- Shots on target- 16-22 Penalty minutes- 4-4 Saves made by the goalkeeper- 22-16
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:51	Big rebound from Laco and Ovechkin just can't make contact on the puck!
	39:44	Before the period is out Chara for interference has been called and Russia will most probably start the third period on the powerplay
	39:30	It's now the final 30 seconds of the second period with the score still locked at 0-0
	39:17	Malkin finally has space, sees Ovechkin waiting on the doorstep but his pass is cut out expertly!
	38:04	Bartovic! That's the chance of the game! Bartovic speeds away one on one and Varlamov shuts the door on him not once but twice!
	37:55	Malkin! He steals the puck off his defender, shoots hard and low but it's a very solid save by Jan Laco!
	37:25	Jurco! He gets his stick on a close range shot and it's tipped only just over the crossbar!
	37:00	Radivojevic places the puck into Varlamov's glove to buy a bit of time for his team
	35:56	Russia keep the puck in the zone well, but the Slovaks are working hard closing down all free spaces
	34:56	And now the Russians commit icing
	34:52	Russia are now back to full strength
	34:22	This is really hard pressure from Slovakia on the powerplay, Varlamov is being made to work
	33:47	Bartovic! Right on Varlamov's right post he spins sharply and the puck gets deflected up into the air!
	32:52	Yemelin picks up his second penalty of the game for tripping and the Slovaks have a powerplay opportunity here
	32:23	Powerful snapshot from Marian Hossa and Varlamov does well to turn it aside with his pads!
	31:50	Medvedev! He sends a rocket in from the point which flies wide!
	30:50	Ilya Kovalchuk has gone down in real pain after a knee collision and it's in real doubt if he can carry on
	30:15	Both teams are now opening up and the pace is fast quickening
	29:43	Varlamov! Two massive saves in a row on a goalmouth scramble!
	28:40	It's a Radulov blast from the left faceoff circle and it smacks Laco's shoulder and goes over!
	28:34	Slovakia are now back to full strength
	28:34	Markov hits it first time from the point and after a sharp deflection Laco freezes for a faceoff in his zone
	27:28	Ovechkin's pass is tipped by Kovalchuk centimeters wide! That was so close to opening the scoring
	27:18	Kovalchuk! Radulov screens Laco as Kovalchuk snipes it low but Laco still takes it!
	26:34	Jan Laco after losing the puck completely takes out Tereschenko and the Russians now have a much needed powerplay
	25:38	Slovakia commit icing again
	25:30	Russia are looking slightly flat today, they aren't showing the required intensity as yet
	24:33	Icing now from the Slovaks
	23:46	Marian Hossa tries to go five hole on Varlamov and the goaltender just manages to not fumble it!
	23:17	Icing from Russia
	22:40	Chara who is a giant of a man blasts the puck from the point, but it's low and into the goalkeeper's pads
	21:22	Laco loses control of Malkin's rasper from the right, Ovechkin gets to the rebound but Laco manages to redeem himself with a big save!
	20:51	Tatar makes space for himself, decides to sent it back to the point and Radulov blocks the ensuing shot!
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		Statistics after the first period- Shots on target- 5-9 Penalty minutes- 2-0 Saves made by the goalkeeper- 9-5
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:30	It's now the final 30 seconds of the opening period
	19:07	Russia go offside
	18:18	Radulov! He's on form today! He works hard behind the net to win the puck, spins around and just misses the target!
	18:00	And icing again from the Slovaks
	17:45	Icing from Slovakia
	17:18	Vladimir Tarasenko tries his luck with a low wrister from the right, but it gets deflected out wide to the boards
	16:45	Varlamov catches the puck as it flies in from the point to freeze
	16:23	Every time Russia get close to the Slovakian net they're closed down well, good tactics from Slovakia today
	14:58	Amazing skill shown by Radulov again as he feeds Kovalchuk on the crease who is under a lot of pressure and can't finish!
	14:10	Slovakia are doing a good job of taking the sting out of Russian advances so far, the home crowd is becoming a little bit frustrated
	12:59	Sekera! Low rasping slapshot from the blue line and without any touches it sails inches wide of the right post!
	12:56	Icing is committed by the Russians
	12:18	From a tough angle Malkin tests Laco's pads! Russia are starting to warm up
	11:05	Radulov shows soft hands to elegantly feed Datysuk but the angle is too tight for him to get the puck on target!
	10:02	Nichushkin does really well to skate from the neutral zone all the way to the net, he picks out the onrushing Tereschenko who can't control it!
	08:44	Malkin! Powerful slapper from the forward and it ricochets off Laco's glove and just wide of the right post!
	07:43	Kovalchuk skates away on a two on one but his pass across is cut out by the legs of Baranka!
	07:16	Low effort from the right hand boards and Varlamov crouches and covers. Slovakia are playing with a certain confidence today despite their two previous results
	05:07	Anisimov breaks away for Russia and goes high on Laco bu the netminder flashes leather
	04:58	Varlamov makes his second big save of the net at his near post! He didn't know much about it but he did his job well there!
	04:17	Syomin takes the puck out from the boards and to the net with his backhand, but he misses the net when looking for the far post
	03:16	Laco sees the puck through traffic as an effort comes in from the point and he holds on
	03:04	Syomin is now back on the ice for Russia
	02:42	Marian Hossa has a wrist shot from the middle of the zone deflected up and out of play
	01:49	Miklik! How didn't he score! The puck is bobbling all around the crease, Miklik from point blank range backhands it and it's a super pad save from Varlamov!
	01:04	Syomin! Good positional attack from the Russians and Syomin places the puck just wide! But Alexey Yemelin for goaltender interference in that play has been sent to the box
	00:29	Tatar has the first shot of the game, wristing the puck in from the left faceoff circle and Semyon Varlamov holds it comfortably
	00:01	Game started.
		The teams are now emerging out on to the ice and it's time to get underway!
		Starting lineups: Russia: Varlamov (Bobrovskiy)- Voinov, Markov, Datsyuk, Radulov, Kovalchuk- Yemelin, Medvedev, Ovechkin, Malkin, Syomin- Nikulin, Tyutin, Kulyomin, Anisimov, Tarasenko- Nikitin, Belov, Popov, Tereschenko, Nichushkin Slovakia: Laco (Halak)- Starosta, Chara, Handzus, Marian Hossa, Tatar- Baranka, Meszaros, Jurco, Zaborsky, Olvecky- Sekera, Marincin, Surovy, Bartovic, Miklik- Vydareny, Jurcina, Panik, Marcel Hossa, Radivojevic Referees: Brueggemann, Sutherland, Carlson, Mcelman.
		Russia opened up with a nervy 5-2 victory against Slovenia, before yesterday going all the way with the USA in a thrilling encounter and then going down 3-2 after penalty shots. Slovakia have been the real disappointment of the tournament so far being thrashed by the Americans 7-1 and then surprisingly losing to Slovenia 3-1.
		These are the Group A standings before today's matches- 1. USA W2 L0 GF 10 GA 3 PTS 5 2. RUS W1 L1 GF 7 GA 5 PTS 4 3. SLO W1 W0 GF 5 GA 6 PTS 3 4. SVK W0 L2 GF 2 GA 10 PTS 0
		Hello everyone and welcome to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. This afternoon we have men's ice hockey for you, where the host nation Russia take on Slovakia in what promises to be a very exciting match.
		Welcome. Game starts at 13:30.

Commentary by

Shaun Nicolaides

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: dec. p.s. Radulov

Russia: Varlamov (Bobrovskiy)- Voinov, Markov, Datsyuk, Radulov, Kovalchuk- Yemelin, Medvedev, Ovechkin, Malkin, Syomin- Nikulin, Tyutin, Kulyomin, Anisimov, Tarasenko- Nikitin, Belov, Popov, Tereschenko, Nichushkin

Slovakia2: Laco (Halak)- Starosta, Chara, Handzus, Marian Hossa, Tatar- Baranka, Meszaros, Jurco, Zaborsky, Olvecky- Sekera, Marincin, Surovy, Bartovic, Miklik- Vydareny, Jurcina, Panik, Marcel Hossa, Radivojevic

Referees: Brueggemann, Sutherland, Carlson, Mcelman

1st period
	01:04
1st intermission
2nd period
	26:34
	32:52
	39:44
2nd intermission
3rd period
	43:32
	50:18
	56:02
After 3rd period
Overtime
before shootout
Shootout

after shootout