SUI 3:4 BLR | Switzerland - Belarus (World Championship)

World Championship

Slovakia2 – France2	3:5 (end)	\|	Switzerland – Belarus	3:4 (end)	\|	Czech Republic – Canada2	3:4 (end)
Russia – USA	6:1 (end)

final

Switzerland

3:4 (2:1, 0:1, 1:2)

Belarus

Monday 12.05.2014, 15:45 • Minsk Arena • World Championship

		That is a all for now, but stay tuned for second game of this day from Minsk Arena as Russia will take on USA. (18:12:40)
		What a bummer for Team Switzerland which have zero points from their three games and might very likely miss the play-offs if they keep on losing. Belarus, on the other hand, might celebrate, because they have six points after three games.
		Best players are Eric Blum (SUI) and Sergei Kostitsyn (BEL).
		Belarus take the win in this incredible match! And what a match it was – we have seen two shorthanded goals, both teams took the lead for some time, but home players are celebrating the win in the end as Mikhail Grabovski scored the game winning goal while playing in four players on both sides in the third period.
	60:00	Game over.
	59:37	Belarus at full strength.
	59:37	Ambuhl had a great chance in between the circles but he completely missed the puck!
	59:10	Brunner with a shot that went wide.
	58:55	Berra stays on the bench! Face-off in the neutral zone.
	58:55	Switzerland timeout.
	58:55	Moser tried to rebound the puck but Koval was already holding it in his hands. Moser got knocked down and there is a little fight behind the net of Vitali Koval.
	58:20	Switzrerland at full strength.
	57:54	Goal for Team Belarus! What a match at Minsk Arena! Belarus take the lead again with 123 seconds to go! MIKHAIL GRABOVSKI stole the puck and went all the way to find a little space between the post and left leg of Berra to score! Unassisted.
	57:37	Korobov (BEL) turns the momentum around as Switzerland is going to play power-play after Weber comes back.
	57:02	Berra is keeping his team in the game! Kostitsyn and Grabovski were just on top of the crease rebounding the loose puck, but Berra stopped both of them.
	56:27	Puck is behind the net of Vitali Koval after Swiss won the face-off.
	56:20	Yannick Weber (SUI) with his second minor penalty of this match. Very bad timing for this one though.
	56:09	Suri stopped attack of Belarussian players and gave puck to his defenders.
	54:54	Hollenstein skated all the way around the net looking for Cunti, but his pass was intercepted. Cunti would have been in front of an empty net.
	54:12	Sergei Kostitsyn is in the mood for some more, but he can't beat three defenders by himself like he wanted to do this time.
	53:33	Koval made a vital pad save against shot he couldn't see.
	53:02	Platt started a swift combination but Stas lost the puck on the right side.
	52:36	Puck is in the neutral zone.
	52:33	Berra wasn't sure where the puck was, lot of players in the crease, but referees stopped the action.
	51:52	Face-off in front of Swiss goalkeeper.
	51:29	Swiss defenders bounce the puck of the board to send it into the neutral zone.
	51:12	Berra have to be prepared again.
	49:49	Goal for Team Belarus! And its there! Who else than SERGEI KOSTITSYN! Grabovski got the puck into the attacking zone, Kaluyzhny took it there and feeds it to the right to find completely unmarked Sergei Kostitsyn who doesn't miss from these positions! Assisted by Alexei Kalyuzhny and Mikhail Grabovski.
	49:24	Belarussian players have the puck again looking for equalizer.
	48:13	Reto Shappi went with his colleague against two defenders, couldn't decide what to do and lost the puck in promising spot.
	46:46	Rufenacht designed marvelous pass from behind the net for Froideveaux who found only pad of Vitali Koval!
	46:23	Denisov with an air shot which gave chance to his opponent, Koval had to make another save in the end.
	46:12	Sergei Kostitsyn! He is just unbelievable, he made his way past three defending players to find a place and time for shot, but Berra denied him!
	45:00	Team Belarus looking for a quick response, but they lost the zone.
	43:59	Goal for Team Switzerland! Seger pushed puck to ETIENNE FROIDEVEAUX who skated from his own zone into the attacking zone, shaked his hands a bit and released a wristshot around the legs of defender which ended in the top right corner of the net! Assisted by Mathias Seger.
	43:26	Fiala made some space in traffic and managed to release a shot, Koval haven't seen it coming, but Fiala missed his net anyway.
	42:57	Kaluyzhny to Grabovski on the blue line, Grabovski was looking for Stepanov, but his pass got intercepted.
	42:07	Karev should have probably gone forward, but he wanted to wait just behind the blue line and lost the puck.
	41:17	Hollenstein waited behind the net, Luca Cunti made himself unmarked for a while, collected the puck, but his backhanded effort was too weak.
	40:32	Kaluyzhny stole the puck, but lost it immediately after it when he wanted to pass it without looking.
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
		40 minutes have gone and we are at the start again as Belarus managed to even the game in second period. Andrei Stas succeeded with an individual effort, turned around Brunner and found a way to bury it past Berra. Next period begins at 17:27 CET.
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:19	Grabovski missed the net by inches from the right circle!
	38:50	Puck is behind the net of Vitali Koval.
	37:57	Berra had some work to do as Yevenko fires the puck his way, but nobody near to rebound it.
	37:27	Stasenko didn't wait for his companion, hurried to the attacking zone and went for a wristshot from the left circle, but Berra stayed calm.
	36:59	Josi fires it from high spot and Koval on his spot again.
	36:26	Similar action on the right side by the Swiss again, but Koval didnt have to make a save this time as it went well wide.
	35:51	Moser made a fake on the blue line to leave the puck behind his back for Brunner who had some speed, he skates to the left circle and backhands it at Koval, but he was prepared.
		13 207 spectators watch this even game in Minsk Arena.
	35:29	Koval hold the puck which took deflection.
	35:01	Eric Blum found literally no one with his long pass. Icing.
	33:55	Reto Schappi loses the puck easily to attacking forward, but gets to it again and pushes it to the neutral zone to recover from his error.
	33:01	Andrei Stass was caught offside when he could have skated to big chance.
	32:12	Kalyuzhny with a slapshot right after the won face-off, but it goes high above the net.
	32:09	Volkov tried to push himself to the net to get a rebound, but Berra hold the puck and gave him no chance at all.
	31:37	Andrei Stas goes for wrist shot, but its deflected and puck is in the corner behind the Swiss net.
	30:31	Josi breaks the moments of silence with a shot from the blue line, but its well wide and nobody made any rebound.
	29:40	Grossmann feed the puck forwards but nothing came out of it.
	28:58	We se a moments of the game with errors on both sides.
	28:28	Grossmann collect the puck and looks for his forwards,
	27:05	Andrei Kostitsyn found Kovyrshin in front of Berra, but Kovyrshin was too close and Berra made a fine pad save to keep this one out.
	26:09	Berra have to be prepared, home players have puck in the corner by his left hand.
	25:16	Puck left the rink, but no penalty for Belorussian players.
	25:00	Face-off in the neutral zone.
	24:13	Suri holds the puck and goes around the net, but can't get it to any of his teammates and loses it.
	23:53	Koval with a save on the other side.
	23:06	Goal for Team Belarus! Its all square here in Minsk Arena! ANDREI STAS turned around Brunner, made few steps to get in front of Berra and pushed the puck under Swiss goalie to the net! Assisted by Dmitri Korobov and Geoff Platt.
	22:47	Schappi (SUI) and Sergei Kostitsyn (BEL) penalised for roughing.
	22:47	Robbery by Berra! Kostitsyn was alone with the puck at his right post, but Berra made a diving save with his stick to block the puck on his way!
	22:20	Another fave-off in front of Swiss goalkeeper.
	21:59	Kaluyzhny just on the top of the crease, but couldn't find a space to get it past Berra!
	21:26	Team Switzerland have four skaters on the ice.
	21:12	Sergei Kostitsyn with a shot from the top of the circle, but it was blocked.
	20:59	Berra holds the puck.
	20:47	Ambuhl (SUI) tripped his opponent and Belarus will have power-play against three Swiss players!
	20:36	Belarus at full strength.
	20:10	Both teams have four skaters on the ice at the moment.
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		Players are returning back to action after the break.
		First period is over, Swiss have the lead by one goal. Belarus took early lead with a shorthanded goal by Sergei Kostitsyn, but Weber equalized in the same power-play. Schappi added second shorthanded goal in this game later to finish turnaround in the first period. Next period begins at 16:37 CET.
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:26	Brunner (SUI) with another rather silly foul gets called for holding.
	19:17	Switzerland at full strength.
	19:00	Last minute of the first period.
	18:36	Team Belarus got minor penalty for too many men on the ice. Stepanov (BEL) serves the penalty.
	18:19	Power-play of Belarus continues, but Ambuhl shoots the puck away.
	17:42	Goal for Team Switzerland! What a game, we saw another shorthanded goal! Graborenko losed the puck, RETO SCHAPPI collected it and hurried towards Koval, made a fake to score on his forehand side! Unassisted.
	17:17	Power-play for Belarus, Weber (SUI) is penalized for holding.
	16:46	Suri should have done better. He wanted to get past defender and shoot, but he felt and his show came out really weak.
	16:05	Belarus attacking again now, puck is in the corner.
	15:36	Pluss stole the puck, left it behind his back for Ambuhl who slaps it hard, but Koval stops it with his chest and holds it in his glove.
	14:51	Stancescu finds Schappi in front of the crease, Schappi makes one-timer to get denied by Kovals pad save! Stancescu goes for rebound, but comes out short.
	14:14	Kitarov did a good job to steal the puck in the attacking zone.
	13:15	The Swiss are under some pressure now struggling to get it to the neutral zone.
	12:38	Sergei Kostitsyn didnt find a way between two defenders and went for a shot, Stasenko made a rebound, but puck end in above the boards.
	11:49	Geoff Platt had two chances divided just by seconds, but couldn't find a way to get it in! Berra made a nice glove save against his second effort to keep it out.
	11:12	Yevenko from distance misses the net by some inches. Puck bounces back, but defenders collect it.
	10:30	Damien Brunner slaps it from right circle but Koval shows quick hand to stop this one with glove!
	09:48	Sergei Kostitsyn with another goalscoring opportunity, but hi hit defender and couldn't get a rebound.
	09:16	Dean Kukan found his way from deep defense to offensive zone, but his light shot meant no trouble for Koval.
	08:41	Romy collects the lose puck in the neutral zone, and forwards it to defenders.
	08:13	Another save by Vitali Koval who hold the puck this time.
	07:57	Two Swiss players in front of Koval, but Fiala decides to take the shot instead of pass and Koval makes crucial save!
	07:38	Swiss defender had to just push the puck into the neutral zone.
	06:13	Goal for Team Switzerland! Josi got puck in the right circle, fakes a shot and feeds it to YANNICK WEBER on the other side and Weber equalizes with precise one-timer! Assisted by Roman Josi and Damien Brunner.
	05:32	Goal for Team Belarus! SERGEI KOSTITSYN steals the puck and scores shorthanded goal to give his team lead! Kostitsyn went two on one, let defenders slide away and buried it to the left post! Unassisted.
	04:37	Brunner feeds the puck to Brunner who found himself some space in between the circles, but he couldn't get it past Koval.
	04:30	Schlumpf fires hard from the blue line but misses.
	04:16	Denisov (BEL) tripped agile Brunner who stole puck from him and gets minor penalty. First power-play for Switzerland.
	03:59	Fiala was really close to net in the opener! He made a backhand fake to get past Koval, but he missed the net by inches before colliding with goalkeeper.
	03:14	Pluss had puck and time to set up an action, but no of his teammates showed up.
	02:20	Mikhail Grabovski tried his luck, but he couldn't surprise Berra who saw his shot coming.
	01:50	Kevin Fiala made fine wrister which got slight deflection and Koval had problems to control puck, but ho covered it in the end.
	00:58	Sergei Kostitsyn stole the puck, made his way into the attacking zone and passed it to Denisov, but his shot was blocked.
	00:38	Face-off in front of Berra.
	00:23	Koval made first save and the puck went high above his net, Graborenko had to jump and push it away with his hand.
	00:01	Game started.
		Teams are coming from their locker rooms and crowds are roaring!
		Last minutes before opening face-off, arena is almost full and fans are ready for upcoming match.
		Sven Bartschi will most likely miss the rest of 2014 WCH, Etienne Froideveaux replaces him in todays squad.
		Players of goths teams are already on ice preparing for this very important game.
		Andrei Kostitsyn returns to the squad, but he will not play with his brother Sergei this time. Berra on the other side makes his second appearance in row.
		Starting lineups: Switzerland: Berra (Genoni) – Schlumpf, Josi, Seger, Weber, Blum, Grossmann, Kukan – Moser, Romy, Brunner – Cunti, Fiala, Holenstein – Ambuhl, Pluss, Suri – Rufenacht, Schappi, Stancescu – Froideveaux Belarus: Koval (Mezin) – Korobov, Graborenko, Denisov, Yevenko, Stasenko, Gotovets, Karev – Kalyuzhny, Stepanov, Grabovski – Platt, Stas, S. Kostitsyn – Koltsov, A. Kostitsyn, Kitarov – Ugarov, Yefimenko, Volkov – Kovyrshin Referees: Frano (CZE), Piechaczek (GER) – Kilian (NOR), Schrader (GER).
		We are about to see a very interesting game today as Switzerland is still waiting for its first win at this tournament. Swiss players had a tough start against Russia and lost heavily 5:0, but they improved in their second game, in which they lost by one goal to young team USA 3:2. Belarus made a huge step towards their goal in match against Kazakhstan, in which they came back from behind to secure a vital win and get some confidence. If they could beat Switzerland today, they will be really close to make it to the play-offs.
		Welcome. Game starts at 15:45.

Commentary by

Lukáš Kratochvíl

@LukasKratoch

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 7. Weber (Josi, Brunner), 18. Schappi, 44. Froideveaux (Seger) – 6. Kostitsyn, 24. Stas (Korobov, Platt), 50. S. Kostitsyn (Kalyuzhny, Grabovski), 58. Grabovski

Switzerland: Berra (Genoni) – Schlumpf, Josi, Seger, Weber, Blum, Grossmann, Kukan – Moser, Romy, Brunner – Cunti, Fiala, Holenstein – Ambuhl, Pluss, Suri – Rufenacht, Schappi, Stancescu – Froideveaux

Belarus: Koval (Mezin) – Korobov, Graborenko, Denisov, Yevenko, Stasenko, Gotovets, Karev – Kalyuzhny, Stepanov, Grabovski – Platt, Stas, S. Kostitsyn – Koltsov, A. Kostitsyn, Kitarov – Ugarov, Yefimenko, Volkov – Kovyrshin

Referees: Frano (CZE), Piechaczek (GER) – Kilian (NOR), Schrader (GER)

Attendance: 13207

1st period
	04:16
	05:32
	06:13
	17:17
	17:42
	18:36
	19:26
1st intermission
2nd period
	20:47
	22:47
	23:06
2nd intermission
3rd period
	43:59
	49:49
	56:20
	57:37
	57:54
Final