Friendly match. Sweden W - Russia W - 2:1 SO

Ahead of the 2018 Olympic Games, the senior Russian women's national team took on Sweden in an exhibition match.

Valeria Pavlova opened the scoring, but after Sweden equalising in regulation time, the opponents eventually edged a penalty shootout to win 2:1.

On February 11, the team will play in the first Olympic Games match against Canada.

Russia W head coach Alexei Chistyakov:

- Not everything went to plan today, especially the poor first period. However, we later managed to improve. We lost, even if it was only on penalty shots. There is still a lot of time before the Olympic Games start. We had trained in Khabarovsk, so we don't need to get used to the time difference. The main thing is to improve our game for the tournament.

Russia W forward Lyudmila Belyakova:

- We're ready for the Olympic Games to start. However, there is still time to look at components which require improvement. We're training both on the ice and in the gym. Was I upset when I initially wasn't invited to the tournament? Yes, of course. Everything was going well, but then I received that news. Nevertheless, I feel fine now, I have extra motivation to perform well.

Match protocol:

Sweden W - Russia W - 2:1 SO (0:0, 0:1, 1:0, 0:0 - 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Pavlova, 26.05

1:1 Alasalmi, 40.25

2:1 Alasalmi 65.00

Goalkeepers: Gran - Morozova

06.02.2018.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation