Friendly match. Czech Republic - Russia - 2:1 SO

The Russian national team played the second of two World Cup preparations matches against the Czech Republic. Head coach Oleg Znarok made three changes to the roster: Semyon Varlamov took his place in net, while Alexei Emelin and Artyom Anisimov replaced Andrei Markov and Pavel Datsyuk. Michal Neuvirth was the opposing goalkeeper.

Before the match, there had been talk of Prague’s O2 Arena having soft ice, and the humid atmosphere inside the stadium seemed to affect the players. Neither team could create much in front of goal, and several mistakes were being made, especially by the Russians. Our players couldn’t get anything going, and Michal Neuvirth was practically a spectator in the Czechs’ net.

After that uneventful period, things had to pick up in the second stanza, and they duly did. Slowly but surely, the tempo began to rise, and so did the tempers. Physical challenges were being witnessed all over the ice, and after Alexei Emelin battered his opponent with a monstrous hit, matters really kicked off. The players were getting seriously wound up, and during the final moments of the period, two fantastic opportunities were missed. Alexander Ovechkin failed to score when practically on the goal line, and Semyon Varlamov robbed Tomas Plekanec with a stunning flash of leather.

There was a feeling that a goal was coming, and Russia were the team to score it. A wonderful pass picked out Nikita Kucherov on the right post, and the Tampa Bay Lightning forward tapped in. Nevertheless, Czech heads didn’t go down, and the rest of the frame belonged to them. We were coming under constant pressure, and Semyon Varlamov was pulling off a number of expert saves. It looked as though we would hold on, however, with a minute left, Tomas Plekanec tipped past the netminder to send us to overtime.

Due to NHL rules, the extra period was held under a three on three format, and both teams passed up plenty of fantastic openings. It went to penalty shots, and unfortunately, Jakub Voracek and Ales Hemsky cancelled out Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal to take a 2:1 win for the Czechs.

Match protocol:

Czech Republic – Russia – 2:1 SO (0:0, 0:0, 0:0 – 0:0, 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Kucherov (Kuznetsov, Emelin), 41.04

1:1 Plekanec (Polak), 58.49

2:1 Hemsky, 65.00

Goalkeepers: Neuvirth – Varlamov

Shots on target: 34 – 21

Penalty minutes: 12 – 12

Faceoffs: 26 – 35

10.09.2016. O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation