World Championship third place play-off. Russia - USA - 7:2

The Russian national team took on the USA for the 2016 World Championship third place play-off match. Not many changes were made by head coach Oleg Znarok, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky kept his place between the pipes. Keith Kinkaid was America’s last line of defence.

Everyone inside the Ice Palace wanted the team to sign off from the tournament with a win, however it was the USA who were the fastest out of the blocks. The Americans set up camp in our zone, and Sergei Bobrovsky had to be alert to make a few early saves. Russia needed something to get them going, and a goal did just that – Vyacheslav Voynov wound up, and his powerful effort snuck between the pads. Our players drew confidence from that, and on a powerplay, we made it two – Sergei Mozyakin hung on the left faceoff circle, and unleashed a bullet that crashed in off the crossbar. America were being put under real pressure, and Keith Kinkaid had to rely on his mask to save a Dmitry Orlov one timer.

Proceedings opened up even more in the second stanza, and as the Americans began to take risks, we picked them off. Ivan Telegin tapped in a beautiful Pavel Datsyuk feed, and Evgeny Dadonov lashed into an open net following a clever Artemiy Panarin pass. Nevertheless, the USA’s young guns weren’t prepared to give up, and out of nothing they got on the board – with a man’s advantage, Frank Vatrano slid the puck under Sergei Bobrovsky’s right pad. Predictably, the away team piled forward even harder after that marker, and on the counterattack, we made the game safe. A strong slap shot cannoned off the left post, and Artemiy Panarin buried the rebound.

Unfortunately, the third period began with another American goal – the away side neatly knocked around the puck, and Frank Vatrano bagged his second. Indeed, we were struggling to get back on our game, and had it not been for some Sergei Bobrovsky magic, the match would have become rather nervy. The Russian fans were demanding more from their team, and towards the end, we netted a well needed sixth – the American defence forgot all about Sergei Mozyakin on the doorstep, and he wristed hard over newly installed goaltender Mike Condon. We weren’t done there either, and with just seven seconds on the clock, Vadim Shipachyov completed the win with a beauty. 7:2, and Russia are the 2016 World Championship bronze medalists!

Match protocol

Russia – USA – 7:2 (2:0, 3:1, 2:1)

Goals:

1:0 Voynov (Kalinin, Shirokov), 06.23

2:0 Mozyakin (Datsyuk, Orlov), 13.41

3:0 Telegin (Datsyuk, Mozyakin), 29.36

4:0 Dadonov (Panarin, Shipachyov), 32.49

4:1 Vatrano (Warsofsky, Nelson), 34.29

5:1 Panarin (Belov, Chudinov), 35.22

5:2 Vatrano (Warsofsky), 43.42

6:2 Mozyakin (Datsyuk), 53.12

7:2 Shipachyov (Dadonov, Panarin), 59.53

Goalkeepers: Bobrovsky – Kinkaid/Condon

Shots on target: 29 – 30

Penalty minutes: 10 – 8

Faceoffs: 23 – 42

22.05.2016. Ice Palace, Moscow.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation