World Championship quarter-final. Russia - Germany - 4:1

The Russian national team took on Germany for the 2016 World Championship quarter-final in Moscow. No major changes were made by head coach Oleg Znarok following the group stage win over Sweden, and Sergei Bobrovsky was between the pipes.

In front of a sold out Ice Palace, Russia predictably begun on the front foot. The Germans were coming under some early pressure, and Alexander Ovechkin couldn’t find the target when on the crease. Nevertheless, Germany were causing danger on the breakaway, and out of the blue they struck first. Sergei Bobrovsky made an outstanding double save, but Patrick Reimer picked up the rebound and fired under the glove. That flattened the stadium somewhat, and it took a while for Russia to regain their confidence. We got it going again only towards the end of the period, and Thomas Greiss in Germany’s net was forced into some smart reaction stops.

A big effort was required in the second stanza, and thankfully, we found top gear. We immediately set about laying siege to Germany’s net, and we got our reward – Thomas Greiss lost sight of the puck, and Vadim Shipachyov made him pay on the doorstep. Finally we had liftoff, and not long later, we were celebrating again. The puck trickled onto the slot, and Evgeny Dadonov’s tip rolled over the line. Russia were revving up, and with the Germans floundering, we cashed in – on a counterattack Ivan Telegin teed up Vadim Shipachyov, and the latter made no mistake. The pressing continued, and we should have had more – Alexander Ovechkin’s and Pavel Datsyuk’s one timers were both denied by stunning saves, and clean through Roman Lyubimov failed to net.

There was a feeling that more goals were coming, and we practically ended the game at the start of the third period – Alexander Ovechkin powered down the right flank, and his stinging drive got beyond the goalkeeper short side. Germany weren’t going to come back from that setback, and we calmly saw the game out to defeat Germany 4:1! Russia will now compete against Finland in the World Championship semi-final.

Match protocol:

Russia – Germany – 4:1 (0:1, 3:0, 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Reimer, 04.45

1:1 Shipachyov (Dadonov, Belov), 20.40

2:1 Dadonov (Shipachyov), 27.17

3:1 Shipachyov (Telegin), 34.14

4:1 Ovechkin (Kuznetsov, Lyubimov), 42.45

Goalkeepers: Bobrovsky – Greiss

Shots on target: 37 – 20

Penalty shots: 2 – 4

Faceoffs: 28 – 28

19.05.2016. Ice Palace, Moscow.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation