Russia have beaten Finland in the women's U18 quarter-final

In the 2016 women's U18 IIHF World Championship in Saint Catharines, Canada, Russia took on Finland in the quarter-final stage.

Statistics were on Russia's side coming into this one, and as well as beating Finland 5:2 in a friendly game not long ago Russia have always beaten Finland at World Championships. Confidence in our camp was high, and eight minutes in the breakthrough was made. With a man's advantage Daria Beloglazova stuffed the puck into the net taking up a loose puck, and our team held on to that advantage all the way to the third period.

As the minutes began to tick by Finland upped their pressure, and our goaltender Valeria Tarakanova made some superb saves in goal. 120 seconds before the buzzer Finland opted to pull their goaltender for the extra skater, but that only allowed our captain Fanuza Kadirova to score two empty netters to seal it. 3:0, and Russia will now play Canada in the semi-finals!

Russian head coach Alexander Ulyankin:

- I can compare the tension of this match to last year's fixture in Buffalo, when we came from behind to beat Finland 4:3. Today, our team won because of our superior technical ability and movement. The girls were committed, and they really wanted the Russian national anthem to play inside the Meridian Centre again.

Russian goaltender Valeria Tarakanova:

- At the start of the game, I was a bit nervous. Nevertheless after the first ten minutes we began to feel more confident, and I think that we coped with our task. The girls fought for every puck until the final buzzer. I think that we deserve this victory which has given our team and fans plenty of positive emotions!

Match protocol:

Finland - Russia - 0:3 (0:1, 0:0, 0:2)

Goals:

0:1 Beloglazova (Pirogova, Vodopyanova), 07.50

0:2 Kadirova (Vodopyanova), 57.58

0:3 Kadirova, 58.10

Goalkeepers: Pajarinen - Tarakanova 

Shots on target: 17 - 33

Penalty minutes: 6 - 12

13.01.2016. Meridian Centre, Saint Catharines, Canada.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation