Russians outplay the Czechs, score in power-plays

However the Czechs managed to equalize soon, when Morozov sat in the penalty box. Skoula took a shot and Klepis rebounded it into the open net. Just before the first intermission Grebeshkov took a rebound from a great angle and gave Russia the lead again.

The Czechs took many penalties in the 2nd period, but Stepanek kept their chances high, he showed a remarkable save, mainly against Emelin. Later, as Knyazev hit Nemec with the stick in his face, Czechs could have tied the game in the long power play, but had almost no scoring chances. On the other side, Afinogenov went into a breakaway but did not succeed all alone against Stepanek. "We played a better game than the previous ones in spite of the fact we were little bit down after two losses," added Stepanek.

Former NHLer Skoula made a fatal mistake just after the start of the 3rd period and Kaygorodov found some space between Stepanek`s pads. The Czechs kept fighting into the end. They worked hard and drew some chances but neither Cervenka or Klepis changed the score. "The bottom line of our victory was our very good defense supported by Koshechkin. We followed our game plan," said Russian forward Alexander Perezhogin.

Nikulin chasing Marek. Photo: Roman Kucera

Quotes from the coaches:

Alois Hadamczik (head coach of the Czech Republic): "The final result was highly influenced by the third goal when we made an awful mistake. We practiced it and in real game we give a puck to our opponent for free. I am disappointed by the performance of some players. The games with Finland and Sweden were up and down and we could see who can and who can't follow this pace of the game. Some players like the puck too much and do not understand there isn't the same amount of time available as on the league level".

Igor Zakharkin (assistant coach of Russia): "We improved our defensive play very much; it was the key for our victory. We took several young and promising defensemen, and also discovered a great goalie in Vassily Koshechkin. We can build on that for next tournaments".

CZECH REPUBLIC - RUSSIA 1:3 (1:2, 0:0, 0:1)

Goals and Assists: 14. Klepis (Skoula, Kaspar) - 9. Perezhogin (Popov, Grebeshkov), 19. Grebeshkov (Korneev, Afinogenov), 41. Kaygorodov.
Referees: Rönn, Salonen - Kiilunen, Suominen (FIN). Penalties: 8:5.
Used penalites: 1:2. Audience 4572. Shots on goal: 47:52. Course of the game: 0:1, 1:1, 1:3.

Line-ups:
Czech Republic: Stepanek - Nemec, Skoula, F. Novak, Caslava, Lojek, Krajicek, Gregorek, Mojzis - Kaspar, Cervenka, Klepis - Marek, Novotny, Hubacek - Kvapil, Vasicek, M. Ruzicka - Gulas, Kreps, Klimek. Coaches: Alois Hadamczik and Josef Palecek.
Russia: Koshechkin - I. Nikulin, Belov, Korneev, Grebeshkov, Kulyash, Emelin, Guskov, E. Biryukov - Morozov, Kaygorodov, Mozyakin - Afinogenov, Gorovikov, Saprykin - Perezhogin, Kuryanov, Popov - Platonov, Churilov, Knyazev. Coaches: Vyacheslav Bykov and Igor Zakharkin.

 

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