USA Keeps Perfect Streak With Win Over Russia

29 Dec 2016Steven Ellis»

The United States of America will remain perfect with a 3-2 victory over the Russians on Thursday afternoon.

The Americans were expected to struggle early on in the game after playing late on Wednesday, but fatigue was far from a factor early on in the first. At 4:14, following a few high-risk moves in the offensive zone, superstar forward Clayton Keller made a deke around a defender before stretching past Ilya Samsonov to put the backhander away for the 1-0 lead early.

USA was struggling with puck control in the neutral zone and it proved to be lethal as the Russians would tie it up. At 11:59, Yakov Trenin fought off an American defender before flipping the pass out to the middle to Kirill Urakov. Urakov was able to bat in the flying saucer into the net, tying the game up at one apiece while playing shorthanded.

America’s fourth power play of the game resulted in their second lead of the game. Colin White, who led all forwards in ice time with 8:06 in the first, found a loose bouncing puck off of a Charlie McAvoy shot before easily knocking it in for the 2-1 lead.

The Americans were continuing to wear down the Russians, and it led to their third goal of the contest. USA’s fourth line would strike at 31:41 when Erik Foley’s feed in front of the net was tipped by Troy Terry, whose split-second decision sent the puck over Samsonov’s right arm and in for the 3-1 advantage.

The Russians started to pull their act together near the end of the second, and they were rewarded with a goal near the end of the period. At 37:17, Yegor Rykov’s shot from the point was tipped in by captain Kirill Kaprizov on a great read by the Russian captain, bringing Russia within a goal for the start of the third period. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get the Russians back in the game as USA would hold on for the 3-2 victory.

The Americans will finish off their preliminary round performance with a 3:30 PM contest against Canada on New Years Eve. The Russians will play later that night, with an 8:00 PM scheduled start against Slovakia.

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Photos from Anders Marshall/EuroHockey.com.