Russia edged Slovakia in an exciting match

03 May 2011 | Martin Žilinčík

Clash of the titans. The evening was dedicated to the battle between Russia and Slovakia. Both teams were desperate for points after they had been taken back by disciplined Germans and they played their best games so far. However the hockey Gods acted in favor of Russia who took three points after 4:3 victory.

The game commenced as wild as it could – the first shot of the game by Alexander Radulov flew past Jaroslav Halak and into the net before the first minute was over. The sold out Orange Arena froze in shock. Fortunately the thawing potion was served 30 seconds later when former captain Miroslav Satan batted in a rebound of a shot by Ladislav Nagy over the shoulder of Yevgenij Nabokov. The home team outshot the opponent 15:7 in the opening period but lost 1:2 as Russian defenseman Ilya Nikulin tallied with less than two minutes to go.

The remaining two periods were ideal time to practice special teams cause the referees gave out thirty penalty minutes. Slovakia itself took ten minor penalties but gave up just one goal while playing shorthanded. Though what caused them problems was playing 5 on 4. "I think we probably wanted to score too much. We would better relax a bit and try some haphazard shots. We had practiced power-plays a lot and we created some opportunities but we lacked luck," said Lubomir Visnovsky after the game. Originally he was to play only on powerplay. "When I saw the atmosphere I just couldn’t help myself. I just had to play all game," he added.

Slovakia took the lead 3:2 in the second period despite playing shorthanded for half of it. Marian Gaborik and Ladislav Nagy scored less than two minutes apart just when the game flooded into the second half. Nikulin tied the game with his second goal of the game two minutes before the second buzzer.

Chances to grab the win were on both sides in the closing period but only Russia was able to capitalize. The captain Alexander Morozov notched the game-winner in 43:38. Desperate Slovaks threw themselves into the offence but failed to create consistent pressure.

"I am not disappointed with the players. It was our best game of the tournament. Obviously I´m not happy with our power-play but the penalty killing was really good and I think guys did the good job," said Slovak head coach Glan Hanlon after the match.

The fans better hope they would do a better job next time because if they won’t there won’t be any quarter final.

"We have to stay positive and play to win. We shouldn’t look onward to the other games but focus on the game we are playing. We should try to grab the first period and build on that," Visnovsky sketched the motivational plan for remainder of the championship.