Russia finished first in the preliminary round with 22 goals in three games and good chances to win its first world title since 1993.
Photo: Dmitry Lebedev
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Russia Wins Group at Hockey Worlds
Russia’s ice-hockey team on Tuesday downed the Finns 5-4 and claimed the top spot in Group D at the world championship in Moscow. Russia is now in the second round with four points and high chances to cruise into the last eight. In other games, the Czech Republic overcame the United States in a tough 4-3 win.
Vyacheslav Bykov’s team looked set for an easy win with two goals in the first six minutes of the second period. Ilya Kovalchuk sent a pass to Gonchar, who beat Norrena with a blast from the faceoff circle to make it 3-1 at 3:49.
“Ilya made a great pass,” Gonchar said after the match. “Their goalie didn't have a chance to move across the crease and I had a wide-open net.”
Alexey Morozov scored to make it 4-1 into the third period, but the Finns soon fired back with goals by Jukka Hentunen and Jere Lehtinen to cut Russia’s lead to 4-3.
Midway through the third period, Russia’s captain Pyotr Schastlivyy scored a goal that proved to be a winner, 5-3. The Finns, however, responded with one more goal, but Russian held on for a 5-4 victory.
Russia finished first in the preliminary round with 22 goals in three games and good chances to win its first world title since 1993.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 02, 2007
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