The Latvia – USA game didn’t go as everyone expected. The relentless Latvians made sure the game would go all the way to the OT where Cam Atkinson clinched Americans a victory.
A terrible start for Latvians – two bench minors in a row putting them down to 5-on-3 vs the forceful American team. Chris Kreider tipped in a loose puck to make it 1-0.
Latvia took a while to calm down but ultimately after that, they were the ones controlling the game. Latvians pushed until Uvis Balinskis sent a wrist shot from the point that ended up going past Keith Kinkaid. Puck had appeared to have touched Anders Lee’s stick and so the game was tied 1-1.
Latvia got yet another chance very late in the period with Rodrigo Abols raced down the ice but his shot went wide.
In the 2nd period, Anders Lee was sent to the box for interference and it was the time when Latvia struck for the 2nd time. Miks Indrasis with a shot towards the net, Keith Kinkaid left the loose puck out there and Andris Dzerins scrapped it in, 2-1 lead for Latvia.
Teams would head into the 2nd intermission all tied up. Colin White shot the puck which juggled through Elvis Merzlikins pads.
No goals were scored in the 3rd so it was going to be decided in overtime. OT got underway with the USA creating their chances in Latvian zone. Oskars Cibulskis took down Dylan Larkin and was sent to the box which was enough for Cam Atkinson to assure his team to have the victory over Latvia, 3-1 the final score.
"It wasn't the prettiest of goals but it counts." Atkinson said. "Credit to Latvia they fought the entire game and played well in the transition."
Russia vs the Czech Republic was the 2nd game on the menu. A clash between these two European titans meant that the game would be relentless.
Both teams explored opportunities early into the game but Russia’s Nikita Nesterov struck first with a strong slap shot from a rebound after Barabanov undressed Czech defense to make it 1-0.
A fairly slow game played in favor for Czech as the period winded down and eventually, they would score to tie the game up. Goalie David Rittich with a far pass to David Pastrnak, a scramble in Russia’s zone but Jaskin would retrieve the puck and pass it to Krejci who tied the game up. This also meant that Russia had allowed their 1st goal of the tournament just four games in.
Bruins Pastrnak and Krejci wouldn’t stop stealing the puck from Tryamkin and setting up Jaskin to put them up 2-1 after one period of play. Not only they had a lead on the scoresheet but on the SOG column – 12 for Czech and 4 for Russia, to this point Russian’s hadn’t trailed a single time during the tournament.
Russia came out for the 2nd period angry and straight away Mikhail Grigorenko tied the game up after a shot in the high slot and a great pass from Pavel Buchnevich.
David Pastrnak got on the scoreboard from a feed by Krejci to get a lead but their celebrations were cut short as Barabanov answered right back to make it 3-3 and set up a tie once again. The score remained unchanged for the rest of the period although both teams did exchange multiple high-end scoring chances.
The third period was a mix of fast and entertaining hockey for both sides. Lots of scoring chances, back and forth hockey, however, Czech’s looked better and visibly lacked secondary scoring otherwise they would have scored at least one more given how they performed. Extra time was required, for Czechs it was the third game in the tournament that required at least OT.
Speaking of depth? Who needs it? Pastrnak scored again to grant Czech Republic a win against Russia from an assist of David Krejci. These guys collected a grand total of 7 points between them.
After the game David Krejci apologised to the media and stressed that his feet are hurting very badly and that he wants to get to the dressing room asap.
Pastrnak ends Russia to win it 4:3 in OT for the Brui... Czech Republic. Such a clever goal. Summary: Pastrnak 3pts in first game Krejci: 4 pts in first game. pic.twitter.com/GXbawCSQpw
Join the Discussion:
»