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By beating the Czech Republic 7-3 in the last game of the Břeclav Group, Russia finishes the group stage with a perfect nine points to finish first. With that, the Russians will remain in Břeclav for the semi-finals, where they will face Sweden. Matvei Michkov and Ilya Rogovsky each scored two goals in the victory.
Penalties: 0:3. PP goals: 1:0. SH goals: 0:0.
Referees: Kika, Šír – Lederer, Rožánek.
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The Czechs got the start they wanted, outshooting Russia 8-5 in the opening 20 minutes and scoring the period’s only goal. That came at the 8:28 mark when Jiří Kulich’s initial shot hit Sergei Ivanov’s blocker and Matyáš Šapolaviv bured the rebound and brought the energetic Czech crowd to its feet.
However, similar to what they did in yesterday’s game against Switzerland, the Russians woke up at the start of the second and took firm control of the game by scoring a barrage of goals – this time four in the first 4:07 of the period. First it was Michkov on a partial break down the left wing, using his left-hand shot to beat Špunar to the far side. Then it was captain Ivan Miroshnichenko off the rush, finishing off a pretty passing play with a one-time snapper. Ilya Rogovsky made it 3-1 on a brilliant individual effort from the corner out to the front of the net, and finally Vladislav Sapunov set up Danil Grigoriev in front to make it 4-1.
The Czechs got some life back with three minutes to go in the middle frame when Aleš Čech let go a wrister from the point that found its way through the crowd, and hoped to carry some momentum into the final period. However, Michkov was money on a breakaway with exactly a minute to go in the period, restoring the Russians’ three-goal lead on the backhand deke.
Ivan Demidov and Rogovsky with his second of the game made it 7-2 in the third period before Dominik Petr scored the Czech Republic’s third goal of the game on a power play with just 27 seconds remaining.
Reactions
Jakub Petr (head coach, Czech Republic): “Playing with such a talented opponent requires self-sacrifice and adherence to the system. If we play open hockey with such an opponent, it will turn out as in the last championship. But I must say that our game from the first period may be the right way. Our boys had good movement, they won battles and disgusted the game to the Russians, and we had twenty solid shots. I won't say we were unlucky because another forty minutes brought us back to the ground. There is a way to catch an opponent anyway. But the question is, are we all capable of it for sixty minutes? I have to admit that the Russians have great quality, and it is a pleasure to watch them.”
Vladimir Filatov (head coach, Team Russia): "I would say here at Hlinka Gretzky Cup teams are pretty much equal physically. That's why it's not easy to break an opponent's resistance. But we constantly searching our chances and trying different options offensively - and when our opponent lose their freshness a bit, that's when skill matter the most and how we play as a team. Sure, we are glad we're staying here at Břeclav. There are no easy opponents here and it's a true honour to play in semi-finals of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. We take th Swedes very seriously and we respect them a lot. I think it will be a very tough opposition."