Russians win Bratislava Group, Finns will play for 5th

The Finns started the game knowing they needed to win in regulation time to secure their place in the semi-finals and were the more aggressive team early, but they failed to convert on an early power play and then the Russians cashed in on theirs at 9:19, when Zavgorodny’s long wrister was stopped by Justus Annunen, but Pavel Rotenberg put in the rebound. Then Zavgorodny scored an unassisted goal six minutes later when he stripped a Finnish defenceman of the puck at the blueline and skated in alone on Annunen, beating him to the glove side. Making his third start in three days, Annunen was beaten twice on 10 shots in the first period, while Amir Miftakhov, starting for Russia on a day’s rest, stopped all 10 he faced in the opening period.

Their situation looked grim after 20 minutes, but the Finns closed the gap in the 25th minute when Mikko Kokkonen’s weak-angle shot beat Miftakhov short side. It was the only shot to beat the Russian keeper all game, however, as Miftakhov made 30 saves.

Early in the third, Matvey Guskov’s rebound goal restored Russia’s two-goal cushion, forcing the Finns to pull out all the stops. When Anton Mayshev was sent off for slashing with 7:17 left in reguation time, Finnish coach Tommi Niemelä pulled Annunen for a sixth attacker. But although the Finns generated some chances, they were unable to score, and their semi-final hopes evaporated as the final seconds ticked off the clock.