Sweden – Slovakia 4:2 (2:0; 1:1; 1:1)
Cologne // Slovakia finishes tournament in 7th place
Sweden had the chance to move up to second place in the table, while for the Slovaks it was actually about nothing - the knockout round was out of reach, but they wanted to say a proper goodbye to the World Cup stage.
That's how both teams started. Lundquist in goal for the Scandinavians had more to do than he would have liked. But William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs scored Sweden's first goal in the 5th minute. In the 9th, Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the second goal with a beautiful shot. Everything seemed to be going according to plan - only the extent of the victory was not yet determined.
But the Eastern Europeans didn't want to admit defeat so easily and fought back. Tomas Matousek overcame Henrik Lundquist for the first time in 24:08. The Swedes responded immediately through Dennis Everberg (25:45).
In the last period, the Slovakians played "all or nothing" - and were rewarded. In the 42nd minute, they managed to make it 2:3 with a hard and well-placed shot from Andrej Kudrna. When head coach Zdano Ciger took Jaroslav Janus out of his goal 111 seconds before the final whistle, William Karlsson scored the decisive goal - 4:2. Sweden were temporarily second in Group A.
Tore: 1:0 (4:02) Nylander; 2:0 (8:14) Ekman-Larsson; 2:1 (24:08) Matousek; 3:1 (25:45) Everberg; 3:2 (41:34) Kudrna; 4:2 (59:28) Karlsson {ENG}
Punish: 8 (SWE) : 4 (SVK)
spectator: 10.259
Russia – USA (1:0; 2:3; 0:2)
Cologne // Super game in the battle of the ice hockey giants
Russia, currently leaders, met USA, who were third. Even if we lost after extra time/a penalty shootout, it would stay that way. Team USA, on the other hand, needed at least one point to knock Sweden out of second place and three to move into first place, so excitement was on the cards.
When Team USA entered the ice, loud whistles and boos spread through the arena - it was completely in Russian hands and the Fans loudly chanted “Russia, Russia!” The sold-out LANXESS arena (18.756 spectators) was a sea of Russian flags. Both teams had their absolute number one in the box with Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings) and Andrei Vasilevski (Tampa Bay Lightning). Both teams gave each other nothing, the Eastern Europeans survived two penalties before Bogdan Kiselevich sent a beautiful, opening pass to the front. Nikita Gusev took it perfectly and gave Howard no chance from close range. It was his third goal and ninth scoring point in the tournament. That made it 1-0 with 3:16 shots on goal and 10:2 penalty minutes.
The second third couldn't have started better for the USA - Kevin Hayes saw the free target in the right position one meter from the goal, didn't hesitate and shot it high over the throwing Vasilevski into the goal. The game developed into a real top game with some great chances. The arena was roaring and the atmosphere was excellent. About two meters inside the blue line, Anton Belov took the puck directly in the 28th minute and gave Howard no chance to defend - 2:1. Less than five minutes later, the equalizer came again - Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) didn't give the Russian goalie the slightest chance with a shot into the corner from a central position (33'). 36:15 minutes had been played when Sbornaja took the lead again with a power play - again Gusev had brought the disc over the line. The US team's answer in the 38th minute. Kevin Hayes, completely alone at the goal circle, received the puck tailor-made, positioned the puck and drove it under the crossbar of the goal - equalizer again: 3:3 at the break.
After this open exchange of blows in the second third, things continued to take a bit of a wait-and-see approach, placing more emphasis on the defense. In the 53rd minute, after a stick strike, there was an American power play, which Anders Lee used to give the USA the lead for the first time after just 11 seconds. Another penalty against Russia followed, but Russia fought for the goal, but quickly countered but Howard failed. Head coach Oleg Znarok now had to risk everything, took his goalkeeper off the ice for a sixth skater, but was not rewarded for his willingness to take risks and promptly conceded the final decision - 3:5 by Brock Nelson (New York Islanders). This means the USA is first after the preliminary round of Group A, followed by Russia and Sweden. The fourth quarter-finalist will be determined in the game between Latvia and Germany in the evening.
Tore: 1:0 (12:29) Gusev; 1:1 (21:00) Hayes {PP}; 2:1 (27:33) Belov; 2:2 (32:18) Larkin; 3:2 (36:15) Gusev {PP}; 3-3 Hayes; 3:4 (52:57) Lee {PP}; 3:5 (59:38) Nelson {ENG}
Punish: 16 (RUS) : 8 (USA)
spectator: 18.756 (sold out)
Text: Ivo Jaschick