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Russia wins the exciting duel between the two heavyweights in the penalty shootout with 3-2 and seals the premature exit of Sweden at the ice hockey world championship in Riga. As a result, Switzerland is also qualified for the quarter-finals ahead of time.
For Sweden, the game against Russia was the last appearance at the Ice Hockey World Cup. The Scandinavians would have needed at least two points to maintain their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup quarter-finals. In the gripping duel with Russia, however, only one point looked out – the Swedes are out, Russia and Switzerland are early in the quarter-finals.
In addition to Switzerland and Russia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are also the quarter-finalists in Group A. The Czechs averted the early elimination with a 2-1 win after penalty shootout against Denmark. After the favorite fell behind in the 4th minute due to Nicklas Jensen’s sixth goal at this tournament, he only managed to equalize despite clear superiority (total 38:13 shots on goal). Former Ambri striker Dominik Kubalik (46th) was responsible for this. In the penalty shootout, all four Czech shooters met who would not have reached the quarter-finals if they had lost in regular time.
In Group B, after defending champions Finland, the USA also reached the knockout round. The Americans defeated Germany 2-0 and celebrated their fifth win in a row. The shot ratio was 33:15 in favor of the Germans. Nevertheless, goalie Cal Petersen, who works for the Los Angeles Kings, came to his second shutout at this tournament after beating Kazakhstan 3-0. Jason Robertson scored the decisive goal in the power play (39.). With 27 seconds to go, Colin Blackwell made it all clear with a shot into the empty case.
Despite the third consecutive defeat, the Germans still have it in their own hands to qualify for the quarter-finals. If you win against hosts Latvia after 60 minutes on Tuesday evening, you are in the knockout round. The same goes for the Balts.
An overview of today’s World Cup games
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