2017 World Championship. Russia - Latvia - 5:0

In Cologne, the senior Russian national team played Latvia for the sixth 2017 IIHF World Championship fixture. Head coach Oleg Znarok gave Ilya Sorokin a chance in net, while Washington Capitals players Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetsov were placed in the fourth line. Ivars Punnenovs was the Latvian starting goaltender.

Both teams set a furious tempo to proceedings, throwing bodies into attack at any given opportunity. Nikita Gusev had the best chance early on, backhanding wide when clean through. Ten minutes before the break, Russia finally made the breakthrough. Bogdan Kiselevich was the scorer, as his wrister from the blue line snuck past a screened Latvian goalkeeper. Full of confidence, our players continued to put the pressure on the opponents. The second goal arrived in contentious circumstances. Ivan Telegin batted a loose puck over the line, but despite Latvia's protests, the referees ruled it a clean goal.

Holding a commanding two goal advantage, Russia set about putting the game to bed. Vladislav Namestnikov practically finished it as a contest, neatly hooking the puck into the net when on an odd man rush. Nevertheless, Latvia weren't prepared to go down without a fight. Miks Indrasis had several openings to get Latvia on the board, however Ilya Sorokin made superb saves to keep the Latvians out. Those misses proved to be crucial. Nikita Kucherov netted the fourth Russian goal, thumping a glorious slap shot over Ivars Punnenovs' glove.

Latvia replaced Ivars Punnenovs for Janis Kalnins during the third period, but it made little difference. SKA Saint Petersburg defenseman Anton Belov whacked home a one timer on the powerplay, completing a 5:0 Russian victory! Netminder Ilya Sorokin has still never conceded a World Championship goal.

Match protocol:

Russia - Latvia - 5:0 (2:0, 2:0, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Kiselevich (Panarin, Kucherov), 12.10

2:0 Telegin (Plotnikov), 18.41

3:0 Namestnikov (Panarin, Kucherov), 20.57

4:0 Kucherov (Panarin, Belov), 39.00

5:0 Belov (Gusev, Shipachyov), 53.17

Goalkeepers: Sorokin - Punnenovs/Kalnins

Shots on target: 36 - 24

Penalty minutes: 8 - 8

15.05.2017. Cologne, Germany.