2018 World Championship. Russia - Slovakia - 4:0

In the sixth 2018 World Championship group stage match, Russia defeated Slovakia 4:0 in Denmark.

Our players made a fast start, scoring twice midway through the opening frame. Maxim Mamin broke the deadlock, backhanding a loose puck beyond Slovak goalkeeper Marek Ciliak before SKA Saint Petersburg's Nikita Gusev made it two with a powerful one timer which took a slight deflection. Slovakia did have an ideal chance to get on the board late in the frame, but Igor Shestyorkin pulled off a top save, denying one of their forwards clean through.

Slovakia increased the intensity in the second stanza, piling the pressure on Russia. SKA goalkeeper Igor Shestyorkin had to be at his best, preventing the opponents to get on the board as our defence struggled to cope with the Slovakian pressing. At the other end, Evgeny Dadonov passed up a glorious opportunity for Russia, hitting the post at point blank range.

The Russians sat back in defence for the vast majority of the third frame, attempting to keep the advantage intact. Slovakia pulled goaltender Marek Ciliak for the extra skater twice in the final minutes, however that only resulted in Russia in scoring two empty netters, with Maxim Shalunov and Ilya Mikheev hitting the jackpot. 4:0, Russia thrash Slovakia at the 2018 World Championship!

Match protocol:

Russia - Slovakia - 4:0 (2:0, 0:0, 2:0)

Goals:

1:0 Mamin (Soshnikov), 11.10

2:0 Gusev (Datsyuk, Zaitsev), 16.50

3:0 Shalunov (Soshnikov), 58.49

4:0 Mikheev (Barabanov, Shalunov), 59.44

Goalkeepers: Shestyorkin - Ciliak

Shots on target: 36 - 23

Faceoffs: 22 - 28

Penalty minutes: 6 - 6

14.05.2018.