WC-2015. Russia - Belarus

WC-2015. Russia - Belarus - 7:0

9 May 2015

Russia played their fifth match of the 2015 IIHF World Championship against the in form Belarusians. Head coach Oleg Znarok promoted captain Ilya Kovalchuk to the second line with Vladimir Tarasenko, while Sergei Bobrovsky kept his place in net. Kevin Lalande was his opposite number for Belarus, who were coming off the back of a 5:2 thumping of the USA.

Belarus begun the game like a team with serious confidence, and pinned the Russians inside their own zone right from the off. They had the best chance of the opening moments too, as Alexander Kulakov snuck clean through only to be put off by Yevgeni Malkin. Russia needed something special to get them going, and Ilya Kovalchuk provided just that. Darting down the right wing he gave Kevin Lalande the eyes, and fired emphactically into the near corner. More flow was coming into the Russian game now, and Yevgeni Dadonov slapped directly into the goaltender's chest. As the period came to a close however Belarus had a perfect opportunity to get back on terms. Artyom Demkov was awarded a penalty shot, cut glove side, and was denied by an excellent Sergei Bobrovsky pad stop. Indeed Belarus kept on coming, and Sergei stood tall to take hold of a powerful Sergei Kostitsyn effort from deep.

If Russia didn't create much in the opening frame, they certainly revved up in the second. Minutes after Sergei Mozyakin whacked wide of the right corner Vladimir Tarasenko burst away from his marker, had too much pace for the entire Belarus defence, and thumped in off the left post. That goal allowed Russia to feel more at ease, and Belarus were having more and more defending to do. They weren't coping particuarly well with their task either, and Andrei Kostitsyn took out Viktor Tikhonov with a sickening hit to the head. He was rightly made to pay for that, as Vadim Shipachyov swept in a stunning Artemiy Panarin feed. Russia were rolling now, and Belarus opted to pull Kevin Lalande for Igor Brikun. That didn't change much though, and that fourth goal was soon flying in. Andrey Mironov set Artemiy Panarin away, and he beautifully backhanded over the goaltender's glove and in. 4:0 after fourty minutes.

It was all one way traffic moving into the third, and the Belarusian defence wasn't at the races at all. Yevgeni Medvedev with an amazing looped feed found Sergey Shirokov charging through, and after he was fouled he rifled his penalty shot into the right corner. Russia were in a seriously ruthless mood, and Belarus were being shown no mercy. Yevgeni Dadonov escaped the back line, and with a superb move slotted the puck between Igor Brikun's legs. The goals kept on coming, and Yevgeni Malkin netted his long awaited first of the tournament. With a Belarus man in the penalty box Yevgeni powered beyond everyone, and cleverly slotted in. The Russians were enjoying themselves to the full, and both Viktor Tikhonov and Sergey Shirokov were denied one on one. Oleg Znarok then opted to give goalkeeper Anton Khudobin his tournament bow, and he was solid enough to keep a hold of a couple of slappers from distance. That was the last event of note, and Russia thump Belarus 7:0 to take back control of the group!

Match protocol:

Russia – Belarus – 7:0 (1:0, 3:0, 3:0)

Goals:

1:0 Kovalchuk (Kulyomin, Anisimov), 09.53

2:0 Tarasenko (Anisimov, Medvedev), 21.33

3:0 Shipachyov (Panarin, Dadonov), 29.24

4:0 Panarin (Shipachyov, Mironov), 32.22

5:0 Shirokov, 42.51 PS

6:0 Dadonov (Malkin, Kovalchuk), 44.49

7:0 Malkin (Tarasenko, Mozyakin), 51.04

Goalkeepers: Bobrovsky – Lalande/Brikun

Shots on target: 32 - 13