2018 Olympic Games. Slovakia - Olympic Athletes from Russia - 3:2

In South Korea, the male Olympic Athletes from Russia team took on Slovakia in the opening match at the 2018 Olympic Games.

Head coach Oleg Znarok put Sergei Mozyakin, Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk in the first line together, giving Vasily Koshechkin the start between the pipes. Branislav Konrad was Slovakia's goaltender.

Pumped up for the match, our players made a fantastic start. SKA defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov opened the scoring, as his deflected wrister fooled the opposing goalkeeper Branislav Konrad. Kirill Kaprizov doubled the advantage moments later, neatly tipping the puck over the glove.

However, the Slovakians had a surprise up their sleeve. Peter Olevcky and Martin Bakos scored almost indentical goals from the right wing, making it a 2:2 game after the first period.

Slovakia opted for a defensive approach in the second stanza, waiting for counterattack opportunities to appear. The Olympic Athletes from Russia had plenty of chances to take a third lead, but Branislav Konrad shut the door. Pavel Datsyuk and Vyacheslav Voynov came close at point blank range, shooting against the goaltender's pads.

With the match on a knife's edge, the next goal was always going to prove crucial. Unfortunately, it was Slovakia who scored it. On the powerplay, Peter Ceresnak thumped a slapper into the net with eleven minutes remaining, sealing Slovakia's 3:2 victory.

Match protocol:

Slovakia - Olympic Athletes from Russia - 3:2 (2:2, 0:0, 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Gavrikov (Voynov, Shirokov), 02.54

0:2 Kaprizov (Gusev), 04.08

1:2 Olvecky (Granak), 16.05

2:2 Bakos, 17.55

3:2 Ceresnak (Hascak, Bakos), 48.30

Goalkeepers: Konrad - Koshechkin

Shots on target: 19 - 22

Penalty minutes: 12 - 10

14.02.2018.