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	TEAM LINE UPS
	EVENT SUMMARY

BUFFALO N.Y- Russia defeated top seeded Sweden 4-3 in a shootout for a chance to bid for gold at HSBC Arena.

Team Russia was first to land on the scoreboard in the first period after Semyon Valuiski jumped on a turn over by Patrik Nemeth at the Swedish blue line. Russian captain Vladimir Tarasenko chased the puck from the blue line down and stuffed the puck between Swedish goaltender Robin Lehner’s pad and pipe.

Sweden, who barreled through the preliminary round, was unaggressive in their attempts to get the puck in Russia’s zone and trump Russian goaltender Dmitri Shikin during the first 15 minutes of play.

Sweden Head Coach noted, “We lost against a better team today. I think we made mistakes in the game we needed the most. We got caught in their trap system and didn't get into our regular flow. Our guys weren't that relaxed and unfortunately we could've won this game but the Russians had the better play."

Sweden started to come back in the last five minutes after Oscar Lindberg danced around a Russian forward to pass the puck to Sebastian Wannstrom. The pass failed to connect but the spark of passion was enough to wake up the Swedish offense.

The Russians were out to prove they are a top contender for the gold round after placing third in Group B. The team came out shooting at Lehner, who started today’s game with a 92.19 save percentage. Lehner stopped 13 of 14 shots in the first period, including a spectacular sprawling save against Tarasenko.

Russia’s second goal was scored by Denis Golubev in the second period as he cradled a pass from behind the net. Golubev stick-handled the puck all alone in front of the net and caused Lehner to fall early before shoveling it in for his second goal of the tournament and a 2-0 lead.

Sweden’s first goal of the game came on the power play after Swedish forward Rickard Rakell failed to connect on a pass from Jesper Thornberg from the top of the right circle. The puck dribbled to the stick of Adam Larsson and he snapped a goal past the stick side of Shikin. With this goal, the Swedes really began to attack the Russian defense and created more scoring chances.

Sweden outshot the Russians 16-7 in the second period, including the barrage of shots that were fired at Shikin during the three power play opportunities.

The Swedes opened the third period with a goal less than two minutes into play to tie the game at two apiece as Calle Jarnkrok handled a soft pass from Jesper Fasth and squeezed the puck under the right leg of Shikin.

Russia responded with a scoring opportunity by Carl Klingberg as he had a clear shot at Lehner, but the puck soared under Lehner’s right pad and deflected wide.

Sweden took the advantage in the third period as they created more formidable scoring opportunities and outshot Russia 11 to  7. Shikin was forced to battle a lot harder as the Russian defense had a hard time relieving the puck from their end. Shikin, who came into this game with a 92.48 save percentage, stopped 28 of 31 shots on goal in regulation and overtime.

Shikin commented on the outcome of the game, "I can't describe my feelings right now. This game was very emotional. We have to play the game to feel the feelings I feel right now. I'm very tired because this has been the peak game of the tournament so far."

With a tied game and four minutes of play remaining, Russia’s Dmitri Orlov was assessed a slashing penalty. The Swedes capitalized with a power-play goal by Patrick Cehlin after he took a shot from the blue line that went over Shikin’s glove side.

Russia, not to be outdone and hungry for a shot at the gold, forced the game into overtime after a shot from the point by Sergei Kalinin tied the game 3-3 with 1:33 left in regulation play.

The overtime period saw a lot of desperate shots on goal by both sides, with Sweden taking the advantage as they peppered Shikin and kept the puck out of their zone for most of the 10 minutes. Russia held their own in the final two minutes of overtime as they took Swedish players off the puck in the neutral zone.

Extra-time could not decide a winner and the match was forced to a shootout. Team Russia won the shootout with the only goal scored coming from Golubev, his second of the contest. Shikin made the save on Sweden’s final shooter, captain Anton Lander, sending the Russian bench into celebration.

Team Russia awaits the results of the USA/Canada Semi-final game tonight to see who they will play on Wednesday night as they vie for gold.

"It's no different who we play in the final. We have to be prepared to take on whoever. It's all about our team," Golubev remarked. "The next game is the most important and we have to remember to be a team," he added.