Olympics men’s hockey, Russia vs. USA results and highlights

Olympic Athletes from Russia win their group in Olympics men’s hockey with a 4-0 shutout of Team USA.

The skill gap between Olympic Athletes from Russia and Team USA was apparent from the start. OAR controlled all three zones against USA and it was just a matter of time before they broke through.

The first goal came off the stick of Nikolai Prokhorkin, who finished off a pretty passing play from Alexander Barbanov and Sergei Mozyakin. Mozyakin moved the puck from behind the net to Barbanov in the circle, who quickly dished it over to Prokhorkin for the tap in front.

Ryan Donato nearly tied the game with three minutes left in the first, but his shot off a rush rang off the post.

Prokhorkin made it 2-0 just 2:14 into the second, beating U.S. goalkeeper Ryan Zapolski glove side with a shot from the top of the circle.

The best U.S. scoring chance came courtesy of Brian Gionta, who saw the puck roll off his stick on a breakaway during a delayed penalty.

It looked like U.S. would keep the deficit to a manageable two heading into the third, but star forward Ilya Kovalchuk had other ideas. Skating four-on-four, Sergei Andronov went to work down low on the U.S. defense. Kovalchuk freed himself at the top of circle, firing a one-time past Zapalski with .2 seconds remaining in the period, making it 3-0.

Any slim hope of a comeback was immediately dashed 28 seconds into the third with Kovalchuk striking again. Still four-on-four, Kovalchuk broke in on the left side and wired a wrist shot past the glove of Zaposki.

After looking rough in games against Slovenia and Slovakia, OAR goalie Vasili Koshechkin stopped all 29 of the USA shots. Despite putting 29 shots on Koshechkin, the USA’s chances were of a low quality.

Not only did OAR prove to be the more talented team, but they flexed their physical muscle as well. Anytime there was a whistle in front of Koshechkin, OAR made sure to give their opponents extra shoves and face washes. The 8-2 victory over Slovenia showed the offensive firepower OAR has. This game was a more complete effort, showing everyone why they are the team to beat in the tournament.

Highlights

Next: Every USA Olympic hockey team, ranked by miracles on ice

What’s Next?

OAR will receive a buy to the Quarterfinals due to their first place finish in the group. USA will have to play a qualifying game. The opponent and date is unknown until all group play games have wrapped up.