Russian Euro Tour begins with loss
Edited time: November 07, 2012 23:32
Russia’s hockey squad have suffered a shootout loss to hosts Finland in the opening match of the Karjala Cup.
Russian coach Zinetulla Bilyaletdinov left NHL stars out of the squad, giving a chance to younger players in the first Euro Tour event of the season.
Both sides played a cautious game, with the fans in the Finnish city of Turku seeing only two goals.
Russia broke the deadlock after 30 seconds of play in the second period, with Artem Anisimov punishing the hosts for a defensive blunder, 1-0.
But the Finns equalized in the middle of the third period, thanks to a great slap shot from Teemu Laine.
The overtime saw no goals, and will be mainly remembered for the organizers replacing a broken protective glass.
And Finland’s keeper, Pekka Rinne, took central stage shootout, preventing the Russians from converting a single shot.
Sakari Salminen beat Russia’s goalie, Konstantin Barulin, to bag the win for the hosts.
Team Russia will take on Sweden in their next Karjala Cup encounter on Friday.
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