Russian hockey stars battle past Danes
The Russian ice hockey team has continued its title defense in Beijing, overcoming Denmark in their quarterfinal clash.
It was no walk in the park for Alexei Zhamnov’s men, who faced gritty resistance from their lower-ranked rivals.
Despite a lack of experience playing in the playoffs of major hockey events, Denmark proved a tough nut to crack for the 'Russian Red Machine'.
After sensationally beating the Czech Republic and Switzerland in the group stage, Denmark again showed a decent defense against the ROC.
It had been expected to be somewhat routine, but it wasn't until the 14th minute that Olympic flag bearer Vadim Shipachev gave his team the lead.
Denmark replied in the second period, capitalizing on a one-man advantage to tie the score at 1-1.
Nikita Nesterov restored his team’s lead with a hammering slapshot right from the blue line.
It took the squads several seconds to realize that the puck hit the net until the referee signaled that the ROC had its second goal.
Denmark battled brilliantly, but squandered chances to level the score.
In the third period, having fought off Denmark’s aggressive attacks, the ROC scored a powerplay goal to secure a 3-1 win.
The ROC team will learn their semifinal opponents after all the quarterfinal games are played.
