Published: 7 September, 2009, 10:11
Edited: 7 September, 2009, 10:11
World hockey champs Russia came in second at the Czech Hockey Games, going down to hosts Czech Republic on the final day of the competition.
After losing to Sweden in a shootout and beating the Finns 3-2, Russia needed nothing but a win to put their hands on the trophy, while the hosts, who led the overall standings after two victories, could’ve settled for a draw in regulation time.
Vyacheslav Bykov’s men converted the power play to take the lead, with Pyotr Schastlivy being first on the rebound in the sixth minute, but the Czechs equalized before the end of the period, thanks to Dynamo Moscow forward Jiri Hudler, 1-1.
Russia needed another six minutes to go in front again in the second. Sergey Mozyakin ended his high-speed run into the Czech zone with a great pass to hard-shooting defender Denis Kulyash, who put the puck in the net, 2-1.
The Russians were close to grabbing the vital win, but match hero Hudler struck again to level matters with just two and a half minutes before the end of the third period, 2-2.
The game went into overtime, with the Czechs already knowing they were the winners of the tournament. No goals were scored in the five minutes added on, and it was Hudler again, who shot past keeper Aleksandr Eremenko, to put a final point in the shootout, making it 3-2 for the Czech Republic.
The Czech Hockey Games are the first stage of the European hockey Tour. The annual ice hockey competition is only open to the national teams of the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden. It consists of four tournaments, with each participating country hosting one of them.
Team Russia have won the Tour in the last two seasons.
The current Euro Tour standings are: Czech Republic – 8 points; Russia – 5; Finland – 3; and Sweden – 2.
Next on the agenda is the Karjala Cup to be held in Finland on October 5–8.