SWEDEN 5
BELARUS 4 |
Quarter Finals
Friday, January 3, 2003
Halifax, NS
|
Swedes Narrowly defeat Belarus 5-4
The one thing about this tournament is that you never know what to expect from the games. Every game of this tournament so far, I have watched in anticipation – of a good play, of something exciting, of a moment so utterly heart-wrenchingly-beautiful. Today was no exception. It all came through for me.
Nova Scotian hockey fans love the underdog. Belarus was the fan favorite in round robin play in Sydney, because of the struggles they have had throughout the tournament. Out-muscled, out-played, out-scored, but no matter what card was dealt to them, they just kept on going. Today, the crowd of 6,370 was quiet, trying to decide whether Sweden or Belarus were worthy of their cheers.
Sweden got off to a 3-0 lead in the first, and generally dominated the period. Their players were bigger, faster and stronger than the Belarussians. But the Belarussians had heart. Every time they fell down, tripping over their own feet, the got right back up and tried to make a play happen. It took a breakaway goal at 14:26 from team captain Aliaksandr Kulakou to give the Belarussians the energy to keep their balance. Sweden quickly answered with a goal by Andreas Jamtin to maintain the 3-goal lead.
But in the second, the dominant force came from the Belarussians. They stood up on checks, they made some good passes, they made the fans care. And of course, some of the most exciting goals came from off the Belarussians’ sticks. The prettiest goal was on a breakaway to the left of Michal Zajkowski, the Swedish goaltender. Vadim Karaga took the puck into the zone, sidestepped the Swedish defenceman, cut to the right side of the goal, and GOAL!
At 19:03 of the second, Andrei Kastsitsyn had the crowd holding their breath as he scored a shorthanded goal, again on the breakaway. Sweden was also holding their breath as they left the ice, wondering what would happen in the next period.
All the goals in the third were scored on power plays. Tobias Enstrom scored for Sweden at 3:41, on a penalty to Artsiom Volkau. Then Robert Nilsson was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in a goal by Aliaksandr Kulakou, his second of the game. Dzmitry Kamovich got sent to the box at 13:26, and Sweden’s Nilsson retaliated with his second goal of the game. In the last five seconds of the third, with the puck in the Swedish end, Dzmitry Kamovich left the net to let Kulakou try for the tying goal. He had a shot, but Zajkowski saw it coming, stopped it, and then the buzzer went.
Where was the heart-wrenching beauty in this game? The pure joy of the Belarussians after they scored a goal. They looked like kids playing for the love of the game, and a little bit of national pride.
Sweden’s win today keeps them in Pool B, with their final game on Saturday against Switzerland. Belarus will face Germany on Saturday, a game between the two teams relegated to Division I play for next year.
|
| Box Score |
|
SWE
|
3
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
0
|
| Compte |
|
BLR
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
 |
Scoring/Buts :
15.16 3 - 1 EQ SWE 28. JAMTIN, Andreas (16. HAGOS, Yared)
14.26 2 - 1 EQ BLR 11. KULAKOU, Aliaksandr
13.16 2 - 0 EQ SWE 22. VALDIX, Andreas (20. ERIKSSON, Fredrik)
07.55 1 - 0 PP1 SWE 29. NILSSON, Robert (28. JAMTIN, Andreas 6. ENSTROM, Tobias)
Penalties/Pénalités :
07.17 2 min BLR 27. YUDZIN, Dzmitry HOLD |
 |
Scoring/Buts :
39.03 3 - 3 SH1 BLR 23. KASTSITSYN, Andrei
30.40 3 - 2 EQ BLR 9. KARAGA, Vadim (8. PARAKHONKA, Dzmitry)
Penalties/Pénalités :
53.26 2 min BLR 22. KAMOVICH, Dzmitry TRIP
38.36 2 min BLR 8. PARAKHONKA, Dzmitry ROUGH
22.55 2 min SWE 11. ALMTORP, Jonas BOARD |
 |
Scoring/Buts :
54.25 5 - 4 PP1 SWE 29. NILSSON, Robert (4. LINDSTROM, Joakim 24. STEEN, Alexander)
43.41 4 - 3 PP1 SWE 6. ENSTROM, Tobias (28. JAMTIN, Andreas 16. HAGOS, Yared)
Penalties/Pénalités :
50.35 2 min SWE 29. NILSSON, Robert UN-SP
43.07 2 min BLR 14. VOLKAU, Artsiom HOOK |
| Players of the Game |
SWE |
Unavailable |
| Joueurs du partie |
BLR |
Unavailable |
|
| Goaltenders |
SWE |
30. ZAJKOWSKI, Michal |
| Gardiens de but |
BLR |
59.55 GK out BLR 22. KAMOVICH, Dzmitry 22. KAMOVICH, Dzmitry |
|
| Shots on Goal by |
Shots on Goal by |
1st/1re
|
2nd/2e
|
3rd/3e
|
Final
|
| Shots on Goal by |
SWE |
18
|
7
|
9
|
34
|
| Tirs au but par |
BLR |
5
|
5
|
3
|
13
|
|
| Officials |
Referee/Arbitre |
JOHNSEN, Tor Olav |
| Officiels |
Linesmen/Juges des lignes |
HALECKY, Miroslav DOUCETTE, Derek |
|
| Attendance/Assistance |
10,083 |
Sweden-Belarus Preview
Fighting to stay alive in the relegation round, Belarus will be most successful if they put the round robin behind them. They were out-scored 28-6, but it’s now a whole new challenge they face. In the relegation round, the four teams play a mini-round-robin. If any of the teams are tied, the next statistic to look at is goal differential.
Given the fact that the Swedes and Swiss are also in the relegation round, the Belarus chances are slim that they will remain in the top group of WJC play. But they will be playing in front of a crowd that loves to cheer for the underdog and that might give them the lift to finish this tournament with flair. Look for an energized team to take the ice and expect some finesse from Mikhail Grabovski and Vadim Karaga, the team’s top playmakers.
Sweden, however, needs to remember to play a consistent game. They have three players in the top 25 goal scorers--Alexander Steen, Robert Nilsson, and Joakim Lindstrom. Captain Steen has a sixth sense about where the net is and where the puck needs to go to meet the net. Joakim Lindstrom isn’t afraid to play tough and Robert Nilsson has 17 goals in the 38 international games so far in his career.
But so far here in Halifax, Team Sweden has lost spectacularly (to Canada 8-2), won spectacularly (over Germany 7-2), and been average (in a 3-1 loss to the Czechs). They need to start the game off strong, and keep their level of play consistent through all three periods and play with a pride that has been lacking so far.
Watch for the referee’s arm during this game. Sweden has 56 penalty minutes while Belarus has 68. In the end, expect Tre Kronor to avenge their losses from the round robin and win the game.
Jen McCauley
Game Night Reporter
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HOCKEY CANADA
