THE MOMENT: Switzerland @ Russia – Saturday, April 6

by Kaarina Stiff

OTTAWA, Ont. – Saturday night's quarterfinal game at SPB Arena between Russia and Switzerland was one of the best match-ups to date at this year’s world championship.

 The fast-moving Russians faced stellar Swiss goaltending in a tight contest that saw the Swiss outshot 30-20, leading to a 2-1 Russian victory that will see Russia face off against Canada in the semifinals on Monday.

The Swiss mounted a strong defence, but the game-changing “moment” came at 48:38 in the third period, when Russian captain Yekaterina Smolentseva, who had a team leading four points coming into the quarterfinals, made her biggest play of the tournament so far. 

Skating the puck from the neutral zone into the Swiss end, she fired a strong shot straight at goaltender Florence Schelling, who gave up a rare rebound. Making no mistake, Smolentseva picked up her own rebound and put it away, giving the Russians a 2-1 lead. 

The go-ahead goal came just moments after the Swiss hit the Russian post in a flurry of action in front of Russian net minder Nadezhda Alexandrova, but the Swiss failed to take advantage of the open cage.

With less than 12 minutes to go after Russia's second goal, the Swiss ran out of time to tie it up, and will play Germany for fifth place at SPB Arena on Monday at 11:30 a.m. ET.

For the full game story, please visit www.worldwomen2013.com.

For the full game summary, including statistics, please CLICK HERE.