ROC best Sweden in shootout, goes on to gold medal game
“We believed in each other and we believed in the guys who went out to shoot penalties,” the ROC forward said Vadim Shipachyov.
“(Fedotov) is a beauty. Everyone who shot, we were united and the whole team is happy that we are moving forward.”
The tilt got a lightning pace in the opening stanza with both teams creating quality chances. There were big games left and right, from clutch saves to massive hits, but somehow none of the teams managed to find the nets during the first 20 minutes of the match.
Admittedly, it did not take long for someone to find the back of the net in the second frame. Just 15 seconds into the middle third, ROC forward Anton Slepyshev went to the Swedish net and beat the goalkeeper Lars Johansson to give their team the lead with 1-0. The former Edmonton Oiler put together a Herculean performance and created many goal chances throughout the race. He also planned to make a clutch block early in the 10-minute 3-on-3 overtime period to deny a potentially dangerous goal chance for Sweden.
Despite heavy pressure from the ROC during the second period, the Russian athletes could not extend their lead before the second break.
Unlike the second period, the Swedes played with a ton of desperation in the third, and it gave results for them as forward Anton Lander acknowledged 6:22 in the last picture. Unfortunately, Sweden could not beat Fedotov again in the regulation or in the OT period.
Fedotov, as he has been for most of the tournament, was sensational for ROC in the semifinals. The 25-year-old net champion, selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, stopped 34 of Sweden’s 35 shots online to earn his fourth win in Beijing. He now has a save percentage of 0.944 and 1.53 goals against the average at the Olympics.
Puckfall for the gold medal match between ROC and Finland is set for 23:10 ET Saturday night. Sweden and Slovakia will compete for bronze on Saturday morning at 20:10 ET.
Click here to see all statistics from ROC’s profit over Sweden, and click here to see the entire event in replay from start to finish.