The Russian Olympic Committee will play for a medal after edging out Denmark 3-1 in men's Olympic hockey action on Wednesday.
The Russian Olympic Committee will play for a medal after edging out Denmark 3-1 in men's Olympic hockey action on Wednesday.
Russia will look to build upon its gold medal from South Korea in 2018, with its semifinal opponent to be determined later today.
Denmark's first Olympic tournament ends early, but they'll finish with three wins in a successful debut for one of the smallest hockey nations in the tournament.
Russia's top line, which had been pretty quiet for most of the tournament, struck first. Vadim Shapchyov would score after Nikita Gusev's shot missed the net, with Shipachyov getting the rebound after Danish netminder Sebastian Dahm lost sight of the puck.
The lead would remain until 22:57 on the power play when Frans Nielsen tied it up, putting some fear in a Russian team many expected to cruise to the win.
But the ROC would get back into the game with Nikita Nesterov's blast at 34:56, hitting the crossbar and then the rear bar for the 2-1 goal. A series of missed in-close opportunities at each end plagued the two teams, but Slava Voynov scored late in the third to seal the deal for the Russians and avoid a late upset.