 |
|
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
   | 
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Ovechkin inspires Russian victory
 Ovechkin was one of the stars of the Russia side that overpowered Ukraine. RIGA, Latvia -- Alexander Ovechkin's goal and two assists powered Russia to a 6-0 rout of Ukraine in the opening game of the second round at the world ice hockey championships. Maxim Sushinsky scored two powerplay goals, the first at 16:06 of the opening period then early in the third to make it 2-0, with Ovechkin assisting on both. The Washington Capitals rookie then notched his fourth goal of the tournament, re-directing Sushinsky's shot. Denis Kulyash, Sergei Mozyakin and Igor Grigorenko added three more goals late in the game. Sushinsky should have had a hattrick but failed to lift the puck over sprawling Ukraine goaltender Igor Karpenko with the net at his mercy late in the second period after good play by Ovechkin. However, the win was costly for Russia after they lost Alexander Kharitonov with a knee injury following a hit by Ukraine's Olexander Bobkin in the first period. The Dynamo Moscow forward lay on the ice holding his left knee for several minutes before being helped to the dressing room. He did not return. Kharitonov was taken to a local hospital for an MRI. "I fear he has torn ligaments in his knee," Russian doctor Dmitry Bogdashevsky told reporters after the game. "Unfortunately, we probably have lost him for the entire tournament," added Russia coach Vladimir Krikunov. Bobkin received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for kneeing. The Ukrainians were already missing defenseman Sergei Klymentiev, who was handed a two-game ban by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on Thursday for his part in a brawl following the game against Italy. Klymentiev tussled with Italy's Tony Lob in the corridor of the Skonto Arena after they were ejected from Wednesday's game. The Russians also played without defenseman Kirill Koltsov, who got a one-match suspension on Thursday for making physical contact with a referee in Wednesday's game against Slovakia. Russia, who carried four points from the preliminary round, now have six points while Ukraine remain pointless. Canada thrash hosts LatviaMeanwhile, Canada pounded Latvia 11-0 in an explosive contest that saw play halted twice and players forced off after unruly fans littered the ice with debris. Before the game, Canadian coach Marc Habscheid had worried his young team might have as much trouble with the raucous Latvian fans as the Latvian team. In the end an agitated crowd created greater problems, as the friendly hosts turned increasingly hostile stopping play in the first and third periods. "At a certain point players' safety became an issue," said Habscheid. "Latvia has great fans, passionate fans and it was just a few of them that were throwing things. "That's when it gets dangerous." Canada quickly put to rest any notion of an upset with Sidney Crosby and Jason Williams burying powerplay chances before the first period was nine minutes old. Brad Boyes and Patrice Bergeron added two more powerplay markers to put Latvia into a 4-0 hole and the party was over as angry fans, infuriated with American Rick Looker's officiating, showered the ice with debris. Unable to restore order, officials finally sent the players to the dressing rooms tacking on the final two minutes of the opening period onto the second. After a quiet second period, things again turned ugly in the third with Canada leading 8-0 as disgruntled fans vented their frustration stopping play with another barrage of garbage and coins. With the crowd becoming more aggressive, the teams sought the security of the dressing rooms while the ice was cleared and resurfaced. During the break Latvian forward Janis Sprutks came back on to the ice to address the crowd asking for calm. "I just told them we have to finish the game and this doesn't change anything and they should stop," said Sprukts. "Usually they are great fans, great supporting any kind of results they cheer us, give us boost to play the next shift, the next day." "Today it was kind of missing that and I've never experienced that kind of thing." The fan disruptions overshadowed another solid performance by a Canadian team that has displayed few weaknesses and won all three games to date. Latvia have drawn one and lost two. Crosby continued his torrid scoring pacing contributing a goal and an assist to Canada's total. The 18-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins rookie had now tallied in all four of Canada's games and leads the championships in scoring with nine points. Kyle Calder scored a pair of goals 32 seconds apart to pace Canada while, Brendan Shanahan, Jeff Carter, Matt Pettinger, Mike Richards and Scott Harnell also netted. Marc Denis also turned in a strong effort in the Canadian net making 26 saves to earn the shutout. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
