Russian Men’s National Hockey Team Defeats Swiss in Opening Match of Men’s Olympic Hockey Tournament

TASS.RU

The meeting ended with the score 1:0 in favor of the Russian team

BEIJING, February 9th. /TASS/. The Russian national ice hockey team defeated the Swiss team with a score of 1:0 in the first match of the Olympic tournament in Beijing.

Anton Slepyshev (20th minute) scored the goal.

The national teams of Russia and Switzerland have not previously met at the Olympic tournaments. Russian hockey players for the first time started at the Olympics with a “dry” victory. The gates of the Russian team were defended by Ivan Fedotov, who repelled 33 shots.

The national teams of Russia and Switzerland play in group B with the teams of the Czech Republic and Denmark. Russian hockey players scored three points, the Swiss – 0.

The meeting between the Czechs and the Danes will be held on Wednesday and will begin at 16:00 Moscow time. In the next match, the Russian team will play with the Danes on February 11, and the Swiss will meet with the Czechs.

The winners of the three groups, as well as the best team from among the runners-up, will advance to the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament. The remaining eight teams will play in the playoff round for reaching the 1/4 finals.

The Russian team is the current Olympic champion. In Pyeongchang, Russian hockey players defeated the German team in the final with a score of 4:3 in overtime.