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17.02.2006 - 5-Star Russians Sweep Aside Sub-Par Sweden

russian version

5-Star Russians Sweep Aside Sub-Par Sweden

Russia used an explosive attack and stellar goaltending by Yevgeny Nabokov to crush Sweden 5-0 in men's Olympic ice hockey preliminary-round play on Thursday.

Stunned by Slovakia 5-3 in its tournament opener, Russia rebounded in style, rekindling memories of the Soviet Union's glory days when they dominated the Olympic ice. After a scoreless opening period, Russia's high-powered offense flexed its muscles blasting five unanswered goals past Sweden's Henrik Lundqvist.

Washington Capitals rookie Alexander Ovechkin, Alexei Kovalev and Maxim Sushinsky each scored in the second frame while Maxim Afinogenov and Viktor Kozlov added third-period goals. Nabokov, who plays for the NHL's San Jose Sharks, was rock solid in the Russian net, making 24 saves.

Earlier, Teemu Selanne scored a pair of goals as Finland recorded its second shutout in as many days at with 6-0 win over Italy.

The Finns, who whipped Switzerland 5-0 on Wednesday, were held scoreless in the first period by the Italians, who were being backed by another raucous crowd at the Palasport Olimpico.

But an undisciplined second period by the hosts put an end to any upset bid as Finland blasted powerplay goals to seal the game.

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26.02.2006

Ice hockey-Lidstrom blast gives Sweden gold
TURIN, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Niklas Lidstrom's blistering slapshot early in the third period gave Sweden a 3-2 win over Finland and the gold medal at the men's ice hockey tournament on Sunday in the final event of the Turin Games. In a tournament that saw the world's biggest hockey nations eliminated in the early going, the Swedes and Finns let their Nordic rivalry take centre stage in a fast-paced game.
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26.02.2006

Ice hockey: Czechs shutout Russia to win bronze
TURIN, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Tomas Vokoun made 28 saves and Martin Erat had a goal and an assist as the Czech Republic shutout Russia 3-0 in the Olympic men's ice hockey bronze medal game on Saturday. Sweden will face off against Finland in an all-Nordic gold medal final on Sunday that will bring down the curtain on the 2006 Winter Games. "Playing for the bronze medal is very hard," said Vokoun, who was benched in favour of Milan Hnilicka in the Czechs' 7-3 semifinal loss to Sweden. "We were still disappointed for what happened yesterday against Sweden.
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26.02.2006

Plucky Slutskaya Settles for an Olympic Bronze
As she stood stone-faced on the medals podium, Irina Slutskaya couldn't even manage a smile or a wave. The bronze medal that was hanging around her neck felt like a lead weight. For the second Olympics, the Russian star failed as the final skater of the women's free program. Both times, the gold medal was within reach. Neither time could Slutskaya grab it.
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23.02.2006

Ice Dancers Make It 3 Out of 3 for Russia
Tatyana Navka and Roman Kostomarov made it three out of three for Russian figure skaters at the Winter Olympics. Navka and Kostomarov gave Russia a gold medal hat trick -- pairs, men's and dance. No nation has swept the four skating events in one games. The Russians could be the first, with Irina Slutskaya highly favored in the women's competition when it was about to begin late Tuesday. Tanith Belbin and partner Ben Agosto snapped the U.S. medal drought in figure skating with a silver. Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov of Ukraine won the bronze.
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21.02.2006

Ice Dancing: A Good Night for the Russians
Feb 21 2006 Yesterday was the end of ice dancing, in a close contest which elected the new Olympic champions. The gold went to the Russians Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov already unreachable with a record original dance. Their “Carmen”, even though marred with various imperfections, proved otherwise sufficiently seductive to award the performers a score of 101.37 bringing them to a total of 200.64 points, more than enough to ensure the Russian duo reach their objective their sights had been set on for the last few years.
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