BEIJING (AP) — Anxious feelings overwhelmed the Russians’ bench as they fell behind in the shootout against Sweden and needed each goal and save to stay alive.
“Some of the shootouts I didn’t even look,” forward Damir Sharipzyanov said. “I was too nervous.”
The Russians got six stops from Ivan Fedotov and goals from Nikita Gusev, Yegor Yakolev and Arseni Gritsyuk to win an eight-round shootout and beat Sweden 2-1 Friday, advancing to a second consecutive Olympic final. The team known as Russian Olympic Committee will face Finland on Sunday looking for back-to-back gold.
