MOSCOW, April 10 (R-Sport) - Russia has claimed the bronze medal at the 2013 women's world hockey championships after a 2-0 defeat of Finland, a good omen ahead of next year's Winter Olympics on home ice.
Anna Shibanova and Alexandra Vafina broke the deadlock in the third period in Ottawa on Tuesday, and combined with a 32-save shutout from Nadezhda Alexandrova the Russians gained their first medal since the 2001 bronze.
"Before the game we told the girls that they can alter the course of history," said Russia coach Mikhail Chekanov. "We asked them to play as strictly and simply as possible."
"We've achieved the main task of this competition. Now we need to prepare for greater goals. We can't forget about the problems of technical preparations and skating, which is costing us results. But we have a collective with which we can move mountains."
Chekanov's team had been unceremoniously dumped out of contention for the gold medal game with an 8-1 defeat by host Canada, which goes on to contest the final against the United States for the 15th consecutive time.
Russia also beat Finland to claim the bronze medal 12 years ago in Minneapolis.
