MOSCOW, December 20 (R-Sport) – A double by defenseman Maxim Chudinov helped Russia to a 3-2 victory over Sweden on Thursday on the Euro Hockey Tour in Sochi, the last warmup event ahead of next year’s Olympic Games.
In the overall table for this season’s tour, second-placed Russia shortened to four points the gap to the leader Finland, which plays the Czech Republic later in the day. Sweden remains third with three wins in seven games.
The game was held at a packed Bolshoy Ice Dome, the 12,000-seat venue that will host the Olympic tournament in February.
Los Angeles Kings prospect Nikolai Prokhorkin netted the winner with two minutes left to play, winning the challenge in Sweden’s crease and sending the puck into an unguarded corner of the net.
Sweden had taken the lead on 13:27 of the first period on a powerplay, as former Dallas Stars center Tom Wandell tipped in Staffan Kronwall’s slapshot from the blue line.
It took the hosts four minutes to equalize when SKA St. Petersburg defenseman Chudinov finished a stinging counterattack started by Alexander Popov.
Chudinov, 23, scored his second early in the third period, as he received the puck in the offensive zone, feinted past his marker and hit the left top corner with a perfect wrist shot.
However, defenseman Niclas Burstrom leveled the score for the Sweden, scoring as Russia’s goalie Alexander Yeryomenko was blocked by players in the crease and didn’t see the shot.
The Euro Hockey Tour is a rolling four-stage event that is held among the four nations and that is usually used to introduce younger Europe-based players to the national team.
