×

Russia forced into must-win hockey game

SOCHI, Russia – Russia is having a tough time winning on the Olympic ice, and the Netherlands can’t seem to lose.

The Russians were forced into a second straight shootout on Sunday and now must play an extra game to reach the men’s hockey quarterfinals. The Dutch speedskaters have fared much better, earning a third sweep of the podium at the Sochi Games.

With hockey-crazed Russian crowds packing the arenas, Canada, Sweden, the United States and Finland advanced to the hockey quarterfinals. They’ll be joined by the winners of a four-game qualifying round next Tuesday among the eight remaining teams.

Russia lost its chance to skip the qualifying round when it was forced into a shootout by Slovakia, winning 1-0. That allowed Finland to claim the bye on goal difference. Canada, Sweden and the U.S. all finished the qualifying round undefeated.

ALPINE SKIING: Jansrud continued Norway’s dominance in super-G, outracing two Americans and a Canadian for the Scandinavian country’s fifth gold in the event in the past seven games. Andrew Weibrecht earned the silver medal, while American teammate Bode Miller and Jan Hudec of Canada tied for bronze. It was Miller’s sixth Olympic medal, moving him two behind all-time Alpine leader Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway. At 36, Miller is the oldest Alpine skier to medal.

SNOWBOARDING: Samkova won the women’s snowboardcross, the first gold of the games for the Czech Republic. Samkova led from start to finish in all three qualifying and elimination races. Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. crashed while leading her semifinal, the third straight disappointing Olympic finish for the eight-time X Games winner. Jacobellis had gold in hand in Turin in 2006 only to fall with a big lead in the final while attempting a fancy grab. She recovered for silver. Four years ago in Vancouver, she washed out early in her semifinal run.

CURLING: Sweden and Canada became the first men’s teams to qualify for the semifinals. Norway, Britain and China are battling for the other two spots. The Swedes and Canadians also advanced to the semifinals in the women’s tournament. China, Britain, Switzerland and Japan still have a chance for the remaining two semifinal spots.

HOCKEY: Phil Kessel became the first American player in 12 years to score an Olympic hat trick in the 5-1 U.S. win over Slovenia. Canada defeated Finland 2-1 in overtime, while Austria won its first men’s Olympic hockey game in a dozen years, defeating Norway 3-1. In the women’s preliminaries, Finland topped Germany 2-1 and Russia beat Japan 6-2. All four had already been eliminated from medal contention.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today