Gritsyuk scores two, Pleshkov unbeatable again. May 6 international
Two goals from Arseny Gritsyuk and a third successive shut-out for Artemy Pleshkov helped Russia-25 to a 4-0 victory over Belarus.
Russia-25 4 Belarus 0 (2-0, 2-0, 0-0)
After winning the Kazakhstan Hockey Open, Russia-25 continued its May series with the first of three games against Belarus. Monday’s meeting in Omsk was the opening date of the Liga Stavok Grand Tour. Further games will follow in Tula (May 9) and Minsk (May 11).
When the two teams met in Astana on Saturday, Russia powered to a 6-0 victory. Dmitry Kvartalnov responded by scratching goalie Sergei Bolshakov in favor of Alexei Snytko, who played the closing stages of the previous game. Among the skaters, forwards Miroslav Mikhalyov and Nikita Pyshkailo returned.
For Russia, Maxim Fedotov returned in place of Nikita Kamalov on defense. Andrei Chivilyov was restored to the attack with Dmitry Rashevsky making way.
The Russians quickly took control of the game. Inside four minutes, Zakhar Bardakov opened the scoring with a deft touch on Vitaly Abramov’s shot to the far post. Soon afterwards, Arseny Gritsyuk doubled the lead after Vasily Glotov’s face-off win.
Early in the second period, Gritsyuk struck again, this time on the power play. A slick passing combination unpicked the Belarusian defense and after Glotov’s shot was saved, Gritsyuk potted the rebound. In the 36th minute, defenseman Ivan Vydrenkov made it 4-0 after another good passing move. That chased Snytko from the net and Maxim Lubsky came to the crease.
Lubsky managed to keep his goal intact for the remainder of the game, but a scoreless third period saw Russia cruise to victory. Artemy Pleshkov recorded his third successive shut-out for the national team.
