The men’s hockey gold and bronze medal game match-ups at the 2018 Winter Olympics are set. The Olympic Athletes from Russia will face Germany in the battle for the gold medal. Canada and the Czech Republic will play for the bronze medal.
Olympic Athletes from Russia 3, Czech Republic 0
It took just under 28 minutes for the OAR to get on the board, but they then scored twice in under thirty seconds en route to the 3-0 win.
Nikita Gusev potted the first goal to put his team up 1-0 7:47 into the second period. Some 27 seconds later, Vladislav Gavrikov made it a two-goal game.
Ilya Kovalchuk added an empty-netter with 21 seconds to play in regulation give the OAR the victory and the chance at Olympic gold.
Former Buffalo Sabres forward Mikhail Grigorenko notched one assist and had one shot on goal. He finished the game a plus-2 in 12:20.
Germany 4, Canada 3
Germany scored three times in the second period en route to their 4-3 win over Canada. Despite being outshot 31-15 in the game, the Germans came out on top and will play for gold.
Brooks Macek put Germany on the board on the two-man advantage late in the first period, with Canada’s Linden Vey in the box for high-sticking *and* the team serving a delay of game call.
The Germans increased their lead to two, then three, with goals by Matthias Plachta and Frank Mauer within the first seven minutes of the middle frame.
Canada finally found its way to the net midway through the period with a goal by Gilbert Brule. But the Germans took a 4-1 lead just three minutes later as Patrick Hager scored on the power play.
Canada tried to rally back in the third, but to no avail. Mat Robinson scored 2:42 into the period to close the gap to two. Derek Roy potted one on the power play wiht just over 10 minutes to play to make it a one-goal deficit.
In the end, despite several Canadian power play chances, Germany stood tall, including Danny Aus Den Birken in net.
Roy had the goal and four shots but was a minus-1 as he skated 21:02 in the game. Marc-Andre Gragnani played 16:08 and registered one shot on goal.
Former Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff took one penalty and had two shots on goal; he skated 24:25 in the win, a team high, and was a minus-1.
Next Action (day & time EST)
Bronze medal game: Canada vs. Czech Repbulic, Saturday, 7:10 a.m., NBCSN
Gold medal game: Olympic Athletes from Russia vs. Germany, Saturday, 11:10 p.m., NBCSN