The reigning Olympic champion Russians are heading to the Beijing Games semifinals after a 3-1 win over Denmark in quarterfinal action on Wednesday.
Slava Voynov’s late power-play goal gave the Russians some much-needed breathing room against a Danish team that exceeded all expectations by making the quarterfinals in its Olympic men’s hockey debut.
The third-seeded Russians outshot No. 6 Denmark 40-18 as Danish goalie Sebastian Dahm, a former OHLer, delivered an excellent effort to give his team a chance.
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Just before Voynov’s goal, Russian goalie Ivan Fedotov made a big save on Danish star Frans Nielsen while the underdogs were short-handed to keep the reigning champs in front.
Nielsen, who has 925 NHL games on his resume, scored Denmark’s only goal.
Nikita Nesterov and Vadim Shipachyov also scored for the Russians.
Earlier, eighth-seeded Slovakia upset the top-ranked United States 3-2 in a shootout.
No. 2 Finland will face No. 7 Switzerland and No. 4 Sweden will meet No. 5 Canada later Wednesday.
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