Kazakhstan survive Japan scare to open with a victory
After going behind in the first period, Kazakhstan scores three unanswered goals to take their opening match with Japan 5:2.
The first period saw a closely fought contest, with
Kazakhstan having the upper hand, but Japan looking dangerous on the break.
Japan had an early powerplay opportunity but struggled to generate any offence
with the Kazakhstan forwards pressuring the points. Yutaka Fukfuji was forced
into action early on as Kazakhstan dominated puck possession in the early
minutes, with Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev drawing a save from Fukufuji. Japan were
forced to kill two powerplays, with Fukufuji forced to make a number of stops
including a great double save to form part of the fourteen he had to make in
the opening frame. Despite being on the back foot, it was Japan who would open
the scoring, capitalising on the speed of their forwards. A 3 on 2 break
developed and breaking in on the right hand side, Shuhei Kuji fired a low shot
which Vitali Kolesnik could only kick out into the slot, and the Japanese
captain Go Tanaka picked up the pieces and scored on the rebound. However,
their lead would last all of four minutes thanks to a defensive lapse which
resulted in Makoto Kawashima falling on top of Fukufuji, and Konstantin
Savenkov able to pick up the loose puck and score one of the easiest goals he’ll
ever score. Kazakhstan continued to lay siege on the Japanese net, as they
outshot their opponents 14:9 in the first period, but Fukufuji was up to the
task, making two great stops on Talgat Zhailuaov and Andrei Korabeinikov.
Japan grew into the game in the second period, as they
started to generate more scoring chances and outshooting their higher seeded
opponents. However, Kazakhstan would take the lead for the first time in the game
thanks to Konstantin Romanov’s 26th minute marker. It took three
minutes for Japan to equalise though, as while on the powerplay, a long stretch
pass from Aaron Keller sent Takuma Kawai in alone on Kolesnik, and the Japanese
forward pulled a lovely move, faking onto his backhand before pulling back onto
his forehand and firing the puck past Kolesnik. Kazakhstan would go on to prove
that their powerplay was up to the task though, as with just 40 seconds to go
in the second period, with Kenta Takagi in the box, the Kazakhs would re-take
the lead. Roman Starchenko’s shot was stopped by Fukufuji, but the rebound
spilled to Viktor Alexandrov, who spun and fired the puck top shelf, past a
sprawling Fukufuji.
The third period of the game was an open encounter, with
Japan looking the better side for the most part. In fact it was the Japanese
who went closest to scoring, as with seven minutes to go in the period, Osawa
Yuto found himself all alone in front of Kolesnik, received the pass from the
left wing, only to then miss the net with a backhand effort. This would go on
to prove costly, as Kazakhstan, in the first good chance for a number of
minutes, got the insurance marker. A brilliant piece of puck possession by
Dmitri Upper, going from the slot, around the back of the net and back out,
only to then backhand the puck across the face of goal to an unmarked Talgat
Zhailuaov, and the Barys Astana forward made no mistake as he tapped the puck
past Fukufuji with under five to play. As the clock ticked down, Japan surged
men forward, and eventually they would pay the price as Konstantin Romanov was
sent in on a breakaway by Konstantin Pushkaryov, and Romanov would bag his
second of the game with a nifty backhand move to beat Fukufuji.
All in all the score flattered the Kazakh side, but they
were clinical in front of goal, and an overall lack of offensive zone time by
the Japanese contributed to their own downfall. However, it was certainly a
marked improvement on the 7:0 drubbing given out at the hands of Hungary to the
Japanese last week, and the Japanese certainly generated chances on the rush. Despite absence of Vitali Yeremeyev and Kevin Dallman, Kazakhstan put in a performance that did not amaze, but underlined their credentials as a favourite for promotion. Vitali Kolesnik made 29 saves for the victory.
Man of the match awards:
Japan: Yutaka Fukufuji
Kazakhstan: Konstantin Romanov