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Russia goalie gets rest — and victory
By Zack Van Eyck
Deseret News Olympic specialist
PROVO — Russian goalie Irina Gashennikova took so many shots to the head and upper body in her first two Olympic games against Sweden and Canada, she started wondering if her opponents were shooting high on purpose.
Maybe it just seemed that way because of how many shots were launched at her net — 44 by the Swedes on Monday and 60 by the Canadians on Wednesday. The 26-year-old, who has been Russia's top goaltender for seven years, allowed just three goals to the Swedes and seven to the Canadians. But her efforts were not enough to keep Russia from dropping both contests.
"I had a hard time afterwards," Gashennikova said of recovering from the physical punishment dished out by the two teams now headed to the medal round.
But on Friday, Gashennikova had an easy day by comparison. She faced just 18 shots and stopped 17 of them as Russia (1-2) began its bid for fifth place in the women's hockey tournament with a 4-1 win over Kazakhstan (0-3) at the Peaks Ice Arena.
"I felt a little uncomfortable because I don't like those kind of games," Gashennikova said. "I like the games that have 40 or 50 shots taken at me."
For her counterpart, Kazakhstan goalie Natalya Trunova, there was no rest Friday. Russia pelted her with 52 shots. Combined with games against Canada and Sweden, Trunova has been shelled with 161 pucks in three contests.
"The Russian team is pretty good, too," said Trunova, noting that her team's performance improved since an 8-2 loss to Russia last April in the Women's World Championships.
"Obviously, we were dominating today," allowed Russian defenseman Kristina Petrovskaia. "Today we focused on scoring, that's all."
Russia advances to a meeting Sunday with the loser of Saturday's game between China and Germany.
E-mail: zman@desnews.com
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February 16, 2002
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