Kazakhstan has its first valuable win of the tournament! The result was decided in the first period, France fell 1:3

On Saturday noon, France and Kazakhstan faced each other in the hockey championship. The fate of the game was decided in the first period, which was won by the Kazakhs. In the second period they managed to score even when shorthanded.

According to the bookmakers, the French were the slight favourites going into the game. According to these assumptions, they also started well, as they opened the scoring after just two minutes of play from the stick of Enzo Cantagallo. However, Kazakhstan found a very quick answer.

After just one minute and six seconds, Roman Starchenko kept the puck behind the opponent’s net. The experienced winger handled the seemingly not too significant situation with skill. He skated in front of goalie Shutov and tied the game with a precise shot.

Kazakhstan took the game into their own hands in the first period. At 5:31, France made a bad substitution and went down to four. At the very end of the power play, Maxim Mukhametov put the puck into the net off a rebound from the backboard and the Kazakhs took the lead.

A shorthanded goal as a turning point

In the second period, the French national team had a hard time pushing for scoring chances. Later, however, they did get a chance to equalize as Kazakhstan’s Metalnikov was sent to the penalty box for holding.

Not only did France fail to take advantage of the opportunity, but they also made a fatal mistake on the power play. Kirill Savitsky had a breakaway. First he was lured out of an ideal shooting position, but then he quickly circled the net and slid the puck behind the French goalie. Kazakhstan led 3:1 after two periods.

The French entered the third period in an attacking mood, trying to balance the badly developing game. But they were not helped by another numerical superiority. The Kazakhs continued to hold a comfortable two-goal lead in a well-played duel. In the middle of the period, Bozon had a chance to reduce the deficit, but failed.

Six minutes before the end of the third period, the Kazakhs could have gone even bigger. They got the puck in the net, but after the referee’s consultation with the video referee, the goal was disallowed due to an obvious kick.

At the end of the game, the French couldn’t find the strength to turn the game around, even the final game without a goalie didn’t change anything. Kazakhstan thus gained the first three very valuable points in the championship table.

Source: World Hockey Championship