Russia did not in fact win their first gold medal in men’s hockey in 26 years with a heart-stopping 4-3 overtime win over Germany on Sunday afternoon.
Instead a team competing neutrally as Olympic Athletes from Russia, the IOC’s inspired nomenclatural workaround to incorporate Russians at the Pyeongchang Games despite a wholesale doping ban, held off a stingy German team in the game of the tournament to capture Olympic men’s hockey gold, the first for a Russian-affiliated team since 1992.
Kirill Kaprizov’s one-time winner from the right circle on a power play in overtime followed a white-knuckle finish to regulation that saw the OAR team take back the lead they’d surrendered only to fall behind again before scoring a last-gasp short-handed equalizer with their goaltender pulled.
All in the final six and a half minutes.
IOC bans athletes from marching under Russian flag in closing ceremony Read more
“It was the craziest game ever,” said OAR forward Ilya Kovalchuk, the ex-NHL star whose five goals in South Korea made him the top-scoring Olympian from Russia of all time. “When we had the penalty with two minutes to go, I honestly thought we won’t be Olympic champions.”
The furious sequence started when Kontinental Hockey League star Nikita Gusev fired in a gorgeous top-shelf goal off the goalie’s mask to break a 1-all deadlock with 6:39 left in the third period, a score that felt like a game-winner after the teams had gone more than a full period spanning the second intermission without finding the back of the net.
But the celebration lasted all of eight seconds as Germany quickly equalized on Dominic Kahun’s second goal of the afternoon, followed by Jonas Müller’s score with 3:16 left to put the Germans ahead 3-2.
Just over a minute later OAR forward Sergei Kalinin was called for a two-minute tripping penalty, leaving the favorites short-handed for effectively the remainder of regulation.
Play Video 0:31 OAR seal ice hockey gold in dramatic overtime win against Germany – video
That’s when Gusev whipped a slap shot off German goaltender Danny aus den Birken’s right shoulder to tie the score with 55.5 seconds left and send it into 4-on-4 sudden-death overtime.
From there Russia took control, nearly winning it with 13:30 left in the extra period when a sure winner by Kovalchuk somehow caught the left pad of a sprawling Aus Den Birken, who preserved the deadlock with the best and most important save of the Olympics.
But it was for naught as Kaprizov, who also had three assists on the day, ripped a slap shot past the goalie with 10:20 left in overtime for the golden goal, kicking off pandemonium among the Russian supporters as they celebrated hockey gold for the first time since the first Winter Games of the post-Soviet era.
“It’s a little tough right now because we all felt we could have won that game, but that’s hockey,” Germany coach Marco Sturm said. “It’s just the way it is. I think we all thought we’d sit there and watch the final on the couch at home, but here we are. The boys are going to bring silver home and they should be very proud of that.”
The awkward accoutrements of the aftermath, as the Not Russian anthem played while the Not Russian flag was elevated to the rafters, did nothing the dampen the enthusiasm of the many red-clad supporters at the Gangneung Hockey Centre, where the upper bowl of the 10,000-seat arena was festooned with Russian banners and flags with costumed supporters in full throat.
One row of fans wore coordinated red shirts spelling out RUSSIA IN MY HEART while a few rows down a pair of groups spelled out the team’s nickname, RED MACHINE, in both English and Cyrillic. The hundreds who stayed to watch their team receive their medals joined the players in defiantly singing the banned Russian national anthem as a recording of the International Olympic Committee anthem played over the arena sound system while the Olympic flag was raised, making a mockery of the resolution that enabled their participation.
None of it bothered Kovalchuk, finally a gold medalist in his fifth Winter Olympics, who said the players had discussed whether they’d sing the anthem beforehand. Mostly, the 34-year-old was thrilled about the gold.
“Since I was five years old, when I started to play hockey, this was the dream of my late father,” he said. “This was my dream.”
The victory came one day after the IOC ruled against restoring the delegation’s status, preventing the Russian athletes from marching in under their country’s flag at Sunday night’s closing ceremony.
The OAR team had entered Sunday’s final on a head of steam since losing their opening match to Slovakia, winning their next four games by an aggregate score of 21-3. They were given their a stiff challenge by Germany, who overcame a slow start to reach the gold medal game for the first time in the country’s history with upsets of Sweden and Canada, a pair of traditional powers who they’d never previously beaten on Olympic ice.
But their spirited bid for a Miracle on Ice redux was cut short in the most dramatic fashion possible as the OAR side became only the second team in the history of Olympic men’s ice hockey to win the gold medal after opening with a loss, joining Canada’s 2002 champions.
08:02
Well, that almost concludes the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, with just the closing ceremony to come. We’ll have a separate liveblog of the closing ceremony, as well as final official results, so please do stick around for that, but here’s a summary of the key events of the last day.
Bjoergen also became the most successful Winter Olympian ever with eight gold, four silver, and three bronze.
Norway finish on 14 gold!
Thankyou for joining me, but please do hang around for our closing ceremony live blog and official wrap-up later.
This was a Olympic gold-medal ice hockey match that won't be soon forgotten to say the least. The Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) needed a powerplay goal in overtime to beat Germany 4-3 to win gold. Germany were left with the silver medal, disappointing on the night, but the country's best-ever finish in men's ice hockey.
It was a truly heroic effort from the German underdogs against the highly favored Russians, who were competing under a neutral flag due to the ban imposed on their country over allegations of a state-sponsored doping system.
Comebacks from two deficits
Twice Germany bounced back from setback, the first coming with less than a second left to play in the first period, when Russian defenseman Vyacheslav Voinov drew first blood.
Read more: German hockey team's strong Olympics comes as no big surprise
The Germans, though, came back with the equalizer in the first minute of the second, Felix Schütz being awarded the goal, a soft one for the Russian netminder to concede.
The Russians went into the lead again early in the third, when Nikita Gusev threaded the needle over Gemany goalie Danny Aus den Birken's shoulder from a bad angle, to make it 2-1.
Again Germany fought back, with Dominik Kahun beating Vasili Koshechkin just 10 seconds later to even the score.
Germany took the lead for the first time with under four minutes to play and it looked as if Jonas Müller had won them the gold medal. The Russians even took a penalty, giving the Germans the man advantage for the last two minutes. However, Gusev found the target for his second with 59 seconds left to force overtime.
Russia capitalize on PP in OT
Germany kept things close in the extra frame, but Patrick Reimer took a high-sticking penalty halfway through the period, putting the Russians on the powerplay. The Russians took advantage, with Kirill Kaprizov scoring on the PP to win it for Russia in sudden death.
This gave the Russians their first gold medal in ice hockey since 1992 in Albertville, when they were known as the United Team. For Germany, who won the silver medal, this is the greatest achievement in the country's ice hockey history, eclipsing those of the 1976 West German team, who won bronze in Innsbruck in 1976.
As it happened:
Men's ice hockey: Gold-medal game: OAR 4 - 3 Germany
08:22 - As Russia remain suspended by the IOC, the Olympic anthem is played as the flags of the medalists, OAR, Germany and bronze-medal winners Canada are raised to the rafters.
08:17 - Now it is the Russians' turn: Fasel, Tretiak and Reindl proceed to award them their well-deserved gold medals.
08:15 - The Germans receive their silver medals first, and knowning what they have achieved, many of them are smiling, as they should. They can be very proud of this achievement! Some were in tears just moments ago. IIHF President Rene Fasel, legendary Russian goalie Vladislav Tretiak and DEB President Franz Reindl are doing the honors.
08:10 - The two teams remain on the ice where they are about to be presented with their medals in ice hockey, the showcase event of every Winter Olympic Games. What a final this was!
08:05 - The Germans will be disappointed, as one always is, to lose a final in sudden death. However, they are to be congratulated for an amazing tournament! This is the first time that Germany, who didn't even qualify for Sochi, have won the silver medal.
08:01 - German head coach Marco Sturm gathers his players at the bench before they line up to shake hands with the gold-medal winners from Russia.
07:56 - Russia score to win the game 4-3 and take the gold medal! Kiril Kaprizov scores on the powerplay to give the Russians their first gold medal in Olympic ice hockey since 1992.
07:55 - The Russians go on the powerplay as Patrick Reimer's stick caught an OAR player in the face. This is just the opportunity the Russians have been waiting for!
07:54 - Germany are more than holding their own. The shot clock never tells the whole story, but OAR are outshooting Germany by a margin of just 29-25.
07:51 - German hearts stop as Ilya Kovalchuk breaks in (almost) alone on the German netminder. Pad save and a beauty from Aus den Birken!
07:49 - Just over five minutes into overtime, both teams are looking cautious, as one would expect. Nobody wants to make the mistake that could cost them the game.
07:48 - Whatever happens now, nobody, German or otherwise, will forget this gold-medal match anytime soon!
07:42 - Germany and OAR are back on the ice for the start of overtime. And the puck has dropped! Interesting that the two teams have not switched ends for the OT period.
07:30 - The two teams have returned to the dressing room. To follow is a 20-minute sudden-death ovetime period. If they're still tied after 20, it goes to a penalty shootout.
07:27 - We're going to overtime! Germany were so close to gold! Who needs National Hockey League players? This final is way more exciting than the one in Sochi four years ago!
07:24 - OAR take a 30-second timeout.
07:23 - Goal for OAR! Russia score shorthanded to tie it up 3-3! Nikita Gusev scores his second of the game with the Russian goalie pulled for the extra attacker.
07:21 - Now the Russians have taken a penalty. Sergei Kalinen gets the gate for tripping, germany go on the powerplay with 2:11 left in regulation.
07:19 - Goal for Germany! Jonas Müller puts it away with 3:19 to go in the third! Germany take the lead for the first time in the gold-medal game.
07:13 Goal for Germany! Dominik Kahun draws Germany level after Russia took the lead! Kahun puts it away after a nice pass from Frank Mauer. The German word for goal is "Tor," normally spelled with just one "o":
07:12 - Goal for the Olympic Athletes from Russia! Nikita Gusev threads the needle over Aus den Birken's shoulder to give the favorites a 2-1 lead.
07:09 - Patrick Hager got a partial break away, but Sergei Kalinen was all over him. Kalinen is injured after crashing into a goal post. Seven and a half minutes left in regulation time.
07:00 - Who would have thought Germany would be tied with OAR almost seven minutes into the third? The shots are now 22-19 for Russia, a little more even than they were at the end of two, an indication of Germany's strong start to the period.
06:55 - Germany with a good start to the third period, spending much of the first four minutes in the Russian zone.
06:50 - The puck has dropped for the third and final frame of regulation time!
06:35 - The siren goes to end the second period. Germany have it all to play for as they go into the dressing room with a 1-1- tie. All over Germany, hockey fans woke up before 5 a.m. to watch this one on TV - including at the fan shop for the Cologne Sharks:
06:31 - German netminder Aus den Birken looks sharp again as he makes a glove save on a close-range shot with two and a half minutes left in the second.
06:23 - It looked like Germany had their their second powerplay opportunity of the game, but the referee reverses the call as it appears it was a German, not a Russian stick that cut the German player.
06:20 - Reimer is back on the ice, Germany have killed off their second penalty of the game.
06:17 - Seconds after play resumes, Patrick Reimer gets the gate for hooking. Powerplay for Russia!
06:16 - The referee says it's a good goal! It was a soft one for Koshechkin to give up as it slipped through his paraphernalia.
06:12 - GOAL for GERMANY! Felix Schütz scores for Germany to tie it up for Germany, but the goal is under video review.
06:08 - Powerbreak in Pyeongchang! The Russians are outshooting Germany 16-9 with 13 minutes left in the second period. It's hard to imagine the OAR making the sort of mistake that could lead to a German goal.
06:02 - Still 1-0 for OAR almost four minutes into the second. Germany are looking for their first victory over Russia since their 2-0 win at the World Championship in Bratislava in 2011.
05:57 - The Germans create a couple of chances early in the second, but no problem for the Russian goalie, Vasili Koshechkin.
05:56 - The second period is underway!
05:55 - The two teams are back on the ice for the second period. Germany need to bounce back from that setback with half a second left in the first.
05:40 - OAR score with a half second left on the clock in the first period! Yyacheslav Voinov scores on a one-timer slapshot after Germany get hemmed in their own end for much of the last couple of minutes. That was disappointing after a solid first period. Although the Russians outshot the Germans 11-6, Germany are still very much in this contest.
05:36 - Danny Aus den Birken looks sharp, making a pad save on a one-timer with just over two minutes left in the first frame.
05:32 - Germany have killed the penalty! Five and a half minutes left in the first.
05:31 - Germany are under pressure after Christian Ehrhoff takes a two-minute penalty for hooking.
05:25 - The Germans really look sharp against a much more talented opponent. As long as they keep it scoreless, they have a chance against the Big Red Machine.
05:22 - With eight minutes left in the first period it is still scoreless.
05:16 - The OAR get a decent shot off from the faceoff circle to the right of German goalie Danny Aus den Birken, but he is equal to the task.
05:14 - The Russians are back to full strength with the expiration of the OAR penalty.
05:11 - Germany get their first powerplay oppotunity of the match!
05:10 - The puck has dropped for the opening faceoff!
05:08 - The Russians have been waiting for this for at least four years too. They were determined to finally get another gold in Sochi but failed. There last was as the Unified Team in 1992 in Albertville.
05:06 - This is the moment that a generation of German hockey fans have been waiting for as Germany and Russia take to the ice for the opening faceoff. Welcome to the gold-medal game in ice hockey!
04:53 - The teams are out on the ice warming up. Just a shade over quarter of an hour to go now.
04: 49 - On a somewhat- related note, here's the latest on the IOC's decision not to allow Russian athletes to march under their country's flag in the closing ceremony. Assuming there are no more doping violations, Russia will be allowed back in to the Olympic fold after these games.
04:39 - Whatever happens there'll be a new Winter Olympic ice hockey gold medallist when this match is over. Germany's previous best is bronze (in 1932 and as West Germany in 1976) while OAR have obviously never competed before. A joint team consisting of six former Soviet republics won in Albertville in 1992 while the Soviet Union won seven golds between 1056 and 1988.
04:25 - We've got a little time before the face-off, so it's worth going over Germany's route to this final. Their semifinal'Wunder von Pyeongchang' victory over Canada was the headline-grabbing shock but it's worth remembering that their dramatic 4-3 overtime win over Sweden in the quarterfinals was also something of an upset. The German side have really grown in to the games, a nervy penalty shootout win over Norway helped them edge through the group stage in 3rd after defeats in their first two matches. Can they manage the ultimate turnaround?
04:10 - It's now exactly an hour until the men's ice hockey final where plucky underdogs Germany (that's a strange sentence to write) face the Olympic Athletes of Russia. That gives you plenty of time to read our preview of the big game, which includes the following gem of a quote: "You don't need caviar every day. You can also live with leberkase and weisswurst, and that (Friday) was such a day."
04:00 - GOLD FOR GERMANY! Another flawless run for Nico Walther and his crew seals the gold for Germany and puts them back on top of the medal table. This crew have led the whole way through the four runs and never really look troubled. Germany will share silver with South Korea after Nico Walther's crew tied with that of the hosts.
03:57 - Unbelievable. It's a tie. The South Koreans were within a few hundreths of a second of the Germans all the way down and, after four heats, have exactly the same cumulative time. That means they share the silver. At least.
03:53 - Nico Walther's crew will get a medal, they're top of the leaderboard after a solid run. The South Koreans could edge ahead of them with a strong run though.
03:51 - There will be no medal for Lochner and his crew, which is disappointing for one of the pre-games favorites for this event. Switzerland lead from Latvia and Canada. Three, including the two German crews, to go.
03:48 - Latvia are the new leaders. The cumulative time to beat is 3:16:55. Six to go.
03:41- Lochner's German crew step up, with little to lose. They know they need something special to give them a chance. But they can't produce, starting slowly and losing further ground on the second corner. They currently sit second, behind the Austrians but that's likely to change very soon...
03:33 - We're getting to the business end of the bobsleigh now. Johannes Lochner's German crew, currently in sixth, must wait a little though. They will need an absolutely blistering run to stand a chance of a medal. After them it's Latvia, Switzerland, Canada, Germany (Walther), South Korea and finally Germany (Friedrich).
03:19 - The bobsleigh is back for the final run. We're down to 20 crews and, finally, it's in reverse order, so Francesco Friedrich's Germany crew will be last to go.
03:17 - GOLD MEDAL FOR SWEDEN! The hosts concede and there's tears, hugs and waves for the family from the Swedes. There are also tears from the Koreans, who join hands to bow to the home fans. Sweden win the first medal of the last day with a thoroughly dominant performance.
03:14 - Sweden are showboating a little here but still pick up the point to take an all-but unassailable 8-3 lead in to the final end. The home side are still being well supported though, they've really surpassed expectations in this games but come up short at the last.
02:58 - Not a lot of animation as the camera pans around the curling crowd. This one is done. South Korea pull a consolation back but the Swedish team are all smiles, they' ll be winning the first gold of today and their country's seventh of this games. It's 7-3, with two ends remaining.
02:48 - Oh dear. It looks like the curling final is all over. Kim Eun-jung left her last stone wide of Sweden's two and the Scandinavians swooped in to take three with the last stone. It's 7-2 with three ends remaining and the hosts need a miracle.
02:45 - Heat 3 of the bobsleigh is wrapped up and Franscesco Friedrich's German crew have a fairly commanding lead. It looks like the second German crew wil fight it out with the South Koreans for silver. The final heat will be in 30 minutes.
02:33 - A bit of breaking news on Russian doping. The IOC has said it will consider lifting Russia's Olympic suspension after these games if there are no further doping violations in Pyeongchang. But they still don't believe the ban should be lifted ahead of the closing ceremony.
IOC chief Thomas Bach said the two positive Russians tests in these games were "hugely disappointing" and "prevented the IOC from even considering the lifting of the suspension for the closing ceremony."
02:31 - South Korea pull one back in the curling, they are now 4-2 down with four ends remaining. They're still alive but Sweden are heavy favorites.
02:22: - We'll just pop back to the bobsleigh quickly where we're approaching the end of heat 3. As anticipated, there's been no movement at the top of the leaderboard. It must be said that the format here is odd. Really no-one outside the top ten crews has any chance of a medal so we're just waiting for the top crews to go down again. Of course, the other teams have a right to have both their runs but, unless I'm missing something - which is quite possible - the spectacle would be greater if the order were reversed so the leaders went last.
02:14: - A bit of rollercoaster of an end there but Sweden extend their lead to 4-1. It could have been a lot worse, there were a couple of points where Hasselborg's brilliance looked like it'd grab her team two or three but the hosts also had their chances.
It's a long way back for Korea here though and a lot of pressure on Kim Eun-jung. Incidentally, I've just found out that all five of South Korea's curlers and their coach share the surname Kim. According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, that surname accounts for 22 per cent of the population in the Korean Peninsula. Here are three of the Kims looking a little like the three stages of shock, as well they might.
Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Seonyeong and Kim Kyeongae in the women's curling final
02:03 - South Korea are in a bit of trouble here. Sweden have three in the house and the hosts have none. Kim Eun-jung needs to step up.
01:58 - Great stuff again from Swedish skip Anna Hasselborg who knocks out the Koreans with an exceptional penultimate stone that is on the button. Kim Eun-jung has no answer and Sweden lead 3-1 after four ends. But a quick Twitter poll on the Olympics account tells us it won't stay that way.
01:51 - With the fastest teams from the first two runs going first in the bobsleigh, there's unlikely to be any change at the top end of the standings for a while as the rest of the 29 teams have their crack at it. Francesco Friedrich's Germans are looking very good for gold while the second German crew look to be in a tight tussle for silver. The final run will be at 03:15.
01:45 - The last of the German crews rockets their way down the course. But they're losing ground all the time and stay in seventh, a full second back from their leading compatriots. Over in the curling, Anna Hasselborg has taken advantage of a Korean error to get on the coard with a two and Sweden lead 2-1.
01:33 - The Korean crew went down 0.13 seconds slower than Friedrich's men before Nico Walther's crew got off to a slightly sloppy start to finish 0.01 behind the Koreans. That means they are 0.42 and 0.49 seconds back from the leaders in the cumulative totals.
01:31 - The first German team has just finished their first of two decisive runs in the four-man bobsleigh. Francesco Friedrich's crew were the first down, after setting the fastest times in yesterday's two heats and flew down in 48.76. That's the mark to beat. South Korea are up next, followed by the second German crew.
01:28 - Sweden miss the chance to equalize. A bit of a defensive battle there, which ended with a single Korean stone at the far edge of the house. Swedish skip Anna Hasselborg couldn't take advantage though, her throw clipping the opponent's stone rather than hitting it square on. South Korea still lead 1-0. Also worth noting there's another battle at play here, with the winner of this match likely to finish above the loser in the medal table. South Korea sit just below Sweden, but both are on six golds.
01:19 - A more tactical battle is emerging in the second end, with the Koreans throwing a strong early guard.
01:15 - First blood to South Korea. After Sweden put themselves in pole position with a beautifully-judged penultimate stone, Korean skip Kim Eun-jung nervelessly glanced the red stone out of the house to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
01:03 - We start off with the women's curling final between South Korea and Sweden. The hosts are big underdogs here, with the Swedes having picked up a medal in every games since the sport was first played at the Nagano Olympics in 1998. Can a crowd that's sure to be heavily partisan spur them on? We're about to find out.
00:50 After shock victories, sport-hopping gold medallists, doping scandals and plenty of toy white tigers, the last day of Pyeongchang is upon us. There are still four gold medals to be won and Germany have a decent chance of claiming two of them. The country has won four of the last six four-man bobsleigh golds in the Winter Olympics and, with crews ranked 1,2 and 7 after Saturday's opening two heats, they'll fancy their chances of improving that record.
The Germans are not so fancied against the Olympic Athletes of Russia in the men's ice hockey final. But then, they weren't fancied in the semifinal against Canada. Should Germany win more golds than Norway in today's events, they will finish on top of the medal table for the first time since Turin in 2006. There are also medals to be claimed in women's curling and cross country skiing and, of course, the closing ceremony to round it all out.
