Feb 16 2014 Sochi RUSSIA Russia forward Artyom Anisimov 42 defends Slovakia forward Tomas Zaborsky 67 in a mens preliminary round ice hockey game during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Bolshoy Ice Dome Winslow Townson USA TODAY Sports
Good morning, afternoon or evening everyone!
This is the live blog for the men’s Olympic hockey qualification game between host Russia and Norway, which begins at 7:30 AM Eastern.
Russia finished just outside the top four teams, ensuring they would have to play an extra qualifying game. Following their dramatic loss to the USA, they went scoreless into a shootout with Slovakia before winning it.
Norway finished at the bottom of the standings but more than handled themselves against Canada (a 3-1 game) and have improved dramatically over their 2010 effort. No team should be taken lightly, just ask the Slovenians.
So follow along for line matching, combinations, game updates, important plays and other observations from this game.
Michael Clifford
Michael Clifford was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada and is a graduate of the Unviersity of New Brunswick. He writes about fantasy hockey and baseball for XNSports and FantasyTrade411.com. He can be reached on Twitter @SlimCliffy for any fantasy hockey questions. Follow @SlimCliffy
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