Puck Drops at Bolshoy Ice Dome

Sweden knocked off the Czech Republic 4-2 in front of a packed house in the opening match of the men’s ice hockey tournament last night at the "Bolshoy" Ice Dome.

Numerous National Hockey League stars skating for both squads made the transition to the larger international ice surface, which is fifteen feet wider than North American rinks. The ice surface in Sochi is 200-feet-long by 100-feet wide, which means there is an extra 3,000 square feet of ice to cover.

"It was fun to be out there again," said Swedish goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who normally is between the pipes for the NHL’s New York Rangers. "The mindset going in was not only do we want to win the game, but also you want to start building something and this was a good step for us."

About his approach to goaltending on the larger ice, Lundquvist said: "I try not to change, even though they get more time and space and you get sucked out a little bit, but I want to stay deep. It’s a challenge, you have to remind yourself not to be too aggressive.

"I want to play the same way as I play in the U.S.," said Lundqvist, who stopped 27 of 29 shots by the Czech Republic, including three by five-time Olympian Jaromir Jagr.

"I think its equal for everybody," said Swedish veteran Daniel Alfredsson. "I don’t think you can say that bigger is better just for the Europeans teams of the smaller ice is better for the North Americans. It is a little bit different, though."

Next door at the Shayba Ice Arena – the second men’s ice hockey venue – Switzerland beat Latvia 1-0 on a Simon Moser goal in the final ten seconds to break the deadlock.

In Thursday action, the U.S. trounced Slovakia 7-1, Russia knocked off Slovenia 5-2, and Canada defeated Norway 3-1.

Written by Brian Pinelli.

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