Russia scrape past Slovakia

The Russian Federation men's ice hockey team have defeated Slovakia in today's clash at the Sochi Winter Olympics, but required a penalty shootout to see off their opponents 2-0.

The hosts managed just five shots compared to nine from Slovakia as the teams remained locked at 0-0 after the first period.

As the game went on, Russia began piling on the pressure and nearly came close to breaking the deadlock when a shot hit the Slovakian crossbar and post, but failed to cross the line.

After extra time, it came down to a penalty shootout, and the host nation scored two goals to secure the victory.