Winter Olympics 2022 - Russians start men's ice hockey title defence with narrow win over Switzerland

The Russian Olympic Committee have begun their men's ice hockey title defence with a tight 1-0 win over Switzerland in their opening game at the Winter Games in Beijing. CSKA Moscow forward Anton Slepyshev opened the scoring with less than three seconds to go in the first period, after his cross took a huge deflection off Enzo Corvi into the back of the net.

Ad/> Tensions built at the end of the first half, with a dust up between both sets of players, moments before Slepyshev went from hero to villain when he was given a four-minute penalty for a headbutt. Beijing 2022Fillon Maillet wins individual biathlon gold as Thingnes Boe settles for bronzeYESTERDAY AT 10:13 Switzerland failed to take advantage of the powerplay and the Russians were thankful to goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov, who kept a clean sheet with 33 saves.

Former Carolina Blue Jackets forward Gregory Hofmann, one of few players involved in the competition who have played in the NHL this season, was the most wasteful of the Swiss team — with six attempts. ROC continue their defence against Denmark on Friday, while the USA and Canada both begin their challenge on Thursday against China and Germany respectively.