Kazakhstan withstands ‘Swiss challenge' 3:2 at IIHF World Championship

The match that was held at the VTB Ice Palace proved to be quite entertaining.

Samuel Walser put Switzerland on the scoreboard in the opening period. The Swiss continued to press, but Kazakh goalie Kolesnik was invincible, making several big saves.

Kazakhstani Roman Savchenko tied the score in the middle stanza. Then, Kazakh captain Roman Starchenko outplayed Swiss goalie Reto Berra and gave his team a much needed 2-1 lead in the final period.

However, Andrei Nazarov's side was unable to keep the score. Swiss forward Denis Hollenstein managed to blast a shot right into Kazakhstan's net in the 53rd minute of the match, setting the stage for overtime.

Forward Nigel Dawes scored twice in the penalty shootout giving the Kazakh squad a 3-2 win over Switzerland.

Tomorrow Kazakhstan will play against the hosts Russia.