In the fourth match of the championship, the Lithuanians beat China 3:0 (1:0, 0:0, 2:0). Goalkeeper Mantas Armalis was recognized as the best player of the match.
The best Lithuanian ice hockey player of all time, Olympic champion Darius Kasparaitis, also watched the match at the Twinsbet Arena in the capital.
In the presence of the legendary “Kaspar”, Markas Kaleinikovas opened the scoring already in the fifth minute of the first half. After the first blocked shot, the Lithuanian did not get lost, made the second one in a row and disarmed the Chinese goalkeeper.
It was the fourth goal of M. Kaleinikov in this championship.
Lithuania controlled things throughout the first half, spent much more time in the opponent’s zone, “fed” the goalkeeper with shots, but R.Pasco’s army failed to increase the advantage until the end of the half.
In the second half, the Chinese were already more active, but the defense links of the Lithuanians stood firm. The hosts of the ice didn’t fall apart even after two minutes with one player less.
At the end of the half, the Lithuanian national team goalkeeper Mantas Armalis brought the arena to its feet with his excellent skills. No goals were scored in a half that was more defensive than offensive.
The “dry” part of the match was interrupted by the long-time player of the Lithuanian national team, Paulius Gintautas. He doubled the Lithuanian advantage in the first minute of the third quarter. The Lithuanian took advantage of a disappointing mistake by the Chinese goalkeeper, and Martynas Grinius, who scored a penalty at the end of the match, nailed the last nail.
During the four matches played, the Lithuanians did not lose a single time – first they managed to beat the Spaniards 3-0, then they crushed the Estonians 6-1 and defeated the Netherlands 3-2.
The Chinese ice hockey team started the championships with two victories (beating the Netherlands 3-0, crushing Spain 7-1), but on Tuesday it was not even 0-9 against Ukraine.
The fight for the world championship gold medals will take place on Friday at 19:00. 30 minutes The Ukrainians did not lose a single match in this match either.
