Russia rally to beat Latvia 3-1 in ice hockey WC

Latvia scored the first goal but Russia answered with three straight to mount a 3-1 comeback win in Group B on Saturday at world ice hockey championship.

Oskars Cibulskis pleased Latvia's fans in the middle of the first period with a hard one-timer on a rare 4 on 3 power play that ended Russia's three-game shutout streak, but that turned out to be the only shot to find its way into Andrei Vasilevski's goal.

The Russians switched their offensive machine immediately to full power but they had to wait until the start of the second period to even up the score. Dmitrij Orlov sent in a hard slap shot from the top of the left circle and three minutes later, Nikita Gusev put Russia in the lead after a nice combination, 2-1.

Nikita Kucherov sealed the 3-1 victory, fifth consecutive for Russia, later in the second on a breakaway. The Latvians pulled their goalie towards the end but failed to capitalize on the man advantage.

Russia lead Group B with 15 points and will be tested on Sunday against last year's silver medalists Switzerland. Latvia are still hoping for a chance to advance to the quarterfinals and will face off against Sweden on Monday.