Also during the warmup you could see highly talented players. On the Russian side Nikolai Zherdev wore the C on his jersey for the first time because Maxim Sheviev wasn’t able to play due to injury. Other Russian players, mostly forwards, showed glimpses of briliance even during the warmup. They are alternate captain Vladislav Evseev, Igor Ignatouchkin, Evegni Isakov or Dmitri Kazionov.
On the Canadian side, Rick Nash, Daniel Paille, Alex Leavitt, Pierre- Marc Bouchard, Lance Monych and captain Tim Brent were the top prospects at forward while alternate captain Ian White, Andy Thompson, Adam Gibson and Kevin Klein were shining at defense. Maxime Daigneault and Denis Khoudiakov were the starters in goal on their respective sides.
Immediately after the game started it was evident that it’ll be a high-paced contest with lots of determination and offense. The Canadian players created the first scoring chance of the game as the Russian goalie Khoudiakov didn’t make a sure save and Tim Brent could almost rebound the loose puck. Soon after that Tim had to visit the penalty box for tripping, but the Canadians didn’t allow any scoring chance to the Russians.
Tim Brent had his fingers also in the first goal of the game. He received a pass from Pierre-Marc Bouchard, returned the puck to Bouchard as they passed the blue line and Pierre-Marc Bouchard fired an accurate wrist shot which went next to Khoudiakov’s blocker into the net. It was at 4:03 of the first period.
The next Canadian goal came at 6:12. One player from each side was sitting in the penalty box and the Canadians have put the Russians into pressure. Jarret Lukin passed the puck to Alex Leavitt who was standing at the top of the right faceoff circle and Alex fired a hard slap shot. Another Canadian player in front of the net jumped up and Konstantin Barulin, who replaced Khoudiakov, saw the puck when it was already in his net.
Then came a part of the game when the Russians rallied to cut the margin while the Canadians aggresively forechecked, delivered some hits and played an intense game. Nikolai Zherdev had a hard time passing the Canadian defense but his great stickhandling helped him to test if Maxime Daigneault still focuses on the game. Zherdev was clearly the top offensive forward on the ice. His teammate Evseev had also some offensive raids but he was very also useful in stopping the Canadian attacks and played well defensively.
On the Canadian side, Eric Staal and Rick Nash played a great first
period. Both players showed a perfect vision and their mix of great
skating and stickhandling skills along with tough play around the boards
always meant danger for the Russian net.
But it was Maxime Daigneault who had to bring the puck out of his
own net. At 14:40 Igor Ignatouchkin fired a wrist shot near the right
goalpost and Nikolai Zherdev rebounded the puck behind Daigneault’s
back.
Just about two minutes after the Zherdev’s goal, the Canadians restored their two-goal lead. With Dmitri Kostouk in the penalty box for interference, Rick Nash received a nice pass from Adam Gibson when he was at high speed, splitted the defense and fired a wrist shot which went over Barulin’s blocker into the net.
69 seconds after that, at 1:50, Nikolai Zherdev scored his second goal of the game. Anton Babchuk fired a hard slap shot which went high over the net, hit the boards and returned in front of the Canadian net. Zherdev was the first player there and he succesfully hit the flipping puck into the Canadian net. So after the first period the Canadians were holding a narrow 3:2 lead. Lots of offensive hockey was played during this period and both sides wanted to outscore their opponent and not to outdefense him. Tim Brent also played a strong period as this mobile skater was using his very good stickhandling skills and made some nice passes and fired two dangerous shots.
At the beginning of the second period the Russian bench became a minor penalty for too many men and it was the second consecutive game this happened to the Russians. Denis Khoudiakov was back in the Russian net and he could be sure that he’ll have lots of work.
At 3:43 he gave up the first goal, scored by Rick Nash, but it was Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s play. The Chicoutimi forward went into the Russian zone from the left wing, avoided a hit from the defenseman, but the defenseman was still able to knock him off the puck in the last second. Pierre-Marc didn’t give up, took the puck from the defenseman again, turned around, saw Rick Nash going into a scoring position on the left faceoff circle and made a perfect pass which landed direct on Nash’s tape. Nash one-timed the pass which ended over Khoudiakov’s shoulder.
Just 77 seconds after that the Canadians scored again. Denis Khoudiakov looked shaky in this game, but this goal wasn’t his fault. Daniel Paille went into the slot, tried to deke Khoudiakov but was knocked off the puck. The Russian defensemen weren’t able to fire the puck away and Maxime Talbot rebounded the loose puck into the net. The first ten minutes of the second period were offense only and offensive players had lots of space. Russian captain Zherdev and Canadian alternate captain Bouchard displayed very good skating and stickhandling skills as they easily outplayed the opposing defensemen.
But it was Russian Maxim Krivonojkin who scored probably the most beautiful goal of the game. It was at 6:56, Alexei Stonkous passed the puck to Dmitri Kazionov who sent the puck into the Canadian zone. Krivonojkin was racing along the boards and had the puck on his stick after he passed the blue line. He was skating from the right wing and made a curve to the net. Then he looked up, aimed the shot and lifted the puck right under the crossbar. Surprised Daigneault couldn’t do anything. Referee called it Vladislav Evseev’s goal, but it was number 26, Maxim Krivonojkin who scored this beautiful goal. At 8:39, the Canadian team made use of its dangerous powerplay. Alexei Stonkous was in the penalty box for interference and Tim Brent took his position in front of the Russian net. Adam Gibson fired a slap shot from the blue line and Brent made a perfect deflection, which surprised Khoudiakov, who had no chance against it.
Soon after that Anton Babchuk made the most beautiful hit of the game. He saw a Canadian player skating at full speed along the boards, turned straight to the boards right in time to hit the Canadian with full strength, face-to-face. It was a crashing hit, both players fell on the ice and the audience was applauding.
Tim Brent was the first player to receive a major penalty plus a game misconduct penalty in the game. After a faceoff, he badly slashed his Russian opponent and broke him almost the wrist. The Russian player laid injured on the ice for some seconds while Brent went to the dressing room.
The following Russian two-man advantage (they already were on powerplay) wasn’t good. Anton Babchuk made some nice passes as a powerplay quarterback, but the Canadians blocked all shots. So Babchuk tried to fire some shots of his own but with both of his slap shots he hit only the Canadian player standing in front of him.
But Nikolai Zherdev scored the goal, finishing his hattrick in only two periods. Ilya Krikounov won the puck near the right goalpost and passed it through the crease where Zherdev was standing near the left goalpost. Nikolai received the pass and didn’t hesitate to shoot the puck into the almost empty net. After that he could celebrate the hattrick, but no hats fell on the ice as it isn’t a common thing in the Czech Republic. It was 6:4 for Canada, the Russians could still hope in a strong third period and a win.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard froze their chances already at the beginning. Alex Leavitt passed the puck to Rick Nash who fed Bouchard. Pierre-Marc stood in front of the Russian net, skated into a better position and then lifted the puck over Khoudiakov’s glove to give the Canadians a three-goal lead. Khoudiakov had a bad performance this game and this goal was his fault. He couldn’t improve his performance with Rick Nash on a lone breakaway, because the London foward missed the net with his shot.
At 9:40 it was decided about the winner. The Russian defensemen wanted to support the offense too much and now there were Jarret Lukin and Rick Nash alone in front of Khoudiakov. Lukin passed the puck to Nash who was at higher speed and before Khoudiakov could move to another goalpost, Rick Nash chipped the puck in. With this goal Nash also completed his hattrick and now the Russians knew that they can’t beat the Canadian team.
Alexander Semin was very angry and when the referee called a minor penalty which he should serve, Semin yelled something at the official and because he kept on hollering at the referee, he got also a 10-minute penalty. Vladislav Evseev still didn’t give up and made a nice play as he deked the Canadian defenseman and fired a wrist shot, which ended in Daigneault’s glove.
At 17:27 there was the last goal of the game. Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Rick Nash battled for the puck in the corner, Bouchard won it, fed Nash who immediately passed it to Derek Meech, who was standing between the faceoff circles. Meech’s shot went through the screen and surprised Khoudiakov. The score was set, 9:4 for Canada.
But the exciting game still wasn’t over. The rough stuff was still missing. But the audience could be more than happy with the action, which took place with 103 seconds left to play. The play was in the neutral zone, but everybody looked into the Canadian zone, where the sticks, gloves and helmets were flying on the ice. Andy Thompson and Vladislav Evseev were ready for a tough fight. The linesmen couldn’t stop them and the players were throwing wild punches at the beginning of the fight. One tried to beat the other one with a series of fast hard punches into the face and Thompson gave Evseev one punch more. Then he made use of the situation and both players fell on the ice. After that Thompson and Evseev were trying to stand up again, but Evseev caught Thompson’s leg, tried to bring him down to the ice and stay over him. Thompson could set himself free and he finished the fight lying on Evseev and tossing some punches into his face. Then the linesmen went into action and both players went to the dressing rooms soon with a fighting major and a game misconduct penalty. The players on the Canada’s bench celebrated Thompson as the winner of the fight and Andy left for the dressing room with a smile on his face, red of Evseev’s punches. Vladislav showed his nasty edge and he wasn’t a clear loser of the fight. He was a tough opponent for Thompson and he lost only because he finished the fight under Thompson. It’s great to see that such a skilled player as Evseev isn’t afraid of dropping the gloves and fighting. Nothing special happened after the fight and it was clear that the game will be a 9:4 win of Canada. After the game Nikolai Zherdev and Rick Nash were voted as the best players of their teams.
Then the Canadian players could fully celebrate their victory in the first year of the World Junior Cup. They lost only to Switzerland and with their aggresive offensive play, determination and overall skill they are the deserving winners!
