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2004 U20 WJC: Russia gets first win
Written by: Eugene Belashchenko on 12/29/2003 
After the loss to Slovakia, Russia rebounded with a strong performance against Sweden. Sergei Anshakov had a couple of goals, with 2004 NHL Entry Draft prospect Evgenii Malkin setting him up for a beauty on one of the tallies. Russia then continued to roll against Austria, with a 3-1 victory.
Russia vs. Sweden 5:3 (2:0; 0:2; 3:1)
Penalties: 10-20
Shots: 26-29
Goalies: Barulin-Lindstrom
Goals: 1:0 Alexander Semin (Evgenii Malkin, Sergei Anshakov √ 7:07pp); 2:0 Alexander Ovechkin (Konstantin Korneev, Evgenii Malkin √ 18:30pp); 2:1 Johan Andersson (Andreas Waldix √ 35:08); 2:2 Monir Kalgoum (Alexander Hult √ 36:51); 3:2 Sergei Anshakov (Evgenii Malkin, Andrei Spiridonov √ 46:38); 3:3 Robert Nilsson (Johan Bjork, Alexander Tang √ 50:55pp); 4:3 Sergei Anshakov (Andrei Spiridonov, Alexander Semin √ 56:35); 5:3 Alexei Shkotov (Alexander Ovechkin, Dmitri Pestunov √ 59:59en);
Team Russia Lineup (10): Barulin; Korneev √ Grot (2), Gimaev √ Spiridonov, Tyulyapkin (2) √ Karpov, Kosmachev √ Ezhov; Ovechkin √ Pestunov √ Shkotov, Krikunov √ Malkin √ Anshakov, Shafigulin √ Kozhevnikov (2) √ Ermolin, Tunik √ Kazionov √ Semin (4).
Game Recap:
The OPS line was once again Russia's strongest, with Alexei Shkotov leading the way. He was all over the ice for most of the game, almost scoring his first goal after skating around a defenseman, but then unable to fake out the goaltender. Washington Capitals player Alexander Semin started the game off quickly, scoring Russia's first goal with a precise wrist shot, off Gimayev's set up. Alexander Ovechkin scored a beautiful second goal. He skated his way into the zone, beat a defenseman and was then pulled down him, but still managed to stickhandle the puck behind Sweden's back stopper.
The Swedes started the second period off faster, skating better, and got their chance to get back into the game when Kozhevnikov was penalized for slashing. However, the Swedes did not succeed, and instead Evgenii Malkin had a great chance to widen the range after intercepting a pass in the Swedish zone, but then was unable to beat the goalie. Towards the end of the period the Swedes regained the initiative and put together two quick goals in less then two minutes to tie the game up. Things calmed down a bit, and Alexander Ovechkin then had a great chance to put Russia ahead again on a breakaway, but was unable to convert.
After floating a bit in the second period, Semin came back in force in the third, having a great chance, actually three great chances, on the same play when he got two rebounds off his initial shot before being pulled down by the Swedish defensemen. Five minutes later, Sergei Anshakov finally pulled Russia ahead after wrestling the puck away from two defensemen and beating Linstrom in the five hole. He then added his second goal of the day after breaking out into the offensive zone, and scoring with a sharp angle shot that deflected off a defenseman's stick, after a nice feed from Evgenii Malkin. Shkotov ended Sweden's chances with an empty net goal with just one second left in the game, icing Russia's first win of the tournament.
Russia vs. Austria 3:1 (1:0; 1:1; 1:0)
Goals: 1:0 Sergei Anshakov (Sergei Gimayev, Alexander Semin 17:38); 1:1 Thomas Vanek (Manuel Latusa, Patrick Harand 26:55); 2:1 Evgenii Malkin (Andrei Spiridonov 31:32); 3:1 Alexander Ovechkin (Konstantin Korneev, Alexei Shkotov 53:14);
Goalies: Denis Khudyakov Thomas Innerwinkler (Mathias Lance 40:00);
Penalties: 8-12
Shots: 50-17
Team Russia Lineup: Khudyakov; Korneev Grot (2), Gimaev Spiridonov, Tyulyapkin Karpov, Kosmachev Ezhov (2); Ovechkin Pestunov (4) Shkotov, Semin Malkin Anshakov, Krikunov Kozhevnikov Kazionov, Tunik Shafigullin Ermolin .
Game Recap: The Russian squad took this game as a chance to continue developing the team's roster and preparing for the bigger opponents that lie in the near future, such as Team USA, which has a hot goalie and two shutouts in as many games. Washington Capitals player Alexander Semin has been heating up and earned a promotion to the team's second line, where he skated with 2004 NHL Entry Draft sensation Evgenii Malkin and Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Sergei Anshakov, who has been one of Russia's top scorers at the tournament. The move paid off, as the line looked very active. In addition to the changes up front, the coach kept the defensive corps unchanged, but did let Russia's backup goalie, Denis Khudyakov, get a game in early in the tournament. Khudyakov saw relatively little action, seeing only 17 shots. The only goal that he did allow came from the stick of Buffalo's 2003 first round pick, Thomas Vanek.
Copyright 2003 Hockey’s Future. Do not reprint or otherwise duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.
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