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Post by Terry on May 13, 2008 15:46:10 GMT -5
Russians rush past Swiss Two teams meet again in Wednesday’s quarter-finals 12-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – A three-goal first-period outburst set the tone as Russia took a 5-3 decision over Switzerland at the Colisee on Monday. Proudly wearing the “C,” Maxim Sushinsky scored twice to lead the way. With the win to close out the Qualifying Round, unbeaten Russia will meet fourth-place Switzerland again in Wednesday’s quarter-finals, and the Czechs and Swedes, second and third respectively in Group E, will face each other that day. Unlike previous years, there is no cross-over between the two different Qualifying Round groups for the quarter-finals. Alexander Ovechkin added a goal and an assist, and Dmitri Kalinin and Sergei Fedorov also scored for Russia. Raffaele Sannitz, Julien Vauclair, and Romano Lemm replied for the Swiss. Russian starter Evgeni Nabokov posted 19 saves for his second straight win, while Jonas Hiller made 32 stops for Switzerland. Although the Russians built up a 4-0 lead halfway through the game, they got sloppy in the second half, and it’s a concern that needs to be addressed by coach Slava Bykov heading into the elimination games. “We started to work a little less hard after 4-0,” said Bykov. “The lesson for the team was that they have to respect the other team at all times.” Early on, the Swiss tried to counter their opponents’ puck possession game by playing physically and clogging the neutral zone. But they took more than 10 minutes to register their first shot on goal, and it was clear Russia’s pressure would eventually pay dividends. The Russians opened the scoring at 15:21 when Kalinin pinched in and converted a great Danis Zaripov pass from the right faceoff circle. A couple of minutes later, it took just four seconds for Russia to capitalize with its second man advantage. Ilya Kovalchuk hammered a blueline one-timer that Ovechkin tipped under the crossbar. At first, the goal was credited as the first of the tournament for Kovalchuk, but no such luck for the 2004 Rocket Richard Trophy winner. “It was a good play by Ovechkin,” said Kovalchuk. “If he hadn't tipped it, maybe the goalie could have stopped it.” Then in a one-on-one confrontation, Sushinsky deked Swiss defenceman Beat Forster out of every piece of equipment you can name before roofing it stick side on Hiller for a 3-0 Russian lead at 18:45. “The three-minute lapse in the first period was built on individual mistakes, where the Russians punish you so very quickly,” said Swiss coach Ralph Krueger. Halfway through the second period, Fedorov made it 4-0, stepping into the right faceoff circle and wiring a wrister over Hiller’s glove. The Swiss goalie protested that Alexander Semin was in the crease, but to no avail. Just 32 seconds into the third period, the Swiss went to work with the man advantage and spoiled Nabokov’s bid for a first-ever World Championship shutout. Raffaele Sannitz deflected Forster’s center point drive past the screened netminder. At 45:30, the Russians got sloppy on the power play, enabling Julien Vauclair to lead a 2-on-1 break. Instead of trying to outwit Andrei Markov with a cross-ice pass, he simply snapped the puck over Nabokov’s glove to cut the deficit to 4-2. But although the Swiss continued to grind it out, they just didn’t have the firepower to tie the game. During a power play, they pulled Hiller for an extra attacker, but Sushinsky intercepted the puck at the Swiss blueline and fired it into the gaping cage with 2:35 left. Seconds after missing an empty net in front of the Russian crease, Romano Lemm got the puck again to Nabokov’s right, and this time he put it upstairs to round out the scoring at 5-3. The Swiss had one more chance with Fedorov off for cross-checking and Hiller pulled again in the dying seconds, but couldn’t keep the puck in the Russian zone. “It was a good wakeup call for us,” said Kovalchuk. “We knew that it was a good team. They beat Sweden and Belarus, two great teams, so it's not going to be easy on Wednesday.” For Switzerland, getting a World Championship point versus Russia is as rare and precious as a diamond-encrusted watch in a Zurich jewelry shop. The Swiss first beat Russia 4-2 in Basle in 1998, shocked them again by a 3-2 count in St. Petersburg in 2000, and managed a 3-3 tie in Vienna in 2005. They’ll need a real gem of a performance to oust the Russians in the quarter-finals. “We recovered in the second period, and the third period gives us a lot of courage to the game on Wednesday,” said Krueger. “Our players never did quit, and I think that showed what we need to do on Wednesday.” LUCAS AYKROYD www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/russians-rush-past-swiss.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=03f4aed852Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 13, 2008 15:48:56 GMT -5
Canada picks up speed in win Great goaltending, superb defence, and goals galore has Canada on track after 6-3 win over Finland. 12-05-08 HALIFAX – Canada’s defence hasn’t received the attention that other elements of the team has, but it was superb play in their own end--led by goalie Pascal Leclaire--for the first two periods that contributed greatly to the Canadians’ impressive 6-3 win over Finland this afternoon at the Metro Centre. The Rick Nash-Ryan Getzlaf-Dany Heatley line led the attack again with eight scoring points. Heatley had two goals to bump his tournament lead in both goals (9) and total points (13). Getzlaf had a goal and two assists and Nash three assists. Canada has now allowed just ten goals in six games, the best defensive record in the tournament. It has also scored 35 goals, tops in offense as well. This was the 15th straight win at the World Championship for the Canadians. The game was superbly refereed by the Swedish duo of Christer Larking and Marcus Vinnerborg who perhaps ignored the crackdown on obstruction for this one game. Nonetheless, players hit hard and got away with a few small infractions, but the rewards were worth it for fans of high-tempo hockey. Just eight routine minors were called all game by the Swedish zebras. With the win, Canada finishes the Qualification Round in first place and will face either Norway or Latvia in the quarter-finals on Wednesday afternoon. The Canadians will play Norway if Germany beats Latvia in the late game tonight and will play Latvia if the Latvians earn at least one point against Germany. Finland finishes in second place and will face the United States for the second time in three days. "We know the Americans are a tough team and we didn't want to play them again," offered captain Shane Doan of a possible quarter-finals date with neighbouring USA. "And, we knew Finland wanted to beat us, so it was important to end with a big win." It didn’t take long for the big line to make its mark against the Finns. Thirty-three seconds, to be exact. Nash came in over the blueline, moved the puck forward to Getzlaf who walked in past the defence and lifted a high shot over the glove of Niklas Backstrom before many of the fans had found their seats. The Finns tied the game up on a strange play. Canada had the man advantage and the Finns iced the puck and made a line change. Goalie Leclaire raced out, though, to get to the puck and move it ahead to Dany Heatley, stationed at centre ice. The pass reached Heatley but he lost control of it and Antti Pihlstrom skated down the wing as Leclaire hurried to his goal. He barely made it to the top of the crease and Pihlstrom beat Leclaire between the legs before the goalie could get into the set position. Canada countered with its own short-handed goal on a great give-and-go between Shane Doan and Chris Kunitz. Kunitz took the puck into the Finnish end and sent Doan in alone on Backstrom, but Doan deked himself out of position. He swung around, though, and from an impossible angle fired the puck over the fallen goalie to restore Canada’s lead. Moments later, Leclaire robbed Pihlstrom blind going post-to-post on a one-timer. It was portents of things to come as the Finns controlled much of the rest of the period, cycling effectively and maintaining puck possession with impressive tenacity. "We counted on Pascal a lot tonight, especially early on," Doan said. "We knew that if they had a lead that they could just shut it down." The second period saw Canada play solid defence while not worrying so much about scoring, yet the Nash line scored a beauty midway through the period when Heatley finished the play by driving to the net from the corner. He beat Backstrom with a backhand to the stick side. Getzlaf and Nash had made beautiful quick passes along the left boards to spring Heatley free. Patrick Sharp made it 4-1 on another short-handed effort, this time flying down the right wing and burying a shot between Backstrom’s pads at 18:12. "If you want to beat a team like Canada, you have to play a perfect game, and we clearly didn't do that," Finnish forward Teemu Selanne admitted. "You're not going to beat a team like that by giving up two short-handed goals." Some great forechecking by Doan and Jonathan Toews produced Canada’s fifth goal early in the third, culminating with Doan’s rocket of a shot over the glove of Backstrom who allowed five goals on just 15 shots to this point. Pihlstrom and Tuomo Ruutu scored for Finland in the third while Heatley added a second goal to complete the scoring for Canada. "I think this was a tough test for us," Patrick Sharp said. "They play a similar game that some National Hockey League teams do. We wanted to get this win today for the number-one seed, so we treated it as a do-or-die game. ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/canada-picking-up-speed-in-win.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=d2e2886806Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 13, 2008 15:51:17 GMT -5
Denmark wins thriller in OT Belarus puts in overtime for third time, still can't win. 13-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – After its games against Russia and the Czech Republic, Belarus now found itself on the other side of the table in a game of cat and mouse. The mouse won again, as Denmark got the win on overtime, 3-2. Even though both teams had already missed their opportunity to advance to the quarterfinals, the stakes were high as the standings in this year's World Championships have a bearing on the qualification to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Denmark’s goalkeeper Patrick Galbraith had his third start of the tournament, signaling a passing of the torch from Peter Hirsch, the team’s starter at the beginning of the World Championship. "It was the coach's decision, but Peter Hirsch and I had a good man-to-man talk last night, and he was very supportive of the decision. He thought that I would be up to the task, and he had no problem letting me start the game," said Galbraith after the game. Belarus, in turn, rode Vitali Koval all the way, starting him in all six games of the tournament. Galbraith was tested early in the game, when Mikhail Grabowsky set up Alexei Ugarov right in front of the net in the line’s first shift of the game, but the young Danish goalie made two fast kick saves, setting the tone for the night. "I was a little nervous, it was probably the biggest game of my life," said Galbraith who ended up making 33 saves tonight. Belarus had the puck and controlled the game, Denmark tried to set up a neutral zone trap, and wait for its chances. Patiently, very patiently. So patiently, that it took 14 minutes before Koval had to make the first save, and that on a Danish slapshot from the corner of the blueline. Belarus, on the other hand hand, had several scoring chances in the first period, but Galbraith turned away all 13 shots on goal. Koval, who had made 181 saves in the first five games - for the average of 36 - now only had two in the first period. "We had a little flashback of the games against the Russians and the Czechs. All the time, we thought we'd score any minute but their goalie played a terrific game," said Alexei Ugarov. At 21.19, Vladimir Denisov was sent to the penalty box for hooking. Denmark, the tournament’s 11th best powerplay team, cycled the puck, then sent it to Morten Green on the blueline. Koval got a piece of it but Kim Staal got the rebound for 1-0. With a little more than ten minutes remaining in the second period, Denmark had a chance when Jannik Hansen sent Morten Madsen on a breakaway. He was tripped and Denmark got a penalty shot. Koval, fresh out of two losing penalty shootout contests against Russia and the Czech Republic, got his revenge when he stopped Kim Staal, Denmark’s leading scorer in the tournament. In the third period, Galbraith became the Belarus forwards’ nightmare. Ugarov couldn’t believe his eyes when Galbraith made a glove save on his wrist shot from the slot. He raised his arms and held his head in disbelief. With 4:18 remaining, Belarus finally found a way to get the puck past Galbraith. Mikhail Grabovsky went around the net, found Ugarov in the slot, and this time, his wrist shot was too much for Galbraith. "The first time, I thought the puck went in, too, so it was twice as nice when I finally did score. I had at least ten scoring chances tonight so it was great to finally get a goal," Ugarov said. The next two minutes were all Belarus, and at 57:59, they got their reward when Dmirty Meleshko's slapshot from between the circles beat Galbraith on the stick side. "I don't want to swear, but I was praying that we'd bounce back. And we did so I'm proud of the guys," said Galbraith. The last minute was dramatic. First, with 40 seconds remaining, Denmark pulled Galbraith. After a faceoff in Belarus's zone, the puck bounced to Peter Regin who sent it past Koval to tie the game. Galbraith blocked Andrei Kostitsyn's shot with just 15 seconds remaining. Then, at 3.1 seconds remaining, Denmark pulled Galbraith again, in an effort to win the game in regulation time. Denmark lost the faceoff and the game went into sudden death. Peter Regin was Denmark's big hero when he slipped his wraparound past Koval to win the game 3-2 after 2:11 of the overtime. "You have to give full credit to Denmark. They found a way to play that would work against us and we fell right into it. We haven't turned the puck away in four, five games, but tonight we did that all the time. Individual errors cost us the game, but Denmark played a terrific game, too," said Belarus coach Curt Fraser after the game. Denmark's coach Mike Sirant was pleased with the tournament, even if the overtime win wasn't enough to give Denmark home-ice advantage in the Olympic qualification. "Our guys went out and did the job tonight. Whatever happens (with the Olympic qualification), happens," he said. "We played some great hockey in this World Championship and we can feel pretty good about how the players represented Denmark," he added. RISTO PAKARINEN www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/denmark-wins-thriller-in-ot.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=01e3e46c05Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 13, 2008 15:54:55 GMT -5
Can you say Norway! Three third period goals by Germany knock Latvia out of World Championship quarterfinal contention and Norway is in. 13-05-08 HALIFAX – Norway reached the quarterfinals, thanks to Germany's 5-3 win over Latvia. Yannic Seidenberg's third period goal fueled the win as German scores three times inside of four minutes of the final period. This the third and final game of the evening at the Halifax Metro Centre and the that determines who will face Canada on Wednesday. Entering the Qualifying Round things did not look good for Latvia, trailing Norway who came into Group F play with four points. On the strength of their win over Norway in the Qualifying Round, Latvia had their fate in their hands. For Germany, there was little left to play for except pride. For Norway it's the first time among the top-8 nations since 1990! "We had a couple of late goals in our last game and I think that gave us some confidence," said German forward Michael Wolf. "We really did not want to lose this game. They worked hard but perhaps were nervous because the game meant more to them." Knowing that they had to win or gain a point in overtime, Latvia immediately began working on getting solid scoring chances. For the entire period, Germany had a hard time dealing with the Latvian attack and providing an effective counterattack of its own. Latvia took a 1-0 lead when Martins Karsums attempted a wrap around that was saved by Dmitrij Patzold but a big rebound came out to Herberts Vasiljevs who shoveled it into the net. Vasiljevs shot went in glove side as Patzold stood no chance at stopping it. Germany was given its chance to pull level when Michael Hackert was pulled down by Mikelis Redlihs who was called for hooking. This gave Germany an opportunity to get its power play going. Entering tonight's game Germany's power play was third in the tournament at a 32% efficiency. Germany answered back on this man advantage with John Tripp causing plenty of havoc in front of Masalskis. Tripp screened the goaltender as Christopher Schmidt sent a shot on goal that Masalskis did not see. The goal was Schmidt's second of the tournament with 1:15 remaining in the period. Quick penalty to start second on Janis Sprukts for hooking gave the Germans a chance to take the lead but could not convert. Redlihs would atone for his taking the penalty that led to Germany's score when at 5:48 of the second period he added his own marker. Redlihs drove to the net using an going wide then shifting inside and on goal. His initial shot was stopped but squirted through Patzold's pads. Redlihs tapped the puck in as he skated past the crease behind the goaltender for a 2-1 lead for his team. Marco Sturm had a quality chance but was stopped. Still, the Germans kept pressing. Michael Wolf scored with a shot that hit Masalskis left glove and redirected into the net, tying the game at two. Karsums helped Latvia regain the lead when Vasiljevs attempted a one-on-one deke on Sprukts. The loose puck was picked up by Aleksandrs Nizivijs who flubbed on his shot. Philip Gogulla tried to clear the puck but it was intercepted by Karsums who scored. There it stood 3-2 at the end of two and the Latvians twenty minutes away from victory if they could hold on. The Germans enjoyed their best period when in the third the momentum shifted to their side. In addition, Latvia was losing its composure, which for a team of veterans, was the last thing anyone expected. Florian Busch tried to tuck the puck one handed under Masalskis as he drove to the net. As he bore in on net, Busch was knocked into the goalie but Christoph Schubert was there for the score. "I think both teams did not play very well in the first two periods," said Latvian netminder Edgars Masalskis. "They woke up in the third period and we didn't. That third goal broke us." The Germans would continue to make things interesting as they had several chances. Yannic Seidenberg gave the Germans the lead despite having Rodrigo Lavins draped over him in front. For the first time in the game, German held the lead. Christoph Ullman added another for good measure to make it 5-3. At this point, the game turned ugly. The Latvians started playing chippy hockey and taking careless penalties. Feeling confident know because of their effort, the Germans would not back down. Some roughing penalties and heated scrums later, Latvia saw their playoff opportunity erased and fans disappointed. Meanwhile, Norway meets Canada on Wednesday, which is amazing as it is newsworthy. JOHN SANFUL www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/can-you-say-norway.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=9a800da8a9Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 13, 2008 15:58:47 GMT -5
Updated schedule to show quarterfinal matchups.
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Post by Terry on May 15, 2008 11:38:27 GMT -5
Czech, please! Mattias Weinhandl's OT goal carries Sweden to the final four. 14-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – It's come down to this. Survival of the fittest. And smartest. And luckiest. And the ones with the best goalie. Sweden was all that when it downed the Czech Republic 3-2 in overtime after Mattias Weinhandl had pushed the puck in the net, lying on his back. "I was on my back and just tried to get the puck to the net," said Mattias Weinhandl. "Luckily, it hit some sticks and skates and gloves and found its way in. That's what you need sometimes: luck," he said. The disappointed Czechs agreed. "I think it was a really tight game. You couldn't say we were better or Sweden was better. It was a matter of one goal, and they got the lucky bounce in overtime," said Radim Vrbata. The nature of the game was obvious from the first shift, as Swedes had five men in the neutral zone, skating backwards, the Czechs trying to find a way to get the puck into the Swedish zone. The teams were sizing each other up early on in the game. The importance of the game was obvious as both teams seemed nervous, waiting for the other guys to make a mistake. "I don't think it was the most entertaining game in the world," said Patric Hornqvist after the game. At 2:16, Ladislav Kohn made one when he crosschecked Johan Andersson in the face, and was sent to the box for 2+10 minutes. Unfortunately for Sweden, their power play dried up when Mattias Weinhandl got a penalty for holding, giving the Czechs their first power play of the night. Swedish penalty killing has been excellent in the tournament, and tonight was no exception. The Swedes killed all Czech power plays in the game. Swedes took shots whenever they had a chance, in the hopes of Milan Hnilicka making a mistake. Instead, the veteran goalie turned away all nine shots i the first period, and even showed off his glove-hand reflexes when he denied Hornqvist from a point blank range. In the second period, both teams picked up the tempo, and especially the Czechs seemed determined to break the Swedish line of defence once and for all, forechecking harder than in the first period. At 26:29, the Swedes got a power play when Zbynek Michael was sent off for tripping. Nicklas Backstrom and Robert Nilsson played the puck to Anton Stralman on the point. Hnilicka gave a rebound, and Hornqvist was right on the edge of the blue paint to tip it in for 1-0. "We had a really good power play there, and we had it in the zone for over a minute when I got a clean rebound and shot it in. It was not the most difficult goal I've ever scored, but it felt good," said Hornqvist. Three minutes later, Ales Kolinek sent a wrist shot from the top of the left circle, Henrik Lundqvist made a save that sent the puck back to between the circles to Tomas Rolinek whose shot went in under Lundqvist’s pads. It was difficult to find anything that would tip the scale for either team. After two periods, everything was tied: shots on goal, save percentages, goals, even minor penalties. Early in the third period, the Czechs took it up a notch, putting Swedes on their heels, and peppering Lundqvist with shots at every chance they got. And then. At 7:41 remaining, the Czechs got a penalty shot after Radim Vrbata was tripped on a breakaway. Just as Vrbat was about to take the shot, the doors were opened and the ice cleaners were sent out. Nothing could faze Vrbata who beat Lundqvist on the stick side with a backhander. But the Swedes didn't give up. With 3:38 remaining, Marcus Nilson fired a wrist shot and beat Milan Hnilicka on the glove side. Hnilicka was sitting on the ice, trying to reach the puck having fallen to the ice just a second earlier when a Swedish player bumped into him. "I skated to the net straight from the faceoff. I felt something on my back but I thought it was (Hnilicka) pushing me away from the crease, and I did step out a bit," said Rikard Wallin, the player who backed into the Czech goalie. The Czechs demanded a video review but the game went into a ten-minute overtime. A minute into it, Martin Erat got a penalty that gave Sweden a 4-on-3 power play. The Czechs killed the penalty, but right after it, Mattias Weinhandl forced the puck behind Hnilicka, giving Sweden the win. "We killed the power play, but they kept it in the zone and our guys couldn't change. We were tired, and they got a flukey goal. It's tough," said Radim Vrbata. Swedish coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson was happy after the game. "It was a tight game, not that much fun for the fans to watch. But I'm very happy with the result. With the personnel we have, we have to play a tight game. We did a good job, we have a great goalie and he was there for us tonight," he said. "The comeback is a sign of a strong team," said Nicklas Backstrom. "I think we all felt that we would do that. There's a great atmosphere in the team, and that's the biggest thing if you want to win some games." In the semifinal, Sweden will face Canada. RISTO PAKARINEN www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/swede-ot.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=0b92733cb1Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 15, 2008 11:41:09 GMT -5
Because they can can CAN Defending champions too much for Norway, take on Sweden in semi-final in Quebec City 14-05-08 HALIFAX – It took a while to get going, but Canada overpowered Norway to the tune of 8-2 this afternoon at the Metro Centre to set up a semi-final date with Sweden in the late game at the Colisee in Quebec City on Friday. The Canadians scored four power-play goals in the win. Derek Roy led the way with three goals and an assist. Jonathan Toews and Dany Heatley had one goal and two assists, and Rick Nash had two goals. The game featured 20 minor penalties. "We knew it was going to be a tough game having played them before," goalie Cam Ward said. "They held on tough until the middle of the second period." Once again the big line got the scoring going right from the opening faceoff. Dany Heatley picked up the puck at centre ice and came down the left side where he was checked weakly by two defenders. He picked the puck up near the goal line and fired a shot at goalie Pal Grotnes who missed the routine shot. The goal, his tournament-leading tenth, came just 37 seconds after the opening faceoff. "That's two games in a row now," linemate Rick Nash said of his team's fast start. "It's always good to get one early." The Norwegians tied the game at 7:51 on a 5-on-3. They moved the puck around hesitatingly, but then Morten Ask blew a slapshot by Cam Ward from the top of the right faceoff circle. Late in the period they had another 5-on-3 but couldn’t capitalize a second time. In all, there were nine minor penalties in the first period alone, and over the course of the first two periods there were five, 5-on-3 situations. Canada went ahead a short time later on a 5-on-3 of its own. Ryan Getzlaf capped a flurry of activity around Grotnes by banging home a loose puck in the slot to give Canada a 2-1 lead. The second period saw Canada in complete control until the five-minute mark when Norway finally got into the Canadian end and tied the score, 2-2. Anders Bastiansen whipped a nice pass to Mathis Olimb in the slot and his quick shot beat Ward over the glove to silence the crowd of 9,192. "Everybody on our team felt good after we tied the game and made the building quiet," Norway's Tommy Jakobsen said. "I thought we had them on their heels in the first half of the game, but when you make a mistake against a good team like Canada, they'll make you pay." Canada took its third lead of the game at the end of another power play. Norway killed off a 5-on-3, but one second before the second penalty had expired Jonathan Toews rifled a shot over Grotnes’s glove. After that, Canada relaxed, the fans roared their approval, and the home side went into overdrive. Derek Roy scored two goals before the end of the period to make the lead a more comfortable 5-2. The Canadians added three more goals in the third with almost casual ease. Nash added a pair of goals, the first on another power-play on a nice give-and-go with Heatley around the crease, the second a low shot through a crowd. Roy finished his hat trick on a solo effort to close out the scoring. "We felt we had something to prove, and we proved it," Nash said. On facing Sweden in the semi-finals, Ward said: "This is going to be something new for us because they've been playing in Quebec. We're kind of unfamiliar with how they play, but we have a great coaching staff who'll prepare us well, I'm sure." ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/because-they-can-can-can.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=acde007bb0Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 15, 2008 11:47:18 GMT -5
Russia feasts on Swiss cheese Kovalchuk suspended as big win sends Russia to semis versus Finns 15-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Talk about scoring efficiency. Russia scored on three of its first four shots on goal in a 6-0 quarter-final rout of Switzerland, and two were Swiss own goals with a strong whiff of fromage. The Russians now meet Finland in Friday’s first semi-final at the Colisée. It’s a rematch of last year’s semis, where the Finns ousted Russia with a 2-1 OT win, the first time the hosts had ever lost a World Championship game in Moscow. Ilya Kovalchuk, who was assessed his second game misconduct of the tournament for a dirty hit on Switzerland’s Julien Vauclair, will be suspended for the game against Finland. He was previously ejected for fighting Sweden’s Anton Stralman on May 10. Russian coach Slava Bykov said that from the replays he’d seen, he didn’t think Kovalchuk lifted his arm on the hit, but perhaps took a few extra steps. “The plan is for us to play physically, but we’re not out there to hurt people,” Bykov said. “It looked like Kovalchuk had been hit hard and clean by one of our players prior to the incident,” said Swiss coach Ralph Krueger, who added that Vauclair was getting an ultrasound for potential internal injuries, “somewhere in the lower two-thirds of the body.” Russia is gunning for its third medal in the last four years and its first gold since 1993. Maxim Afinogenov paced the Russian attack with two goals, and Alexander Semin, Danis Zaripov, Sergei Fedorov, and Alexander Ovechkin added singles. Zaripov, Denis Grebeshkov, and Konstantin Korneyev each registered a pair of assists. It was the first-ever meeting between these teams in playoff round action, and it wasn’t half as close as Russia’s 5-3 win in the Qualifying Round on Monday. Evgeni Nabokov recorded 22 saves for the shutout, while Martin Gerber and Jonas Hiller split duties between the Swiss pipes, facing 30 shots. “The Finns have a great team, and it’s going to be a tough task for us [on Friday],” said Nabokov. “They’re more skilled than the Swiss and more physical. They have a great power play and great goaltending.” From the get-go, as swiftly as bullets from an AK-47, the Russians exposed cheese-like holes in the Swiss defence. It took just 1:46 for Semin to get Russia on the board, racing into the zone, setting up along the boards and wristing a screened shot that slid through Gerber’s five-hole. Less than a minute later, Afinogenov made a spectacular rush down right wing, cut around the defence in front of the net, and managed to stuff the puck through Gerber, with a little help from the hand of Swiss defender Raphael Diaz, for a 2-0 lead. At 6:23, the Swiss caught the worst possible break when Philippe Furrer got the puck off a faceoff in his own end while killing a penalty, and tried to clear it around the boards, but instead slammed it into his own net past Gerber. Zaripov was credited with the goal. “Everybody knew that we needed to have a tight game for a long time to make this a game and it didn’t happen,” said Krueger. “A crazy set of circumstances put us in a hole that we couldn’t get out of.” To compound Switzerland’s problems, Nabokov was in fine form. A minute later, Julien Sprunger and Thibaut Monnet hooked up on a near 2-on-0 rush, and Nabokov wildly sprawled to foil Sprunger on the doorstep. He next made a great glove grab off a high Beat Forster power play drive. As the Russian high-speed ballet picked up late in the first period, chants of “Rossiya!” echoed through the arena, almost as if this was Moscow in 2007. At 21:22, Fedorov stretched Russia’s lead to 4-0 when he slipped over the blueline and hammered a slapshot over Gerber’s glove from the top of the faceoff circle. It looked like a highlight from his 56-goal, Hart Trophy season of 1994. At 26:37, Afinogenov added his second of the game after the puck came to him in the faceoff circle left of Gerber and he zinged it under the crossbar. Coach Bykov was seen high-fiving with his players on the bench. Krueger was in a less upbeat mood, as he pulled Gerber in favour of Jonas Hiller 13 seconds after the goal. Julien Sprunger got hit in the face with the puck in front of Nabokov’s net with under four minutes to play in the second period, in the midst of some brief sustained Swiss pressure, and had to be escorted off the ice by the trainer. Ovechkin made it 6-0 at 38:07. Konstantin Korneyev gave the NHL scoring champion a magnificent breakaway pass, from the Russian goal line to the Swiss blueline, and Ovechkin made no mistake, deking Hiller and sliding the puck through the goalie’s legs for his team-best sixth tally. “I want to congratulate Slava because we all know they have a talented team, but I’ve never seen them play so well as a group,” said Krueger. Only one major incident marked the final period. Kovalchuk, who has failed to score a goal in this tournament, compounded his ignominy by taking a five-minute major and game misconduct for charging on Julien Vauclair in the Russian end. The Swiss defenceman lay immobile on the ice for several minutes while paramedics were summoned with a stretcher, but Vauclair eventually managed to skate off to the dressing room. Switzerland’s three best players of the tournament were honoured afterwards: Martin Gerber, Beat Forster, and Andres Ambuhl. Now after yet another top-eight finish, Switzerland sets its sights on hosting the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Berne and Zurich-Kloten. “I think that’s nice for us,” said Swiss forward Thibaut Monnet. “The people in the Swiss stadiums are crazy for us. That’s good for us as players. It can only help us.” On a purely coincidental but lamentable side note, Gerber hails from the town of Langnau in the region of Emmental, where the yellow, hard cheese with holes widely known as “Swiss cheese” originated. LUCAS AYKROYD www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/russia-feasts-on-swiss-cheese.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=cdf11f3935Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 15, 2008 11:52:51 GMT -5
Deja blue as Finland wins in OT A scrappy USA side battled back but Finland plays semis vs. Russia. 15-05-08 HALIFAX – Finland's medal hopes improved today with a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Team USA as Sami Lepisto's overtime goal puts his team over the top. Finland beat Team USA by a similar score on Monday in the Qualifying Round. The Finns will play Russia in the early semifinal game on Friday. A spirited Team USA side fought for space on the ice all night before finally overcoming a two goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation. "Obviously we are disappointed," said Zach Parise. "We made a great comeback and did not quit." Both teams came out careful not to take any unnecessary chances. The Finns were more defensively cautious of the two teams and gave away almost nothing. As the game wore on, the Finns were more effective in bottling up the United States and setting the style of play as close quarter hockey. "I think we only played one bad minute the whole game," said Teemu Selanne. "We dominated and were in control and believed we deserved to win." On only their third shot of the period, Tuomo Ruutu scored his fourth goal of the tournament. Ruutu's backhand swat went between Robert Esche's pads at 9:46 and gave the Finns a 1-0 lead. Olli Jokinen, returning after a one game suspension, assisted on the goal. Finland seemed content to chip the puck out of their zone and play defensive hockey. Almost nothing was left to chance as most skating and passing lanes were shut off for the Americans despite outshooting Finland 8-6 in the period. Finland would come out in the middle period showing more offensive life. Mikko Luoma had a good chance about two minutes into the frame and the action was squarely in the American end. When Matt Greene was whistled off for high sticking, Finland's power play went on the attack. Wasting no time, Janne Niskala sent a blast that went through everyone and on in the net at 5:45. Given the tight defensive scheme the Finns were employing, the Americans would have their work cut of for them in getting back into the game. Tenacious penalty killing by Lee Stempniak when Jordan Leopold was in the box produced two good scoring chances; one went wide and the other was saved by Backstrom. Those were among the best chances for Team USA in the period. There was a delay near the end of the first period when a pane of glass in the American zone came loose on the far boards. The teams were sent off the ice and the remaining 1:18 was added onto the third. Heading into the third period, the United States was down two goals and twenty minutes from elimination. They would have to produce a strong effort in busting through the Finns near impenetrable defense. Then in a blink of the eye, Team USA's fortunes changed. With 4:16 left in the game, the Americans cut the lead in half on a goal by Phil Kessel as be put away a Tim Gleason slap shot. Less than a minute later, Team USA got another goal when Drew Stafford brought them even. 11th hour magic by the Americans gave them new life as the game went into overtime. This was also a repeat of what happened at the 2007 World Championships when these same teams met in the quarterfinal in Moscow and the game was tied at four after regulation. That game was ultimately decided in Finland's favor in a shootout. One minute in Saku Koivu had a chance to win it as he intercepted a pass and bore in on goal but shot the puck high over the net. "We knew we were one shot away from having a hero," said Esa Pirnes of his team's chances in overtime. "This was a game we knew we could win." Zach Parise had Dustin Brown had two glorious chances six and a half minutes remaining before Lepisto's goal, assisted by Saku Koivu, at 3:59. For Team USA, it was a good tournament to see their young players gain experience on the senior international circuit. So many of these names will be heard from again in World Championship competition as they gained much from playing in a game like tonight's quarterfinal. "We have a lot of good young players and I think this will be very good for us in the future," said Parise. Finland now moves into the semifinals for the third straight World Championship. JOHN SANFUL www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/deja-blue-as-finland-wins-in-ot.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=44258eb76fGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 15, 2008 11:56:57 GMT -5
Updated quarterfinal results and semi-final matchups.
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Post by Terry on May 16, 2008 19:24:19 GMT -5
Hello Russia, goodbye Finland Russians make final for first time since 2002 16-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Top NHL and Superliga stars were flying as Russia surged into Sunday’s gold medal game with a 4-0 semi-final win over Finland at the Colisée. Facing the winner of Canada-Sweden, Russia will vie for its first World Championship title since 1993. It last played for gold in 2002, losing 4-3 to Slovakia. “Our players played a very disciplined, organized game,” said Russian coach Vyacheslav Bykov. “That got us into the final.” Sergei Fedorov, Danis Zaripov, Alexei Morozov, and Maxim Sushinsky scored for Russia. Sergei Zinoviev added two assists. The Finns, who so often start well and finish sadly, will seek their third straight World Championship medal in Saturday’s third-place game. They claimed silver last year and bronze in 2006. In perhaps its best outing of the tournament, Russia performed with skill, opportunism, and solid defence, scoring in each period. Finland, which took two penalties for too many men on the ice, didn’t seem to have its legs or to be mentally ready to play. “Russia capitalized on a couple of mistakes in the first two periods and played a really strong defensive game,” said Finnish captain Saku Koivu. It was sweet revenge for Russia, which lost 2-1 to Finland in overtime in the 2007 semi-final in Moscow. “Last year we made a couple of mistakes and we didn’t win the gold medal,” said Alexander Ovechkin. “This year, we didn’t want to make the same mistakes.” Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for his second straight shutout. Niklas Backstrom had the same number for Finland. “When I read [Nabokov was joining Team Russia], I was very disappointed because I knew that could be the difference for them,” said Finnish coach Doug Shedden. “I don’t know how many tough saves he had today, but their goaltending is head and shoulders better than it was before.” Both teams looked nervous early on. The 11,159-strong crowd, a mix of blue, red, and yellow (Swedish) jerseys, tried to fire them up with overlapping chants of “Rossiya!” and “Suomi!” Russia opened the scoring at 13:41, as the “Washington line” busted out of its own zone and Fedorov converted a slick 3-on-1 passing play from Ovechkin and Alexander Semin over Backstrom’s right pad. Tuomo Ruutu’s aggressive forechecking behind the Russian net during a power play got the puck out front to an unguarded Jussi Jokinen for Finland’s best chance of the period, but Nabokov stared him down. For this game, Russia reunited the “Kazan troika” of Morozov, Zaripov, and Zinoviev. That line took just 3:44 into the second period to capitalize on another three-way passing play for a 2-0 lead. On the rush, they picked apart the Finnish defence, as Andrei Markov fed Zaripov in the faceoff circle to Backstrom’s left, and he whipped it into the open side of the net. With pressure in the Russian zone midway through the game, Finland had a glorious chance to get on the board, but Nabokov collapsed into the splits in front of Mikko Koivu and stopped the puck with his pants. Although the first two periods were played at the pace of a mid-winter hike across the Siberian taiga, the Finns came out with a slightly higher tempo to start the third. A minute in, Ruutu rushed to the net, fell, and slid into Nabokov, causing an anxious moment for Russian fans. Seconds later, Semin got crushed behind the Finnish net and got attention from the trainer, and Anssi Salmela went off for boarding. But the Finns needed goals, and Nabokov looked utterly composed every time they got a chance. The Finns lost what little momentum they had after taking consecutive too-many-men penalties around the midpoint of the third. With 17 seconds left in the second minor, Morozov whipped a shot from the right faceoff circle under Backstrom’s arm to make it 3-0 at 52:15 and wipe out Finland’s hopes. The Finns pulled their goalie with under three minutes remaining as the Russians repeatedly iced the puck. Maxim Sushinsky added an empty-netter with 2:04 left. Chants of “Rossiya!” filled the air as Russia finished the game on the power play due to an Olli Jokinen high-sticking minor. For Russia, Alexander Radulov took the place of Ilya Kovalchuk, who was suspended for this game after a dirty hit on Switzerland’s Julien Vauclair in the quarter-finals. Asked about the possibility of meeting Canada in the final, Bykov said: “It’s definitely a dream for both teams.” Today’s loss ends hopes that Doug Shedden would lead Finland to gold in his native Canada, as Jukka Jalonen will take over the reins as head coach for the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. “All you can do is get these guys ready for the next game and be proud of how hard they worked for you,” said Shedden. LUCAS AYKROYD www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/hello-russia-goodbye-finland.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=413b409a77Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 16, 2008 19:27:34 GMT -5
CANADA AND RUSSIA FOR GOLD Canada defeated Sweden 5-4 to ensure the IIHF's 100th anniversary season ends with a dream finals – Canada vs. Russia 17-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Canada defeated Sweden 5-4 this evening at the Colisée to set up a dream gold-medal game for Sunday at 13:00. The IIHF’s 100th anniversary season will end with Canada facing Russia for the 2008 World Championship. The motherland of hockey will face its greatest international adversary for gold for the first time since the 1992 Olympics. This was Canada's 17th consecutive win at the World Championships. Incredibly, Canada has scored at least five goals in every game it has played with the exception of a 2-1 win over Norway. Today, the top line of Rick Nash-Ryan Getzlaf-Dany Heatley again led the way with three goals and five points. Canada started the game in dominating style, hemming the Swedes in their own end for much of the first six minutes, drawing two penalties, and scoring with the man advantage at 5:35. Only Lundqvist kept the score close. Brent Burns skated over the blueline down the right side and passed to Heatley in the slot. Despite being checked, he got his stick on the puck and deflected it past Lundqvist to open the scoring with Magnus Johansson in the box. The rest of the period belonged to Sweden, though, and then it was Pascal Leclaire who kept the score close. The Swedes, however, tied the game with just 44.9 seconds left in the period after some aggressive forechecking caught the Canadian defence scrambling. In the end, Anton Stralman moved into the slot and scooped up a loose puck, firing it over Leclaire’s shoulder to make it 1-1. The second period was perhaps the wildest and most entertaining of the tournament so far, producing six goals, many more great scoring chances and end-to-end action. Sweden went ahead at 2:46 of the second period on a bit of bad luck by Canada. Coming down the right wing, Mike Green drilled a hard slapshot that beat Lundqvist cleanly. It ricocheted so hard off the post that it created an odd-man advantage for the Swedes going the other way. The result was a mess of bodies in front of Leclaire, and Niclas Wallin banged the puck home from in close. Just 72 seconds later, Getzlaf evened the score on a power play, although it was a score off the rush. He barreled down the left wing, cut hard to the net, and, being a right-handed shot, had a good angle to lift the puck over Lundqvist on the short side. Canada took the lead at 8:31 on a defensive misplay in the Swedish end which ended with Jamal Mayers collecting a loose puck in the slot all alone. He beat Lundqvist with a great shot to the stick side to send the pro-Canadian crowd of 13,026 into a frenzy. Stralman got his second of the game on a Swedish power play at 11:26 when his high point shot sailed over the glove of Leclaire, who was screened, to make it a 3-3 game. Nash scored the go-ahead marker at 12:29 on a highlight reel goal that will be on You Tube in perpetuity. He took a pass from Heatley at the Swedish blueline, and with two defenders trying to check him he did what he does best – skate directly to the net. He muscled himself free and beat Lundqvist with a great shot. It was a bit reminiscent of his final goal at last year’s World Championship in Moscow. The second period ended wildly. Already down a man, Sweden took another penalty for four minutes, a high-sticking call to Jonas Frogren. Then, as Canadian defenceman Mike Green hurried up ice and the time winding down, defenceman Douglas Murray fell, giving Green a clear path to the goal. Lundqvist went down as soon as Green shot, and the puck flew over the goalie’s glove to give Canada a 5-3 lead with just 6.7 seconds left in the period. That goal spelled the end for Lundqvist, who was relieved by Mikael Tellqvist to start the third. But by then, the damage was done. Canada closed the door in the final 20 minutes, although Fredrik Warg got the game's final goal at 14:21. That was as close as Sweden got. And now it is up to the two most dominant hockey powers to go at it one more time in the IIHF's centennial season. Playing in Canada for the first time at the World Championships, Canada and Russia will play for the gold. Hockey simply doesn't get better than this. ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/dream-final-can-rus.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=8a75005993Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 16, 2008 19:31:44 GMT -5
Updated schedule to show semifinal results and gold and bronze medal game matchups.
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Post by Terry on May 18, 2008 0:07:47 GMT -5
A fine Finnish brings bronze Pihlstrom scores twice as Finns earn third straight Worlds medal 17-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – In the latest chapter of hockey’s great Scandinavian rivalry, Finland defeated Sweden 4-0 to capture the bronze medal on Saturday at the Colisée. With the win, Finland claimed its third IIHF World Championship medal in as many years (silver in 2007, bronze in 2006). “We battled well, and we got the win we needed,” said Finnish captain Ville Peltonen. “They had the late game yesterday, so we had an advantage in terms of recovering from the semi-finals. Maybe that helped us.” Antti Pihlstrom led the way with two goals, including the first-period winner, and Janne Niskala and Mikko Koivu added singles. Hannes Hyvonen got a pair of assists. “We’ve always had tough battles with Finland over the years,” said Swedish scoring leader Mattias Weinhandl. “In general, we played well the last three or four games and had a chance to win today, but we couldn’t do it.” Finland was badly outshot, but played an opportunistic game. Niklas Backstrom, who played all but one game for Finland at this tournament, made 36 saves for his first shutout. Stefan Liv, in his third start, had nine stops for the Swedes. “I think goaltending was the difference,” said Peltonen. “We weren’t that much better than them. But Niklas Backstrom has been good for us throughout the tournament, and he got us the win today." Tre Kronor has long been the Finns’ international hockey nemesis, notably beating them in the finals of the 1992 and 1998 World Championships, plus the 2006 Olympics. That’s not to mention ousting the Finns with a 6-5 come-from-behind victory in Helsinki in the quarter-finals of the 2003 Worlds. The previous time Sweden and Finland faced off for bronze was in 2002, where the Finns took a 3-0 lead before losing 5-3. This was a refreshing change for Suomi supporters. “It was physically tougher to get up for this game than mentally, but it was the same for both teams,” said Swedish defenceman Anton Stralman. The teams came out skating hard, but stickwork and physical contact were muted, as if there was some kind of gentlemen’s agreement for a third-place game. The pace had slowed by the time Pihlstrom opened the scoring for Finland at 11:31 on a broken play. Hyvonen’s centering pass from the side boards went to Niko Kapanen in the faceoff circle, who flubbed his shot, allowing the puck to squirt in front to Pihlstrom, and he slammed it past Liv. Just over two minutes later, Niskala zinged a shot from the right point that tipped off Liv’s glove and in to make it 2-0. The scoreless second period featured a steady parade to the penalty box, and turned into the Niklas Backstrom Show, as Sweden outshot Finland 11-2. To maintain Finland’s two-goal gap early in the middle frame, Backstrom made a fantastic sliding stick save on Tony Martensson’s shot from the faceoff circle, and then swept the puck away from the goal line with his glove. Past the midway mark, he used his right pad to stone Daniel Fernholm, who had snuck in off the point on the power play. In the third period, Hyvonen sent a beautiful pass from the corner to Pihlstrom by Liv’s left post, and the Nashville Predators prospect made no mistake for a 3-0 lead at 42:18. Vying to get on the scoreboard with the teams playing 4-on-4, the Swedes pulled Liv for an extra attacker at 52:17, but it only lasted 29 seconds, and nothing was generated. They did it again on a late power play, and this time Mikko Koivu made them pay with an empty-netter with 2:25 left. “Obviously it’s nice to go home with a medal around your neck,” said Peltonen. Speculation will reign over whether 2008 could be Teemu Selanne’s final World Championship. The superstar right winger has played 43 World Championship games, scoring 25 goals and 23 assists, and may retire. “Playing in the World Championships is tough because it means your NHL season has been cut short, but I hope to be back for the 2010 Olympics,” said Saku Koivu, captain of the Montreal Canadiens. This was definitely Doug Shedden’s final game as the head coach of the Finnish national team. Next season, he will coach EV Zug in Switzerland, while Jukka Jalonen will run the Finnish Lions. “All in all, our season was a great success when you consider all the media controversy we had to deal with,” said Finnish GM Jari Kurri. “We finished second in the Euro Hockey Tour, and we got the bronze here. So the season had a happy ending.” LUCAS AYKROYD www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/a-fine-finnish-brings-bronze.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=d0ccaf8922Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 18, 2008 17:37:44 GMT -5
Kovalchuk has scored for Russia! Russia's first World Championship title for 15 years keeps home-ice curse alive. 18-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Ilya Kovalchuk’s goal at 2:42 of overtime broke a 4-4 tie and gave Russia an historic gold medal today at the Colisée in one of the most anticipated finals games in many years. Kovalchuk also scored the tying goal with five minutes left in the third period. If this game isn't evidence enough to everyone in Canada of the calibre of play possible in the World Championship, nothing is or ever will be. Played at breathtaking speed with heart-pounding drama, this would surely rank in the top 10 of the IIHF's top 100 if the list were released next week instead of yesterday. With Canada’s loss, the “home ice curse” at the IIHF World Championship continues. The last host team to win the title was the Soviets in 1986 in Moscow. Dany Heatley had a goal and an assist to bring his tournament-leading total to 20 points. He was named tournament MVP after the game. The Russians struck quickly to open the scoring when Dan Hamhuis tried to pass Jay Bouwmeester, his defensive partner, behind the goal only to have the puck hit a referee’s skate directly behind the net. Alexander Ovechkin was right there and he made a quick pass to Alexander Semin in front. His quick shot beat an unsuspecting Cam Ward at 1:23. Canada struck right back, though. Brent Burns’s quick shot from the point, just as Vitali Proshkin was about to check him from behind after coming out of the penalty box, beat a screened Evgeni Nakokov over the stick side to tie the game, 1-1. Canada had the next great chance as Martin St. Louis beat Nabokov, but the puck hit the post and stayed out. The Canadians put one over the goal line at 9:17 after a turnover in centre ice. Chris Kunitz walked in on Nabokov and drilled a great shot over his glove to make it a 2-1 game. The Canadians opened a two-goal lead at 14:51 on a 5-on-3. Sergei Fedorov was serving a delay-of-game penalty and Proshkin was serving four minutes for cutting Rick Nash with a high stick. Heatley fanned on a slapshot, but the puck still got to Martin St. Louis by the side of the net. He made a nifty little pass to Burns at the top of the crease. He one-timed it through Nabokov’s pads for his second goal of the game. It was only in the final minute that Canada incurred its first penalty after five in a row to the Russians. It was this power-play time that created the lop-sided shots on goal margin of 15-5 for Canada after 20 minutes. That late penalty proved costly as the Russians moved to within a goal at 1:14 of the second. Konstantin Korneyev’s point shot whistled well wide of the goal but it banked off the boards behind Ward and out the other side. Semin was right there to one-time a shot before the goalie could move over to cover the open side. Moments later Semin fed a gorgeous breakaway pass to Ovechkin, but Bouwmeester bothered him enough as he shot to prevent a good chance. That proved vital as midway through the period Canada upped the score to 4-2 on a harmless-looking play. Getzlaf was cycling the puck in the corner when he spotted Heatley nearby. His shot to the short side beat Nabokov, a weak goal for the goalie to give up in such an important game. Ward then stoned Sergei Zinoviev from the slot with a great left pad save. Toward the end of the period, Andrei Markov missed an open net. Canada started the third trying top protect the lead, something too dangerous to do when that lead is only two goals and the opponent Russia. Sure enough, the Russians fought back with a goal at 8:55 on a broken play. Alexei Tereshchenko jumped on a loose puck in the slot at rifled it between Ward’s legs to make it a 4-3 game. With 6:45 to go, Ward made a phenomenal right pad save off Ovechkin, who cut through the slot and one-timed a shot labeled for the far side. A minute and a half later, however, Ilya Kovalchuk tied the game with a wrist shot using Bouwmeester as a screen. New game, and now Canada had to start doing what it had stooped for all of the third period—try scoring. And then came Kovalchuk's heroics. He scored on a power play with Rick Nash in the box for delay of game after he shot the puck out of play at the Russian bench. The four officials huddled to discuss the play before calling the penalty. Ironically, the Russians received two delay of game penalties during regulation time. Kovalchuk moved in from the point and rifled a shot over Ward's shoulder before jumping for joy. Russia, after 15 years, had finally won gold. NOTES: * Heatley's 12 goals is a modern-day record for Canada, eclipsing 11 set by Eric Lindros in 1993. His 20 points also ties another Canadian record set by Steve Yzerman in 1990. * Despite the loss, Canada moves into the top spot of the world ranking. * Attendance was 13,338. * Sergei Fedorov last played at a World Championship in 1990, winning gold. * Alexander Ovechkin was making his fifth straight World Championship appearance for Russia. ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/gold-for-russia.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=0c3bf440ffGame summaryRosters
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