Russia are in the 2016 World Junior Championship final

Russia took part in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship semi-final today against the USA. One major change was made by head coach Valery Bragin for this one, with Ilya Samsonov taking over from Alexander Georgiev in net.

With so much a stake it was a tense start in Helsinki, and it was the USA who had the better of the opening stages. Much of the goalmouth action was coming inside Russia’s zone, and on a fast rush they opened up the scoring. The puck was sent across to the far right post, and Christian Dvorak tapped home past Ilya Samsonov. That marker helped the game open up, and we got lucky as an American forward backhanded wide of an open right corner. Twice the Russian woodwork was hit as America piled on the pressure, but two penalties in a row handed the initiative to Russia. Our players sent two long minutes with a two man advantage, however the American netminder Alex Nedeljkovic refused to be beaten making a fantastic save stick side against Alexander Polunin.

The Russians continued controlling the game in the second period, and outshot the Americans 13-5 in the frame. All the action was coming on the USA’s crease, and their goaltender was making save after save. One of the best came against Evgeny Svechnikov, as Evgeny’s rebound attempt was somehow denied by the right pad. Our players kept on plugging away inside the attacking zone, and eventually the deserved equaliser came. Pavel Kraskovsky took a hack at the puck as it bounced around the slot, and he potted it into the left corner. The Americans lost the spirit with that goal, and Russia promptly took a crucial lead. Egor Korshkov wonderfully cut in from the right flank, and stuffed the puck beyond Alex Nedeljkovic.

A nervy third period was coming up, and the Americans got to work trying to get back into the game. The puck barely left our zone during the frame, and Ilya Samsonov was keeping the Russian lead intact. Nothing was getting beyond the eighteen year old, and he made several close range saves to thwart the USA. Russia had a few counterattacks, and Alexander Polunin had a brilliant chance to end the match. Alone on the left faceoff circle, the Lokomotiv forward blasted wide of the far corner. That miss kept America in the game, and in the final few minutes we had to endure a few tense moments. The best American chance fell to Auston Matthews, but he was denied by a stunning Ilya Samsonov point blank right pad save. That was the closest the USA would get, as Russia defeat America 2:1 to qualify for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship final!

The final will take place tomorrow against tournament hosts Finland.

Match protocol:

Russia – USA – 2:1 (0:1, 2:0, 0:0)

Goals:

0:1 Dvorak (Milano, Werenski), 09.03

1:1 Kraskovsky (Korshkov), 35.08

2:1 Korshkov, 37.56

Goalkeepers: Samsonov – Nedeljkovic

Shots on target: 33 – 27

Penalty minutes: 4 – 8

04.01.2015. Hartwall Arena, Helsinki ,Finland. 

Russian Ice Hockey Federation