A Belorussian challenge

Today on the 29th of December, the Russian junior national team will play their third match of the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland.

The opponents today are group outsiders Belarus, who have played two games so far. The first didn't end so well against Finland as they went down 0:6, but they did make an improvement against Slovakia scoring twice in a 2:4 reverse. Nevertheless this is their crucial game, and they need to win to have any realistic chance of qualifying for the quarter finals. The vast majority of their team play for Dinamo Boruisk's U20 side, and goaltender Vladislav Verbitsky has been their most impressive performer holding a solid 92.86% saves percentage. We also note that this is their first year back in the top division having qualified for this championship last year.

Our team have been perfect so far in this tournament, beating the Czech Republic 2:1 on penalty shots in the first match and Finland 6:4 yesterday. Valery Bragin has put his faith in goaltender Alexander Georgiev so far, and he hasn't let him down taking two wins. A win for the team today would guarantee a place in the next round, and the team will be looking to take the group initiative with another three points.

Here's what Valery Bragin had to say after the win against Finland yesterday:

- The team understood that this was a match for first place. I stick by my words: Finland are contenders for gold. They gave a well orgainsed team. Youth hockey has six or seven different teams who are at the same level. The most organised will win. 

The Russia - Belarus match will begin at 17.00 Moscow time inside the Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland. Match TV will broadcast the game live in Russia, while a live video of the game can be found on this website. You will also be able to keep up to date with events by following our official Twitter account.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation