Canada-Russia: Semi-final

How would the edition of the World Junior Championship be without a one-to-one match between Canada and Russia? The only team not to lose in the tournament, the Canadian team will try to take the final step to separate them from a spot in the final on Monday night.

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One year after winning the gold medal from the Russians in Ostrava, Czech Republic, junior team Canada is about to write another page in this great competition.

While Canada and the Russians have faced each other three times in the final game in the last decade, the last meeting in the semi-finals was in 2012. The Russians spoiled the party with a 6-5 victory in Calgary. In the pre-season game on December 23, ECJ closed Russia 1-0.

During this semi-final at Rogers Place తెలుసు, well aware of all the history between the two hockey powers, head coach Andre Tourigni was reluctant to add fuel to the fires. Edmonton Bubble.

“We have nothing to add to the history between Canada and Russia. It is well documented and everyone knows how important this game will be and there is nothing bigger at this point in the tournament. I think it will be a great game. Both teams know this and respect the opponent,” Quebec said in a videoconference. Said the pilot.

Important veterans

Canada currently have six players on the list, with Achilles Thomas, who enjoyed dramatic success last year, scoring the decisive goal in less than four minutes. After 12 months Thomas was not there, but the veterans made invaluable contributions to this crucial meeting.

“They were there, they knew we were going to be hostile because they were already in it. […] These players bring a lot of important leadership over others. They respect the tournament. When you experience a tournament from the inside, you know how hard it is to win it, ”Turign admitted, having worked with తోCJ as an assistant last year.

“They want their revenge this year. We need to focus on the work at hand. This is a great animosity between the two teams and we are excited about this confrontation,” said Connor McMichael, one of the six members of the previous edition returning this year.

Unnecessary statistics

Turigni has nothing to do with the statistics of the Russian attack, which has shown less eloquent performance than Canada since the start of the tournament. Igor Larionov’s team scored 18 goals in 166 trolls (10.84%), while Maple Leaf delegates scored almost once in 184 trolls (19.57%) five – 36 goals.

“It simply came to our notice then. A very talented, very fast, physically strong and well-functioning team.

“During the 70-80 game season, it’s balanced, but teams only play five games in a tournament. [jusqu’ici], It can explode anytime from either side. It is important to be humble and not read too much about our opponents’ statistics, ”noted the head coach, who knew that goalkeeper Yaroslav Askarov was presenting a big challenge to his men.

Surprisingly, in these fortnights the Imperial Montreal Devon Levy will be sent to the net for his save percentage of .966 and his two shutouts. The case of forward Alex Newhook (upper body) will be re-evaluated today after missing out on Saturday’s quarter-final game with the Czechs.