One dramatic reversal and two near-misses have characterized Canada-Russia games at the World Junior Hockey Championship over the past five years
By Peter Robinson
All common sense dictates that when a team builds a three-, four- or five-goal lead, then a win is in the bag.
Not in junior hockey and not when Canada and Russia are playing.
The crowd at last year’s World Junior gold-medal final at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre — an over-flowing gathering of almost 20,000 — seemed in disbelief at what they witnessed even as Canada held on for a thrilling 5–4 victory over Russia. But players on both teams remarked after the game that the outcome was always in doubt, even when Canada built a four-goal lead mid-way through the second period.
“[That’s] the beauty of junior hockey,” said Team Canada captain Curtis Lazar, who seven months earlier had led the Edmonton Oil Kings to a MasterCard Memorial Cup title. “… You think you have it in the bag and they come back.”
Indeed. Three times in the past five years Canada and Russia have faced each other at the World Junior — twice in the final, the other with the right to get there on the line — with one side building up a big lead, only to have the other side come storming back.
There have been other Canada-Russia encounters during that stretch, highlighted by Russia’s twice defeating Canada in consecutive years to win bronze starting in 2013, but the three games that took place in 2011, 2012 and 2015 have added a new dimension to hockey’s greatest rivalry.
2011
The setting: Canada came into the tournament, played in Buffalo, a year removed from having won five consecutive gold medals. The Canadians were heavily favoured to win after defeating the Russians in the preliminary round and then the U.S., who were the pre-tournament favourites in the semifinals.
The lead: Canada dominated play from the outset, powered by a de-facto home crowd that had crossed the border and filed into HSBC Arena on Boxing Day when the tournament began. First-period goals from Ryan Ellis (Windsor Spitfires) and Carter Ashton (Tri-City Americans), followed by another from tournament scoring leader and MVP Brayden Schenn in the middle frame, gave a preordained sense to the outcome.
The comeback: In retrospect, there were signs near the end of the second period when Canada became ragged in their own zone, but with the Russians unable to capitalize, Canada seemed to be on the verge of its sixth gold medal in seven attempts. Then the roof caved in. The Russians scored five even-strength goals in the third as Canada had no answer for the onslaught. The result was a 5–3 Russian victory and the country’s first WJC gold medal since 2003 in Halifax, which was a less dramatic win over Canada in the final.
Key moment: Between the second and third periods, Russian coach Valeri Bragin is said to have broken a white board, urging his charges to re-create earlier comebacks they had in the quarter-finals and semifinals in wins over Finland and Sweden, respectively.
2012
The setting: Team Canada had a relatively pedestrian time clinching first place in its group, winning all four games played in Edmonton before the tournament moved south to Calgary. Russia was more battle-tested coming in, having won an overtime thriller in the quarter-finals a day earlier over the Czech Republic.
The lead: Canada seemed ill-prepared for a Russian team that was not intimidated by the packed house at the Saddledome. With Canada struggling in goal and at the back end, combined with the remarkable play of Russian sniper Evgeny Kuznetsov, Russia stormed out to a 6–1 lead as the game ticked down to near the halfway point of the third period. A funereal atmosphere had enveloped the Saddledome.
The comeback: Down by five and with every reason to mail it in, Canada wouldn’t give up. Goals from Dougie Hamilton (Niagara IceDogs), Jaden Schwartz, Brendan Gallagher (Vancouver Giants) and Brandon Gormley (Moncton Wildcats) in a 4:57 span brought the crowd to a frenzy. But despite out-shooting the Russians 56–24 and forcing a goalie change in the Russian net, Canada could not muster the tying marker.
Key moment: Russian goaltender Andrey Makarov (Saskatoon Blades) replaced Andrei Vasilevski not long after Canada’s rally began and he was the difference, making several huge saves in the waning moments and watching as the game’s final shot fell harmlessly off his mask and the side of the net as time expired.
2015
The setting: The Russians had shaken off an indifferent preliminary-round effort with a quarter-final win over the U.S. (in Montreal) and then Sweden back in Toronto in the semis. Based in Montreal, Canada had stormed through the prelims unbeaten and had taken out heavy underdogs Denmark and Slovakia after moving to Toronto for the elimination games.
The lead: Canada led 2–0 before the game was three minutes old on goals by Anthony Duclair (Quebec Remparts) and Nick Paul (North Bay Battalion) that prompted a goalie change in the Russian net. Goals by Connor McDavid (Erie Otters), Sam Reinhart (Kootenay Ice) and Max Domi (London Knights) seemed to crush the resolve of the Russians, who had done well to simply prevent things from getting out of hand, keeping the score at 5-1 just past the mid-way point of the second period.
The comeback: After Canada made it 5-1, two quick goals by Ivan Barbashev (Moncton Wildcats) and Sergey Tolchinsky (Soo Greyhounds) sent a scare through the crowd — to say nothing of Team Canada — and the Russian tenacity paid off further when former Sarnia Sting forward Nikolay Goldobin brought his team to within one at 5-4 with 2:23 remaining in the second period.
Key moment: With nine goals through two periods, it was reasonable to expect the game to descend into a last-shot-wins contest in the final period. But both teams found their defensive mojo, highlighted by Canada’s outstanding rearguard Darnell Nurse (Soo Greyhounds), whose pitched battled with Russian forward Alexander Dergachev down low in the game’s waning moments was perhaps the signature moment as Canada won its first gold medal since 2009.
