🇨🇦 Canada 3-0 Slovakia 🇸🇰
World Junior Championship Preliminary Round
Ejendals Arena, Leksand 🇸🇪
Sunday, 31 December 2006

Kris Russell is on a record-setting performance at the World Junior Hockey Championship and Canada is benefiting from it.

Russell scored twice in a 3-0 win over Slovakia on Sunday and he now holds the record for the most goals (4) by a Canadian defenceman in a single World Junior tournament.

“That’s neat,” Russell, who plays for the Medicine Hat Tigers, said after the game when told his performance was one for the ages.

But Russell isn’t about individual performances. He’s here to win Gold as a member of Canada’s National Junior Team.

“It is pretty exciting to hear something like that but it doesn’t mean much,” he said. “It is a team effort and I got lucky on the power play.”

The Canadians now have won four straight games in this sleepy Swedish town and the National Junior team program has 16 consecutive wins to its credit, dating back to the 2005 World Junior Championship in North Dakota.

Canada’s next game is Wednesday and the opponent will be decided on Tuesday when the quarter-final games are to be played.

Forward Steve Downie scored his third goal in four games while goalie Carey Price made 32 saves to register his second shutout.

The Canada-Slovakia game meant nothing to either team in the standings as Slovakia was already headed to the relegation round.

The game didn’t have a lot of flow to it, mostly because of the constant parade of players to the penalty box. And once Canada took a 2-0 lead in the first period, the penalty parade began in earnest.

Price only had to make a couple of difficult saves to preserve the shutout. He slid across the crease in the third period to make a brilliant pad save when the Slovaks had a two-man power play.

Late in the second period, he made two smart pad saves during a Slovak power play and then got the shaft of his stick caught in the goal netting. He squared up without his stick to a Slovak who shot wide and nonchalantly retrieved his stick.

“I did a barrel-roll,” laughed Price about how he retrieved his stick.

The Canadians know the officiating in Europe is at times much different than what they are used to. They also know the dangers of undisciplined hockey and taking penalties when a man is already in the box.

With no games Monday and Tuesday, the Canadian juniors will use the time to rest and prepare for the semifinals.

“Hopefully we are playing a team (in the semifinals) that comes in tired and we are well-rested,” said Daniel Bertram.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
00:41 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Korenko, interference
02:30 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Little, high sticking
05:36 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Russell (Alzner, Downie)
06:24 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Drábek, holding
06:44 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Letang, hooking
07:51 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Valach, interference
08:03 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Beňa, slashing
08:52 – 🇨🇦 PP2 GOAL – Russell (Bourdon)
12:41 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Beňa, high sticking
18:17 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Rumpel, interference
19:45 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Downie, interference

2nd Period
21:04 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Cliche, hooking
23:49 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Cunik, tripping
26:51 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Gründling, slashing
29:32 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Cliche, interference
32:19 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Mikula, interference
33:05 – 🇨🇦 PP GOAL – Downie (Little, Letang)
34:21 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Pyatt, cross checking
35:28 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Helm, boarding
35:59 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Bourdon, cross checking
38:06 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Letang, high sticking

3rd Period
44:49 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Záborský, hooking
47:22 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Mihálik, cross checking
48:53 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Cunik, interference
53:49 – 🇨🇦 PEN – O’Marra, tripping
53:59 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Helm, boarding
56:16 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Bartánus, slashing
56:58 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Themár, slashing
59:33 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Franson, high sticking

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇨🇦 Price (32-32)
L: 🇸🇰 Konrád (37-40)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇨🇦 15+14+11 = 40
🇸🇰 10+14+8 = 32

ROSTERS
🇨🇦 Goaltenders: Leland Irving, Carey Price. Defence: Karl Alzner, Luc Bourdon, Cody Franson, Kris Letang, Ryan Parent, Kris Russell, Marc Staal. Forwards: Daniel Bertram, Marc-André Cliche, Andrew Cogliano, Steve Downie, Sam Gagner, Darren Helm, Bryan Little, Brad Marchand, Kenndal McArdle, James Neal, Ryan O’Marra, Tom Pyatt, Jonathan Toews.
🇸🇰 Goaltenders: Branislav Konrád, Jakub Macek. Defence: Adam Beňa, Tomáš Brňák, Matěj Cunik, Martin Gründling, Michal Korenko, Tomáš Magušin, Vladimír Mihálik, Juraj Valach. Forwards: Marek Bartánus, Mário Bližňák, Dávid Buc, Jakub Drábek, Tomáš Marcinko, Ondrej Mikula, Juraj Mikúš, Jakub Rumpel, Dávid Skokan, Julius Šinkovič, Andrej Themár, Tomáš Záborský.

Article Credit: Hockey Canada