Russia 3-0 Finland 
Channel One Cup
Megasport Arena, Moscow
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Russia opened up the 2011 Channel One Cup in winning fashion on home ice, shutting out Finland in a 3-0 victory to retain the International Hockey Lineal Championship.
Russia brought forth a balanced attack against the Leijonat throughout the game, outshooting and outplaying them throughout. The scoring opened 16:02 into the first on a goal from captain Ilya Nikulin that beat Finnish goalie Teemu Lassila for the 1-0 lead. Lassila kept the Finns in the game throughout the second, keeping the game close at 1-0 and helping to kill off three penalties.
However, The Big Red Machine doubled its lead just 2:40 into the third, on the strength of a Denis Kokarev tally. with time running down, and Finland failing to convert at even strength or with the man advantage, it was Vadim Shipachyov that put the final nail in the coffin, scoring Russia’s third with just 4:14 remaining in regulation to seal up the 3-0 win. Konstantin Barulin stopped all 19 shots faced for the shutout, while Lassila went 28 of 31 in the loss.
With the win, Russia captures its four consecutive victory with the International Hockey Lineal Championship, their 60th title, that they captured from Finland last month at the Karjala Tournament, and successfully defended against Sweden and the Czechs. Russia defeats Finland in the first (and 80th overall) IHLC meeting since the aforementioned Karjala game, which Russia won 2-1 in a shootout to capture the title. Russia next faces Sweden in two days’ time with the IHLC on the line in Moscow.
BOXSCORE
1st Period
04:56 – PEN – Järvinen, hooking
11:00 – PEN – Y. Biryukov, holding
11:12 – PEN – Nikulin, delay of game
16:02 – GOAL – Nikulin (Shirokov, Radulov)
16:45 – PEN – Kousa, high sticking
2nd Period
30:49 – PEN – Mäenpää, tripping
32:06 – PEN – Tereshenko, tripping
3rd Period
42:40 – GOAL – Kokarev (Bodrov)
46:32 – PEN – Huhtala, tripping
49:46 – PEN – Järvinen, hooking
52:25 – PEN – Tikhonov, slashing
55:46 – GOAL – Shipachyov (Tarasenko)
58:05 – PEN – Radulov, roughing major + game misconduct
58:05 – PEN – Jalasvaara, roughing major + game misconduct
58:05 – PEN – Zubov, slashing
GOALTENDERS
W: Barulin (19-19)
L: Lassila (28-31)
SHOTS ON GOAL
11+11+9 = 31
6+6+7 = 19
ROSTERS
Goaltenders: Konstantin Barulin, Mikhail Biryukov. Defence: Nikolai Belov, Yevgeni Biryukov, Denis Denisov, Denis Grebeshkov, Dmitri Kalinin, Konstantin Korneyev, Ilya Nikulin (C), Ivan Vishnevski. Forwards: Yevgeni Bodrov, Denis Kokarev, Igor Makarov, Alexander Perezhogin, Alexander Radulov (A), Vadim Shipachyov, Sergei Shirokov, Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexei Tereshenko (A), Viktor Tikhonov, Nikolai Zherdev, Ilya Zubov.
Goaltenders: Mikko Koskinen, Teemu Lassila. Defence: Ilkka Heikkinen, Juuso Hietanen (A), Janne Jalasvaara, Joonas Järvinen, Mikko Jokela, Mikko Kousa, Mikko Mäenpää (C), Ville Uusitalo. Forwards: Marko Anttila, Jonas Enlund, Tommi Huhtala, Joonas Kemppainen, Tuomas Kiiskinen, Matti Kuparinen, Perttu Lindgren, Ossi Louhivaara, Masi Marjamäki, Oskar Osala, Harri Pesonen, Petteri Wirtanen (A).
