Canada beats Russia in Game 4, wins series in extra period
Posted in Beavers by: adminCANADA’S Ryan Strome was the overtime hero Tuesday night in an exhibition series with Russia that didn’t play out like an exhibition.
Strome corralled a loose puck in the faceoff circle, hesitated and then ripped a snap shot to the blocker side of Russian goalie Andrei Vasilevski to hand Canada a thrilling victory in the finale of the 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge before a jubilant crowd at the Halifax Metro Centre.
With Russia leading the four-game under-20 exhibition series 2-1, Canada needed a win in regulation Tuesday night to force a 20-minute sudden death period. The Canadians did just that, winning 4-2, setting the stage for Strome’s OT thriller 3:20 into the extra period.
“I like that pull-and-drag shot,” Strome said of his winning goal. “I’ve scored a few like that before and once I pulled it, I saw a little bit of mesh. I just kind of threw it on net and was lucky it went in.
“This is big for us. This is a bit of redemption after a poor world juniors last year.”
Ty Rattie tallied twice in regulation while Lucas Lessio and Jonathan Huberdeau added single markers for Canada. Mark Scheifele had three assists.
Andrei Sigalev and Albert Yarullin replied for Russia, who were outshot 50-29 in regulation and overtime combined.
Although it was billed as an exhibition series, Scheifele said his side approached it differently.
“We weren’t treating this like an exhibition,” Scheifele said. “There’s obviously a rivalry between us and Russia and that rivalry gave us that extra energy.”
As he did in Game 3 Monday night in Halifax, Sigalev opened the scoring. Sent in on a two-on-one, the speedy winger tried to feed a pass but fanned on the attempt. He regained the puck and slid a shot under Malcolm Subban’s pads.
The 1-0 lead lasted a minute and seven seconds. Lessio gathered up a loose puck from a goalmouth scramble and flipped it over a fallen Vasilevski.
The teams went into the first intermission tied at 1-1 but Canada held a 20-8 shot advantage.
“It seems like every time we play the Russians we outshoot them but can’t get ahead,” said Strome, the New York Islanders’ top pick in 2010. “Against these guys we have to keep playing our game plan. Sometimes you want to keep pressuring them but we played hard for 60 minutes and we didn’t let them get in our heads.”
Special teams took over in the second period. Russia was first to capitalize on the power play when Yarullin blasted a shot from the point that beat Subban inside the post to his left.
But Rattie was Johnny-on-the-spot during consecutive Canadian man advantages. The St. Louis Blues draft pick batted in a rebound eight seconds into a power play midway through the period. Rattie then gave the home side its first lead on Canadian soil when he scored on a rebound at the 12:47 mark.
Canada headed into the final frame with a 3-2 lead.
“We needed someone to bury some goals tonight and Rattie stepped up and put it home,” said Scheifele, the Winnipeg Jets’ top forward prospect. “His goals were great energy to feed off.”
Canada scored its third power play goal of the night — the second straight game they had three with the man advantage — when Huberdeau netted the all-important insurance marker with less than six minutes remaining.
Subban then assured the game would go into extra time with some key saves late in the period. He made 11 saves in the third, most of those in the dying minutes.
“Subes stood on his head for us,” Scheifele said referring to Subban, a first-round pick of the Boston Bruins. “He’s an unbelievable goalie. He gave us that confidence; he really kept us in there.”
As the Canadian team celebrated at centre ice following a trophy presentation, Subban skated off to grab a Canadian flag attached to a hockey stick and waved it around the ice.
Notes: Players from the ’72 Summit Series — Ken Dryden, Don Awrey, Pat Stapleton, Vladislav Tretiak, Alexander Yakushev and Yuri Lyapkin — were on hand to drop the puck for the ceremonial opening faceoff. They received a standing ovation from the 8,768 fans in attendance. … Also receiving a rousing ovation was Halifax kayaker Mark de Jonge, the Olympic bronze medallist in the K-1 200 at the London Games, who was presented a Team Canada jersey during the first intermission.
(gmacdonald@herald.ca)