Russia beats Canada for shot at the World Junior Hockey Championship gold
January 5, 2012
The World Junior Hockey Championships took an interesting turn when Canada lost to the Russian team in Tuesday's semifinal match. USA Today reports that this will be the first time in a decade that Canada will not have a chance to compete for the gold. The Russian team beat Team Canada six to five, even though Canada came close to tying the score with four goals in the third period.
"When you watch them the whole tournament - and I've watched a lot of games...they've brought back a fast, exciting game to Russian hockey," Igor Larionov, former Detroit Red Wings player and hockey commentator, told the National Post. "Even that game against Latvia, when they showed that kind of skill, that's how we played on the KLM line - one-touch passes, skating through the neutral zone, slowing down the game a bit. All different aspects."
Larionov is referring to when he played alongside Vladimir Kurov and Sergei Marakov, creating one of the greatest offensive lines in the history of professional hockey. He, like many Russians, is extremely excited by the team's skills on the ice.
People who want to know the outcome of the final match on Thursday, but won't be able to watch it live, can make calls to Russia with international phone cards to find out the details.