Russia Wins Opener

IIHF.com

CIVIC CENTRE - Russia kicked off the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 4-1 win over Latvia on Friday. Pavel Chernov paced the Russian attack with a goal and an assist.

Latvia vs. Russia 1-4 (0-1, 0-1, 1-2)

From the outset, Russia dominated with its size, speed, and skill, which the Latvians tried to neutralize at times by getting more physical. But realistically, the score could have been even higher. The top Russian trio of Nikita Filatov, Evgeni Grachev, and Dmitri Kugryshev looked dangerous despite being held pointless.

"It wasn’t a great game on our part, but it was a solid win in the first game," said Filatov. "So this was okay. Latvia in an opening game is not easy."

Latvian goalie Nauris Enkuzens was put to the test, as Russia outshot Latvia 21-8 in the opening 20 minutes, and 44-18 overall.

Russia drew first blood on the power play at 16:56 when Vyacheslav Voinov’s shot from the right faceoff circle eluded Enkuzens.

The Russians went up 2-0 midway through the second, as Pavel Chernov gobbled up a loose puck in front of Enkuzens’ crease and whacked it home.

Maxim Goncharov made it 3-0 at 7:01 of the third with the man advantage when his center point one-timer whizzed past the Latvian goalie’s right skate. The Latvians continued to work hard until the final buzzer but couldn’t generate much.

Still, the crowd erupted when Janis Ozololins spoiled Alistratov’s shutout bid with just under two minutes left. Dmitri Klopov added Russia’s final goal on a broken play deep in the Latvian end seconds before the final buzzer.

It was Latvia’s first appearance at the IIHF World Junior Championship since the tiny Baltic nation debuted at this level in 2006. Enthusiastic Latvian supporters pounded drums and chanted, both in the stands and on the concourse during intermissions.

Attendance was 9,441. Enkuzens was Latvia’s Player of the Game, and Sergei Andronov was honoured for Russia.

The only previous Russia-Latvia meeting at the World Juniors was a 3-1 Russian victory in Kamloops, British Columbia on December 29, 2006.

The Ottawa Civic Centre is the home of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, and two Russian players were familiar to fans of that major junior circuit: Evgeni Grachev of the Brampton Battalion and Sergei Korostin of the Peterborough Petes.

"This wasn't our best game, but I'm sure we will get better in each of the next games," said Korostin. "Latvia is a good team. They played hard, had great goaltending, and played a solid tight defence."

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)