Photo courtesy of Scott Roblin

By Scott Roblin

World U17 Hockey Challenge

Russia upsets United States for gold at World U-17 Hockey Challenge

Nov 9, 2019 | 11:12 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Winning just once in the round-robin, it looks as if Team Russia was bound for an early exit at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

But on Saturday night at the Canalta Centre, the Russians proved why their program is so revered by knocking off a powerhouse United States team 6-2 to strike gold.

“It’s a very great feeling,” said Russia forward Nikita Chibrikov. “We fought for our whole country, all our families, it’s very important for our country, for Russia. We are very happy with this win.”

Valerii Brinkman turned in an outstanding performance with 32-saves in his final game, while Fedor Svechkov chipped in with three points to give the Russians their second straight gold at the international tournament.

“Our goalie is the best,” said Chibrikov. “Valerii is one of the [most] important parts of our team, goaltending is 80 percent of the win for our team. We are very happy for him.”

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After a scoreless opening period, it was Svechkov putting home a rebound on the doorstep past USA’s Kaidan Mbereko 7:34 into the second.

Russia was able to beat the buzzer before the second intermission with Poltapov’s insurance marker, scoring with 11 seconds left for his fourth of the tournament.

Some fancy stick work by Ilia Ivantsov put the game out of reach early in the third period with a tipped shot above the glove of Mbereko, making it a 3-0 game.

Chibrikov and Vsevolod Gaidamak each found the back of the net late to give the Russians a commanding 5-0 lead, however the Americans were able to break up Brinkman’s shutout bid.

Defenceman Aidan Hreschuk and winger Colby Saganiuk both scored in the final four minutes to give the United States some life down 5-2, but an empty net goal by Danila Iurov sealed the gold for Team Russia.

“We’re a super close team and I think we hate to lose more than we love to win,” said USA winger Sasha Pastujov. “So, it’s going to make us hungrier and we’re going to come back stronger.”

Russia becomes the first country to win back-to-back gold medals at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge since Team Ontario in 2008 and 2009.

As for the Americans, Saturday’s loss was their lone defeat in regulation throughout the entire tournament.

“I think we’re definitely going to look past it,” said American forward Chaz Lucius. “We get Russia in a month and we’re gunning for them.”

Overtime magic

Photo courtesy of Hockey Canada

With one wraparound shot, Czech Republic captain Martin Rysavy etched himself into the World Under-17 records books.

Rysavy scored the bronze medal winning goal for the Czechs on Saturday afternoon, putting his country on the podium with just 14 seconds left in overtime against Team Canada White.

“For [me] it’s the biggest win in [my] career so far,” said Rysavy through an interpreter. “So, [I’m] pretty excited about it.”

Thanks to the overtime winner, the Czechs were able to pick up their second bronze medal in three years at the tournament, almost winning in regulation earlier in the game.

Canada White’s Matthew Savoie scored with under three minutes left in regulation to send the bronze medal game to overtime, converting on a power play chance for his first goal of the tournament.

“He’s been due for a goal all tournament,” said Canada White’s Cole Sillinger. “He probably throws 10 pucks on net and eventually one is going to go in. On our bench we really didn’t get down, we knew we were going to push and get one late in the third.”

Tied at 1-1 late in the second period after goals from Canada’s Brett Harrison and Czech Republic’s Petr Moravec, it was Jakub Altrichter giving the Czechs a 2-1 lead heading into the third.

That lead stood until Savoie’s marker late in the game, while Rysavy’s wraparound goal was able to bring the bronze medal contest to a close before a shootout.

“It was unexpected emotion and just exploded,” said Rysavy. “Just celebrated on the ice, [I] wasn’t able to keep it inside.”

Tomas Suchanek had 29 saves in the Czech net, while Canada’s William Rousseau made 25 saves on 28 shots against.

It was a remarkable turnaround for the Czech team after falling by a 10-1 score in their first game to the United States and not winning a single game in the round-robin.

“It’s easy to stand up from the bottom,” said Rysavy. “We took the lesson from that and as the tournament moved on, we got better. There’s the reward for us.”

Players will depart Medicine Hat on Sunday to fly back to their home teams, provinces, and countries.

While Sillinger will be staying put in the ‘Gas City’ with the Tigers organization, he said the connections he formed this week with Canada White will stay with him.

“From the start I didn’t really know many players out east and they’re brothers to me now,” he said. “So, I think that’s the biggest thing to take away from this, just the people you meet playing hockey in any tournament.”