Russia 6, Switzerland 1 ~ Dec. 30
Posted on Fri, Dec. 31, 2004
Russia romps over Swiss
Russians do their job in Group A
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - Team Switzerland coach Jakob Kolliker knew his team might be in for a tough day Thursday.
"Russia plays at a level higher than us ... . or two, or three," Kolliker said.
Not only that, the Russians had something to play for. They were playing for a chance to win Group A at the World Junior Championship, if they also received some help from the Czech Republic.
It showed.
Team Russia cruised by Switzerland 6-1 in Thief River Falls' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The win over Switzerland, coupled with the Czech Republic victory over the United States, gave Russia the Group A title, and a bye to Sunday's semifinal. The Russians will play the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between Team USA and Sweden.
Russia's Enver Lisin, who had one point in the tournament coming into Thursday, chalked up four assists against Switzerland. And the Russians also got strong play from their two biggest guns, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin.
Ovechkin, the top pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, scored a pair of goals and added an assist. Malkin, the No. 2 pick behind Ovechkin, played well, too. He assisted on a goal and had a goal taken away from him because of a throwing-the-stick penalty that occurred prior to the goal.
"It's not just Ovechkin and Malkin," Kolliker said. "They have 20 guys who are very good players."
Team Russia goaltender Anton Khudobin stopped 16 shots to get the win.
"We shut them down with our defense," Khudobin said. "I got a lot of support in front of me. I credit the defense for doing a good job."
Dimitri Vorobiev put the Russians out front 4 minutes, 58 seconds into the game when he fired a wrister from the bottom of the left circle past Swiss goaltender Michael Tobler on the power play.
Later in the first, Dmitri Pestunov, who had a goal and two assists, provided the flashiest goal of the game. Pestunov, who was cutting in front of the Swiss goal, reached back behind him to catch a pass from Lisin. After getting his stick on it, Pestunov pushed the puck behind his back and into the net for the goal.
In the second period, Marco Kaser put Team Switzerland within one goal when he slid a backhand shot by Khudobin from the slot. But six minutes later, Ovechkin fired a one-timer from the top of the right circle into the net for a 3-1 lead. Goals by Alexander Galimov, defenseman Georgi Misharin and another by Ovechkin rounded out the scoring.
"Today's game was very important," Lisin said. "Our whole team was ready for this."
Team Russia assistant coach Sergei Gersonsky said his team has made adjustments throughout the tournament, but he's not sure how much they've improved.
"Time will tell," he said.
