Team WHL Edges Russian Selects in Finale of 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge
2008 Nov-28
By: Jesse Watts
Kyle Beach of the Everett Silvertips scored the game-winner as Team WHL edged a spirited Russian Selects team 2-1 in the finale of the 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge before 2749 fans at the Art Hauser Center in Prince Albert, SK, on Thursday night.
Zach Boychuk also scored and was selected Player of the Game for Team WHL, who faced a much feistier Russian side in Thursday’s series finale than they did in Wednesday night’s 5-0 victory in Swift Current, SK.
“They played well,” said Team WHL head coach Willie Desjardins of the Russians’ far superior effort in Thursday’s contest. “They made some adjustments in their game, and I though they worked pretty hard.
“We had some chances that we missed, but they had some real good opportunities, too, and we could have easily lost that game,” added Desjardins, whose side outshot the Russians 46-23 in the contest.
After a scoreless first period, Team WHL got on the board first with Boychuk burying a rebound off Colten Teubert’s point shot on the power play just over five minutes into the second period.
Beach gave Team WHL some breathing room with a nice individual effort 12:16 into the third period. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect drove hard to the net from the goal line and made a nifty move to slip one past Perchusky on his far side.
Russia finally broke their goalless drought 16:28 into the third period when Vadim Ermolaev beat Tokarski, snapping the WHL’s shutout streak at over 116 minutes.
“We’ll take the win,” said Beach, whose line with Calgary’s Brett Sonne and Regina’s Jordan Eberle created the most opportunities for Team WHL on the night. “Anytime you get whipped like they did, you’re always going to come out much harder the next night, which is what they did tonight.
“We knew what we needed to bring, and I though all the guys did well – even some of the guys who didn’t know they were playing until today,” he said.
Indeed, the score could have been a bit more lopsided for Team WHL if it weren’t for the play of Russian netminder Alexander Pechurskiy, who turned in a 44-save performance and earned the Player of the Game honors for his side.
However, Team WHL netminder Dustin Tokaski of the Spokane chiefs also had to be sharp, kicking out 22 shots to earn the victory. Tokarski, who once led the Prince Albert Mintos to the Telus Cup National Midget Championship, faced a stiffer test than Tri-City goaltender Chet Pickard did the previous night in Swift current.
“You had to expect them to come out harder,” said Tokarski. “We dominated them last night, but they came out with a good effort tonight and threw a lot of pucks on net.”
Tokarski, though, also was quick to credit a strong WHL defense in helping him claim the win in his first ADT Canada-Russia appearance.
“It was a complete team effort, and my defensemen were always quick to clear out rebounds and clear out the front of the net whenever I had to make saves…Their goalie played great, too,” he said.
With the victory, the CHL wins the 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge with a 5-1 record through the six-game series. The win also improves the WHL to 13-1 all-time versus the Russian Selects through the event’s six-year history.
Eberle powers WHL win over Russia
2008 Nov-26
By: Aaron Bell
Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats scored a pair of powerplay goals and Chet Pickard of the Tri-City Americans turned aside all 16 shots he faced to help the WHL to a 5-0 win over the Russian Selects in Game 5 of the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge in Swift Current on Wednesday.
Eberle opened the scoring on a two-man powerplay early in the first period when he converted a rebound on a shot by Thomas Hickey of the Seattle Thunderbirds from the top of the circle and then added a powerplay marker in the second period that gave the WHL a three-goal lead.
Hickey also set up Zach Boychuk of the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a powerplay marker in the first period and Tyler Ennis of the Medicine Hat Tigers for a powerplay goal late in the second period.
Matt Calvert of the Brandon Wheat Kings counted in the third. Eberle added an assist and Jamie Benn of the Kelowna Rockets picked up a pair of helpers in the win.
“I know the WHL is known more for its defence,” Eberle said. “I think into the third period we were really pushing hard to get that shutout. Pickard played awesome and we just played a sound game.”
The WHL was four-for-eight on the powerplay while the Russians failed to connect on three powerplay opportunities.
“The powerplay was clicking tonight,” Eberle said. “It was kind of nice to get a five-on-five goal there at the end.”
Pickard said that it was easy to play behind the star-studded WHL squad.
“It was unbelievable playing in front of the D that we’ve got here,” Pickard said. “The whole team – right from the drop of the puck until the end of the buzzer – played great in front of me. They did an unbelievable job. It was an easy job for me tonight.”
Sergey Gayduchenko allowed five goals on 40 shots for the Russians, who dropped to 1-4 in the series.
The ADT Canada-Russia Challenge wraps up with Game 6 on Thursday in Prince Albert, SK (11:30 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet).
Game Summary
OHL sweeps Ontario leg of ADT Canada-Russia Challenge
2008 Nov-25
By: Aaron Bell
Andrew Agozzino of the hometown Niagara IceDogs scored the winning goal to help the OHL edge the Russian Selects 3-2 in Game 4 of the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge on Monday in St. Catharines.
After a scoreless first period, John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals opened the scoring 1:21 into the second period with his third goal of the series. P.K. Subban of the Belleville Bulls added a third period powerplay goal and Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires chipped in with a pair of assists in the win.
The win gave the OHL a sweep of their leg of the series after a 6-3 win in Guelph on Thursday. Tavares said that despite a full slate of games for the OHL players over the weekend, they used the energy from the crowd to pull out the win.
“We really fed off the crowd tonight; they were great,” Tavares said about playing in front of a rambunctious capacity crowd in St. Catharines. “It was a great atmosphere.”
Trevor Cann of the London Knights got the win after stopping 11 of 12 shots in relief of Mike Murphy of the Bulls, who allowed one goal on 17 shots in the first half of the game.
Nikita Klyukin and Pavel Chernov replied for the Russians, who dropped to 1-3 in the tournament despite being competitive in every game.
“They keep getting better and better,” Tavares said. “They are starting to understand the Canadian game a lot more and the game on the smaller surface. Obviously we knew that with the weekend they had off, they had a lot of jump and they definitely gave us a run today.”
Sergey Gayduchenko made 36 saves for Russia.
The win gave the OHL a sweep of this series and maintains its undefeated record in the six-year history of the event.
“I don’t think we stressed that too much before the game,” Subban said. “It’s more than enough to think about when you are playing for your country, especially Canada. Canada never loses and we never like to lose whether it’s an ADT game or an exhibition game or whatever. Just putting on that jersey and knowing that you are playing for a spot to play for your country at Christmas time is more than enough motivation.”
The ADT Canada-Russia Challenge concludes with a pair of games in the Western Hockey League. The Swift Current Broncos host Game 5 on Wednesday (7:00 p.m. on Rogers Sportsnet) before the series finale on Thursday in Prince Albert.
Photo: Aaron Bell/CHL
Tavares leads by example
2008 Nov-24
By: Aaron Bell
Experience is everything as far as John Tavares is concerned.
The Oshawa Generals’ captain scored a pair of goals and keyed the OHL’s 6-3 win over the Russian Selects in Game 3 of the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge on Thursday and said that his experience in playing on the international stage helped him prepare for that game.
“You get the experience and you understand what this event is all about,” Tavares said after the game in Guelph. “Definitely for us playing international competition before gives us an advantage; little things like how the day goes and how this event is. The coach counted on us (veterans) to be the leaders and to set the example and make sure we are playing well and doing the little things right. It paid off for us tonight.”
Tavares will hope to lead the way again tonight when the series continues with Game 4 in St. Catharines (7:00 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet).
Tavares played in the series last year in Kitchener and Sudbury and went on to help Canada win the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic last Christmas. On Thursday, Tavares opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game.
“It was nice to get that (goal) early,” Tavares said. “Britt (Josh Brittain) made a great play and I thought he was great tonight finishing checks and opening up a lot of room for me and Dale Mitchell. Just to get that first shot on net and being lucky enough for it to go in was a good feeling and a good way to start.”
The Russians came back with a pair of goals in the first period and took the lead with a goal 27 seconds in to the second. But Tavares scored a powerplay marker that tied the game in the second period and then picked up an assist on the OHL’s sixth goal that iced the win in the third.
“It was great,” Tavares said. “I think our first two periods weren’t the best but you saw what Canadians were all about and why we come out on top every time. Just our heart and desire to bear down and want to win especially like this. It was a great feeling for a lot of the guys in their first game and it was a lot of fun out there tonight.”
The QMJHL split the first two games of the series before Thursday’s win put the CHL ahead by one game. After tonight’s game, the series concludes in the Western Hockey League with games in Swift Current, SK on Wednesday and Prince Albert, SK on Thursday.
Photo: Aaron Bell / CHL
Russians even ADT Canada-Russia Challenge
2008 Nov-19
By: Aaron Bell
Pavel Chernov scored two goals, including a short-handed marker in the second period, to power the Russian Selects to a 4-3 win over the QMJHL in the second game of the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge on Wednesday in Saint John, NB.
Chernov opened the scoring late in the first period on a set up by Anatoly Nikontsev and then converted another pass from Nikontsev early in the second period with the QMJHL on the powerplay. Chernov set up Mikhail Pashnin less than four minutes later to put the Russians ahead and then Evgeny Dadonov scored what proved to be the winning goal late in the third period.
Maxime Sauve of the Val d’Or Foreurs tied the game early in the second period. Luke Adam of the Juniors scored midway through the period and Paul Byron of the Gatineau Olympiques cut into the Russian lead late in the third.
“We started this game pretty much like we started the previous game,” said QMJHL coach Guy Boucher, who coaches the Drummondville Voltigeurs and will be an assistant coach with Canada’s National Junior Team. “It took us a while to get going. We finished some of our checks in the first period but not as much as we wanted.”
Jake Allen of the Montreal Juniors went the distance for the QMJHL, stopping 28 of 32 shots and Sergey Gayduchenko got the start once again for the Russians and made 30 saves in the win.
The QMJHL had eight powerplays in the game but failed to score with the man-advantage.
“We missed our chances,” said Boucher, who guided the QMJHL to a 5-3 win in the series opener on Monday in Sydney, NS. “Their goalie played really well but we didn’t put enough traffic in front of him. That pretty much sums up the story of the game.”
Game 3 of the series goes Thursday in Guelph (7:00 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet) and Game 4 is in St. Catharines on Monday. The series concludes in the Western Hockey League next week with games in Swift Current and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. All games are broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet.
Game Summary
QMJHL stars take first game of the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge
2008 Nov-17
By: Aaron Bell
Angelo Esposito is determined to get another crack at Canada’s World Junior roster.
The Montreal Juniors forward has been a three-time cut from the World Junior Team but is using the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge to show the Team Canada brass that he intends to make the squad and represent his country on the world stage this Christmas in Ottawa.
I think the (ADT games) are important for me,” said Esposito, who scored the winning goal on a powerplay late in the second period and added an assist to pace the QMJHL stars to a 5-3 win over the Russian Selects in the first game of the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge in Sydney, NS on Monday.
“I’m going to come out here and have fun and just work hard and go from there,” said Esposito, who has seven goals and 15 points in 15 games this season. “There’s an opening there for me and I’m working hard”
Esposito is definitely on the Hockey Canada radar once again this year.
“Angelo’s been a player that has been in our program with the Under-18’s,” said Hockey Canada’s top scout Al Murray. “For three years in a row he wasn’t ready to make the World Junior but we’re evaluating him just like we are all the other players. He won’t be invited unless he has a legitimate chance to make the team and if he is invited to the camp we expect he will really challenge for a spot.”
On Monday, Luke Adam of the Juniors opened the scoring on a powerplay midway through the first period. The Russians tied the game in the opening seconds of the second period on a marker by Nikita Klyukin but Paul Byron of the Gatineau Olympiques restored the lead 18 seconds later.
Nicholas Peterson of the Shawinigan Cataractes also scored in the second period and Alex Grant of the Saint John Sea Dogs iced the win with an empty-net goal with five second left in the game. Kevin Marshall of the Quebec Remparts picked up a pair of assists in the win.
Anatoly Nikontsev scored midway through the second period and Dmitri Kugryshev added a goal in the third period for the Russians.
QMJHL starter Olivier Roy of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles was the first star of the game after stopping 18 of 19 shots that he faced in the first half of the game. Maxime Clermont of the Olympiques finished the game, making 10 saves.
Russian goaltender Sergey Gayduchenko made 16 saves in the loss.
The QMJHL improved to 7-2-0-2 in the six-year history of the event.
The series continues on Wednesday in Saint John, NB before moving to Ontario for Game 3 in Guelph on Thursday and Game 4 in St. Catharines on Monday. The series concludes in the Western Hockey League next week with games in Swift Current and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
The series continues on Wednesday in Saint John, NB before moving to Ontario for Game 3 in Guelph on Thursday and Game 4 in St. Catharines on Monday. The series concludes in the Western Hockey League next week with games in Swift Current and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
Game Summary
