Posted on 01/04/2006 11:27:49 AM PST by Major Matt Mason
VANCOUVER (CP) - The excitement that Nikolai Kulemin felt regarding what his team had just accomplished was tempered by the anticipation of the task that lay ahead.
Kulemin scored two goals, the second a great individual effort on a power play, as Russia defeated the United States 5-1 on Tuesday night to advance to the gold medal game at the world junior hockey championship.
Russia will play Canada in Thursday's final (TSN, 7 p.m. ET).
"It's a huge responsibility," Kulemin said through an interpreter. "We have to prepare very seriously for that game and we will play to win."
The Russians used their size and speed to control the play. They were in perpetual motion and moved the puck with authority.
"I'm proud of our guys," said Evgeni Malkin, who had two assists to give him 10 points and a share of the tournament scoring lead with American Phil Kessel. "We showed that we are a team and we can fight and play as a team."
It was a frustrating loss for U.S., picked by many to win the tournament. The Americans, who will play Finland for bronze Thursday (TSN, 3 p.m. ET), brimmed with talent but never seemed to gel as a team.
"There is definitely a sense of anger and hurt because we came up short for what we came here for," said defenceman Jack Johnson. "This team on paper was as talented, if not more talented, than anyone here.
"It comes down to a team game. Tonight we came up short. We just lost to a good team."
Canada beat Finland 4-0 in the other semifinal. It will be the fifth time since 1999 that Canada and Russia have met in the tournament final.
"Team Canada is a good team," said forward Alexander Radulov, who plays for the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts. "We have to be ready."
Sergei Shirokov had a goal and assist for Russia, which led 1-0 after 40 minutes. Defenceman Alexei Emelin and Nikolai Lemtyugov also scored as the Russians broke open a tight game with three third-period goals in just over a 12-minute span.
Goaltender Anton Khudobin, who plays for the WHL's Saskatoon Blades of the WHL, stopped 34 shots for Russia.
"The whole team set their mind to win tonight," said Khudobin.
Jack Skille, on a power play, scored for the U.S.
Tempers flared near the end of the game and players from both teams got overly physical. With just over a minute left, all the players on the ice were involved in pushing and shoving while the crowd chanted "U.S. sucks."
Emelin and American Mark Mitera both received game misconducts.
Kulemin's second goal of the game on a third-period power play showed both strength and finesse.
He used his speed to beat a U.S. player at the blue-line then, with one hand on his stick, fought off another defenceman and beat goaltender Cory Schneider high to the glove side for his fourth goal of the tournament.
"We prepared very seriously before the game and I'm very glad it happened that way," Kulemin said.
The U.S. had nine NHL draft picks in its lineup.
The Americans had scoring power in Kessel, projected to be the top pick in this year's draft, and Chris Bourque, who had seven goals during the tournament. They also got strong defensive play from Jack and Erik Johnson, plus outstanding goaltending from Schneider.
What the Americans seemed to lack was cohesiveness. The forwards often carried the puck, but didn't pass. There were great individual efforts that fizzled because of no support.
U.S. coach Walt Kyle said his team still has a chance to take a medal home.
"There have been four other (American) teams in 30 years that have won medals at the world junior championship," he said. "If we're fortunate enough to be able to do that, in my opinion, that's a solid accomplishment and I would absolutely be proud of that."
Kulemin opened the scoring at 12:32 of the first.
The second was scoreless but the Americans had a great chance to tie the game when Malkin received a four-minute high-sticking penalty.
Bobby Ryan just missed tipping a puck into the open corner, then Khudobin stopped Kessel's shot from a sharp angle.
There were some bone-rattling hits during the game.
Roman Voloshenko, the top rookie scorer in the AHL, drew a huge cheer from the crowd when he stapled Jack Johnson into the boards.
Vvacheslav Buravchikov decked Skille while Kirill Lyamin taught Nathan Davis a lesson about keeping his head up coming across centre ice.
The 18,630-seat G.M. Place looked about two-thirds full for the game. The anti-American feelings evident all tournament continued with chants of "Russia, Russia," something rarely heard in a Canadian arena.
Kyle admitted he was "disappointed a little bit" that the crowd cheered for the Russians.
The fans also loudly booed Jack Johnson whenever he touched the puck. In a game Saturday night, Johnson hit Canada's Steve Downie with an errant elbow.
A couple thoughts on some US players:
Phil Kessel is overrated, and may have severely damaged his chances of being selected first overall in the NHL Draft. Yes, he picked up some points, but he was almost totally ineffective after the shinny game vs. Norway. If I were an NHL GM with an opportunity to select Kessel 1st overall, I would have serious doubts about doing so.
The guy I would look at with that pick would be Erik Johnson, the big d-man who played a ton as a 17-year-old. Very impressive, and he will only get better.
Other players that showed well include defenseman Jack Johnson, who was probably the best player for the US (the Carolina Hurricanes must be drooling right now- great pick for them), and forward T.J. Oshie, whose effort was strong over the entire tournament.
As for Coach Walt Kyle, he should never be behind the bench for one of these tournaments ever again. He clearly was in over his head, and was outcoached in nearly every game (including the Swiss, no less). Truly pathetic.
Also pathetic were the Canadians in attendance at the games. Booing Johnson was one thing, but they also booed the American national anthem, and generally behaved like idiots at the US games. Granted, they paid their money and can root for whomever they want. But there was a definite nasty undercurrent that had much more to do with relations between the countries, in general, than it did with the outcome of games in this tournament. Woe Canada, Vancouver is certainly not a town I will be visiting anytime soon.
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