Game Recaps: December 29, 2017

By BuffaloWorldJuniors.com Staff

Posted 12/29/17

Russia 5 – Belarus 2

By Jeff Baker

 

Needing a win to stay in the mix atop the Group B standings at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, Russia took care of business with a 5-2 win against Belarus at HarborCenter in Buffalo on Friday afternoon.

 

Alexei Polodyan opened the scoring for Russia midway through the first period when his wrister from the top of the circle found its way through traffic for his second goal of the tournament.

 

Two and a half minutes later, German Rubtsov, the 22nd overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, flew in front of the crease to make it 2-0 with a sweeping dangle that finished off a nice give-and-go with teammate Artur Kayumov.

 

Russia went up 3-0 just 3:33 into the second period when Klim Kostin, the St. Louis Blues’ first-round pick in 2017, converted in front of the net off some pretty triangle passing from the corner with Andrei Svechnikov, one of the top prospects for the 2018 NHL Draft.

 

Belarus finally got on the board early in the third period when defenseman Dmitri Deryabin carried the puck up the ice and scored on an off-angle shot from the left side boards to trail 3-1.

 

But Russia would respond two minutes later as Kayumov and Rubtsov continued to show off some strong chemistry, this time when Kayumov put back a rebound to give Russia a 4-1 lead with 15:39 left after several chances and bounces in front.

 

Kostin scored his second of the day with a glove-side wrist shot after circling the offensive zone before Sergei Pishuk answered for the Belarusians shortly after to trim Russia’s lead to three goals with 9:17 remaining.

 

On the penalty kill late in the third period, Russia kept Belarus at bay with their defense, an effort highlighted by Kayumov when he blocked a shot with his glove in the final minutes.

 

Kayumov, who broke a 2-2 third-period tie in their 5-2 win over Switzerland, is tied with Kostin for the tournament lead in scoring with both players registering three goals and two assists in three games.

 

Goaltender Vladislav Sukhachyov, who began the World Juniors as Russia’s backup before getting his first start less than 24 hours before today’s game, made 17 saves while Andrei Grishenko had 35 stops in net for Belarus.

 

With two wins following their loss to the Czech Republic in the opener, Russia will face off with unbeaten group leader Sweden for a marquee New Year’s Eve matchup on Sunday at 8 p.m. at KeyBank Center, the final game of the preliminary round.

 

Seated at the bottom of Group B with three losses, Belarus has been outscored by a combined 14-5 margin and appears to be headed to the relegation stage as they prepare to take on the Czech Republic on Saturday at 12 p.m.