CALGARY-Sweden captured its first gold medal since 1981 and only the second overall at the World Junior Championships sponsored by the International Ice Hockey Federation tonight. The Swedes beat defending gold medalist Russia 1-0 in overtime denying Russia back to back gold medals.
Forward Mika Zibanejad son of a Finnish mother and an Iranian father knocked the puck free from a Russian forward along the far side boards and accelerated into his offensive zone with a step on the Russian defender. He used a wicked backhander top shelf to propel his team to the 2012 WJC gold medal. Defenseman Patrick Nemeth was credited with an assist on the goal at 10:07 into extra time.
Swedish coach Roger Ronnberg, the yellow and blue clad players on the ice and those on the bench exploded with joy as 31 years between U-20 gold medals ended. Ronnberg told the assembled media afterwards that “This team has incredible composure.” He referred to his team’s ability to maintain their demeanor despite being unable to score on so many shots up until the game winner.
Sweden was undefeated in the tournament beating Russia twice with both games going to OT as they climbed to the top of the world’s U-20 age group. In earlier action Canada a heavy pre-tournament favorite beaten by Russia in the Semi-Finals had to settle for the bronze medal and a disappointing third place finish. They won 4-0 over Finland in the game for third place. The Canadian disappointment at the WJC has reached three straight years as they have lost the gold medal games in 2010 and 2011 to go with this year’s finish.
The big crowd of 18,722 made up of mostly Canadians rooted almost exclusively for the Swedes. They were apparently influenced by the Team Canada’s frustration and inability to beat the Russians in two straight crucial medal round games. The Swedes did deserve their support however as they dominated most of the game outshooting their opponents 17-3 in the opening period, 22-1 in the middle period and 58 to 17 overall.
Johan Gustafsson in goal for Sweden was sharp when he had to be and Andrei Markov in goal for Russia was absolutely outstanding in defeat. Gustafsson’s best save of the night came with just 32 seconds left in the game. The tournament’s Most Valuable Player Yevgeni Kuznetsov came in on the left side boards, did a 360 degree turn and passed the puck to a driving Nikita Gusev but the Swedish goal tender made a sliding save to protect the lead and win.
The two goalies were named the outstanding players for their respective teams for the game. Markov was a surprise starter over his younger goal tender teammate Andrei Vasilevski. Markov plays in Canada’s Western Hockey League. He had previously played in just one tournament game before coach Valeri Bragin tapped him for the start.
Kuznetsov a Washington Capitals’ draft choice had 13 points including six goals to lead all scorers in the tournament. He scored a hat trick and had four points in the Russian win against Canada in the Semi-Finals. In addition to his MVP award he was named the tournament’s Best Forward. Canada’s Brandon Gormley picked up recognition as the Best Defenseman while Petr Mrazek of the Czech Republic was named Best Goalie.
The media all-star team included Mrazek (CZE) in goal, Gormley (CAN), and Oscar Klefbom (SWE) on defense and Kuznetsov (RUS), Max Friberg (SWE) and Mikael Granlund (FIN) as the forwards. Next year’s WJC will be held in Ufa, Russia.
Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
