The ninth match for gold, Hayton’s injury and desire for revenge: what you need to know about the Russia-Canada game in the final of the MFM

Confrontation History

Since 1996, when the winner of the youth world championship began to be determined by the results of the playoffs, the final with the participation of Russia and Canada was the most frequent in the tournament. The current confrontation in Ostrava at the Ostrava Arena will be the ninth gold match between the two hockey superpowers.

So far, the score in the final meetings is equal - the Canadians won four times, including three times in a row in 2005-2007, and the Russians won four victories, among which the legendary 2011 comeback in Buffalo stands out especially. The last time two teams played the title of the best youth team in 2015. Then the generation of Pavel Buchnevich, Ivan Barbashev and Vladislav Gavrikov was defeated with a score of 4: 5.

It is worth noting that Canada only once won Russia in the final when the World Cup was held in Europe. It happened back in 2007, when the competition took Sweden. The Russians won in Canada, the United States, and the Czech Republic - 18 years ago in Pardubice.

If we recall all the cases when Canada and Russia with its predecessors played gold and silver among themselves, then the “maple leaves” are an advantage. They won eight titles in a dispute with Soviet and Russian hockey players, and remained in second place only six times.

Last meeting

The last time the youth of Russia and Canada met at the group stage of the current World Cup, and that game was the most sensational at this stage. Wards Valery Bragin won a landslide victory with a score of 6: 0, which helped even with two defeats to finish the group stage with the best difference of abandoned and missed goals in their quintet.

In addition to the fact that Canada suffered the largest defeat for all the time of the youth world championships, that match was also remembered by the scandal after the game. The captain of the “maple leaves” Barrett Hayton did not take off his helmet when the winner’s anthem, Russia, sounded, although the rules of hockey etiquette oblige him to do so. After that, the Russian players did not shake hands with Hayton, and he later apologized for his behavior together with the Canadian Hockey Federation.

Canada's Way to the Finals

That devastating defeat became a cold shower for Canadians. They won the next two matches of the group stage with Germany and the Czech Republic, taking first place in the quintet with nine points.

In the playoffs, Canada continued to transform and the storm swept through to the finals. First, the North Americans defeated Slovakia with a score of 6: 1, throwing an opponent with a difference of 26 shots. In the semifinals, Canadians had to meet last year's champions from Finland. After four minutes, the “maple leaves” were 3-0, and then scored two more goals, without missing a single one.

Composition changes

Compared to the first meeting with Russia, Canada will face a serious increase. In that group stage match, one of the team leaders Alexi Lafrenier was injured. One of the most talented young strikers in the world unsuccessfully clung to Amir Miftakhov’s shields and twisted his leg, after which he could not leave the court and spent several days in the infirmary.

Lafrenier still managed to recover and returned to the playoffs. The 18-year-old striker played no worse than before - in the game with Slovakia he scored a goal and made a pass, and in the semifinals with Finland scored a double. Lafrenier for the entire tournament scored eight points for performance and even with two missed matches became the second scorer of his team.

The first with 11 points remains Barrett Hayton, and his participation in the final with Russia is just in question. Having made two assists in the match with the Finns, the forward crashed into the side in the fight with an opponent in the fall, as a result of which he damaged the damage. The captain of Canadians left the ice, holding his left hand and did not appear on the court. Head coach Dale Hunter after the game could not confidently say whether Hayton will play with Russia again. The specialist’s decision may be affected by the incident with the anthem, because the attacker will now have a special attitude from the opponents.

Finally, the last change in the composition of the national team of Canada can be called a likely exit to the position of goalkeeper Joel Hofer. After Niko Daws failed in the match with Russia, he firmly sat on the bench, giving his successor the right to protect the gates of Canadians. Hofer did well - in four matches he conceded four goals and became the first goalkeeper in 14 years to make a biscuit in the semifinals of the youth world championship.

“New game, the stakes are high”

After reaching the final, Canadian players spoke almost unanimously about the upcoming match with Russia. Most of them called such a meeting the most coveted match for gold, and many spoke of revenge for the defeat at the group stage.

“The chance to take revenge on Russia is great. New game, the stakes are high. It did not matter with whom to play, it turned out that the final would be with Russia. We will prepare for a new game. We have come a long way since we played with them for the last time, we are waiting for a new meeting with them, ”Taya Dellandrea quotes the“ Championship ”.

“We are in the finals - this is incredible and amazing. I dreamed about this since childhood, I watched this tournament on Christmas when I was little. We are very happy that there is a chance to play with Russia again. They have a good team, big, strong, fast players. It will be great. Of course, we think about the defeat at the group stage. The Russians play very well and played great in the semifinals. It will be a tough match with plenty of power struggle, ”added Nolan Foote.

“It's great to play for gold, we are all in anticipation. We need to play like we did. The match with Russia in the group is already in the past, we watched a lot of videos. Tomorrow we will be ready. The final with Russia and Canada is a fundamental confrontation, we are looking forward to it. It will be a great game, ”said Aidan Dudas.

“I am glad that everything turned out that way in the semifinals and we had such a powerful start in the match before the final. All the guys are in anticipation, but at the same time it will be a gold match. In any case, everyone is waiting for this game, they want to feel the atmosphere, tune in and have a good match. Our self-confidence grew with every match, ”said quarterback Jamie Driesdale.