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Alucard · 08-04-2015, 05:45 PM

<div align="justify">KNIGHTS SHINE IN NARROW RUSSIA DEFEAT
Moscow, 3 August

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Maria Maximova was in action for the Motherland against Czechoslovakia.

The fifth round of IIHF games saw Czechoslovakia snatch victory from their Eastern rivals in a nail-biting affair in Moscow. Russia were the better side for large periods of playâ€”albeit in a fiercely contested encounterâ€”but a string of 3rd period penalties allowed their opponents to maintain parity before Patrik Å atan won the game in a shootout. Despite the defeat Russia will take many positives from the game, and none more so than the performances of youngsters Bure, Koroviev, Maximova, and Morenov. Those involved with Team Russia have spoken often of late of the great potential in the Russian camp, and on the evidence of Monday nightâ€™s game that positivity is fully justified.

Of all the nations competing in this seasonâ€™s IIHF competition, no team has named as many SMJHL rookies to their roster as Team Russia, with the trio of Roman Morenov (Montreal Impact), Maria Maximova and Ivan Koroviev (both Kelowna Knights) being called up alongside established veterans like Vsevolod Nikitin, Yuri Boyka, and Chernika Banananov. Russiaâ€™s management team has shown courage and faith in their young prospects, and against Czechoslovakia it almost payed off in a big way. Though they were unlucky to come away with only a point, they will take great heart from the performance of their third line, which consisted entirely of young prospects who are likely to play a big role in the future of the team.

Coming into the Czechoslovakia gameâ€”played in front of a packed house in Moscowâ€”Russiaâ€™s record was 2â€“1â€“1. No doubt they would have been hoping for the top line of Brovalchuk, Boyka, and Banananov to come up with the goals needed to put the Czechs to bed, but no matter how hard they huffed and puffed, Mike Verminski refused to let the visitorsâ€™ house be blown in. It was left to Russia young guns to produce the goods, with Kelowna Knightsâ€™ duo Maria Maximova and Ivan Koroviev combining on the hostsâ€™ first of the night, before Koroviev turned producer for Evgeny Semin to score the go-ahead goal early in the second. Koroviev was awarded the second star on the night, between Czechoslovakiaâ€™s Walter White (first star) and Sachimo Zoidberg (third star).

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Calgary's Sachimo Zoidberg was in good form for Czechoslovakia.

1st Period
A raucous roar of rowdy Russians marked the first drop of a puck, and what followed was a shining example of IIHF hockey at its best. Both goaltenders were tested in the opening phase as play swung from one end to the other. Yuri Boyka missed the net after going forehandâ€“backhand on Verminski, and Aviad Ratzon drew the first save of the game from Mark Harter. Luka Zaitsev was the first Russian to bring a save from Verminski, and all of this before the first sixty seconds of play had expired.

More end-to-end hockey ensued before Russiaâ€™s Patrikov Bure (playing on the third line alongside Semin and Koroviev) drew a penalty for interference. The visitors took full advantage of the first powerplay of the night, first hitting the post via eventual game-winner Å atan, and thenâ€”with just seven seconds remaining on the penaltyâ€”Calgary Dragonâ€™s defenceman Sachimo Zoidberg capitalised on an error from Roy Razin, and fired the Czechs into a fifth minute lead.

Russia looked to strike back immediately, and only the bravery of McDoodle and White prevented more than one shot from testing Verminski in the minute following the goal. Koroviev foreshadowed what was to come with a stinging drive that failed to beat the glove of the Czech goalie, after Vsevolod Nikitin had set him free with a beautiful long pass down-ice. Thereafter Russiaâ€™s youthful third line continued to impress: Koroviev threw himself in the way of a shot by Patrik Å atan, and Patrikov Bure laid out Walter White with a bone-shattering hit midway through the period. Highly-rated defencewoman Maria Maximova stung the glove of Mike Verminski, and she was involved again when the tying goal finally arrived.

A wayward pass from Ondrej Ravchitikov was picked off in the neutral zone by Montreal Impact rookie Roman Morenov, and he fed Patrikov Bure. The wingerâ€”who was one of the star performers in the Vancouver Whalersâ€™ triumphant Four Star Cup runâ€”wheeled around Tomas Pylon before picking out Koroviev on the opposite flank. Russia cycled the puck before Maximova unloaded her now feared slapshot on Verminskiâ€™s goal, and when the shot rebounded off the boards behind the net Koroviev was quickest to react, circling behind the cage and throwing a shot on net that beat Verminski high on his blocker side. It was the youngsterâ€™s first goal for his country, and he was clearly overjoyed to get off the board in international hockeyâ€”and in front of his home fans, no less. He thumped the boards, and with the boisterous Moscow crowd behind them Russia dominated the final three minutes of the period. Banananov, Zaitsev, and Boyka all drew saves from the Czechoslovakian goalie, and Roy Razin saw his shot ping off the goalpost with Verminski beaten all ends up.

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Koro celebrates his first ever international goal.

2nd Period
The visitors came out after the break with renewed vigour, and Å atan and Nikitin exchanged big hits inside the first twenty seconds of play. Harter twice had to flex his glove arm to keep the score level, and his alertness to danger was rewarded in the third minute when Koroviev intercepted a pass from the New England Wolfpackâ€™s Marek VyskoÄ and fed the wingerâ€™s fellow Wolfpack member Evgeny Semin. With just the goalie to beat, Semin kept his head and undressed Verminski with a fluid backhandâ€“forehand move before tucking the puck in at the back stick. The goal left Russiaâ€™s entire third line at +2, a statistic they would keep until the final buzzer in what was a memorable game for the nationâ€™s brightest prospects.

Verminski continued to be the busier of the two netminders, with Boyka and Brovalchuk providing the main offensive threat for the home side, though Patrikov Bure twice called the Czechoslovakian goalie into action. At the other end Harter twice had to be alert to keep out Aviad Ratzon. Russia outshot their guests by 10 to 6 in the period, and looked shocked to be going in at the end of the second period with the score tied. Czechoslovakia were relying on counter-attacking hockey, and they got their break in the final seconds of the period. Ales Smirnov seemed to have destroyed Arrowny with a huge open-ice hit, but Urbowicz was quickest to the loose puck and fed Ratzon in the Russian zone. Pergher forced the forward wide against the boards, and nobody but Ratzon seemed to notice as Arrowny slowly picked himself up off the ice and ghosted into the slot. A quick pass and a neat finish later the scores were tied at two, and twenty seconds after that the buzzer sounded for the end of the period.

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Arrowny celebrates his larcenous equaliser at the end of the second.

3rd Period
The third period began as a continuation of the second: Yuri Boyka struck Verminskiâ€™s right-hand post with a stinging drive, and the goalie recovered to keep out Razinâ€™s opportunistic rebound attempt. The Russians began to play more physically, with Barbashev and Morenov both recording big hits, but a penalty against Vsevolod Nikitin gave the visitors some respite from the heavy pressure. They couldnâ€™t make the extra man count but they did succeed in regaining a foothold and some momentum in proceedings. Sachimo Zoidberg twice missed the net before Maximova went to the box for the same crime as Nikitin (high sticking), and it was the Dragonsâ€™ defenceman who came closest to breaking the tie as Czechoslovakia looked for their second powerplay goal of the night. It wouldnâ€™t come, but they did not have long to wait for another opportunity.

This time it was Morenov who went to the box, and again it looked as if Harter was going to keep out everything that came his way. He produced saves from both Ratzon and Pylon before the former unloaded another shot on net; the Russian goalie saw it all the way until Cameron Urbowicz got a stick on the shot to deflect it away from his glove, and just when it seemed that Harter had pulled off the save of the nightâ€”kicking out a pad to block Urbowiczâ€™s redirected effortâ€”Walter White arrived to tap in the rebound, and make it 3â€“2 to Czechoslovakia.

Russia didnâ€™t have to wait long to restore parity. It took just seventy seconds for the hostsâ€™ top line to finally come good, as Yuri Boyka picked off another wayward pass from Ravchitikov and released Brovalchuk. One on one with the goalie, the Edmonton playmaker took no chances and whacked the puck past Verminski to make it 3â€“3.

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Semin left the bench to celebrate Brovalchuk's tying goal.

Though the next shot on net came from Arrowny, Russia went on to dominate the second half of the period, recording four shots on net and seeing another five blocked by a desperate and committed Czechoslovakian defence. By contrast, Harter made just one save in the final nine and a half minutes of play. It wasnâ€™t all clean sailing for the hosts however; after sneaking a goal late in the second, the visitors almost stole another when Pierre-Luc Laflamme broke away with just ten seconds remaining. His low shot beat Harter but didnâ€™t beat the goalpost, and that scare seemed to effect Russia heading into overtime.

Overtime
The five minute overtime period saw just two shots on net (one for each side), and two blocked shots (again one for each side). It was, however, littered with physical play as Szlerchek and Nikitin exchanged heavy hits that threatened to spill over into a fight. It didnâ€™t, and neither side could break the deadlock. One point assured would probably have been enough for the visitors, but in the shootout Patrik Å atan was first to break the deadlock, and Verminski kept out Banananov on the following penalty to hand Czechoslovakia an unlikely victory.

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A disappointed Koro felt that Russia deserved to win.

â€œItâ€™s disappointing,â€ said Koroviev after the game. â€œWe were the better team, but fair play to Czechoslovakia; they hung in there, took their chances when they came, and Verminski came up big for them in the shootout. Weâ€™ll keep our heads up and look forward to the Latvia game.â€

He was more upbeat when asked about scoring his first points for his country, admitting that scoring for Russia was something he had dreamed about since he started to take hockey seriously.

â€œItâ€™s a great feeling when it happens. Itâ€™s something Iâ€™ve dreamt about since I started playing hockey seriously, and to have that dream come trueâ€¦ itâ€™s difficult to put into words. I know Iâ€™ve said this already this week, but I canâ€™t thank Barbashev and Harter enough for having the faith in me to put me in the team, or guys like Nikitin and Maximova for their continued support. I wouldnâ€™t be here without them, and Iâ€™m delighted that I was able to repay their faith tonight. Hopefully next time weâ€™ll get the result as well.â€

The wingerâ€™s positivity was echoed in the post-game comments of GM Barbashev and of two-way defenceman Vsevolod Nikitin, both of whom expressed excitement at the future of team Russia.

â€œOur young guns have done really well,â€ said Nikitin. â€œYou see guys like Maximova and Koroviev coming up from the ponds in the homeland and you feel these guys are going to be the right stuff. Playing alongside Maxi you can be more liberal going on the offensive, because you know that sheâ€™s back there ready to defend the net. Koro is the guy I like on my line, though; he letâ€™s me rack up assists with the long passes along the wing. Him and Bure are great as a wing pairâ€”unstoppable. Those guys will be the next Banananovâ€“Smirnov pairing coming up through the ranks. Itâ€™ll be exciting. Same with Maxi and Roman. I need someone back there that can cover for the old guys like myself and Razin when we retire, like I did with Smirnov before me. Morenov was hell to set lines against in the SMJHL and will give teams headaches in the IIHF and beyond, especially alongside a trainwrecker like Maxi. These guys are bred to succeed.â€

Nikitin has been an instrumental part of team Russia since their induction into the IIHF five seasons ago, and has even instilled his own post-game ritual. The handing out of screwdrivers (an alcoholic cocktail of orange juice and vodka) is not something youâ€™re likely to find amongst many hockey teams, and we even had trouble discerning whether or not the ritual is exclusively post-game. Rookie Roman Morenov questioned why one would mix vodka at all, and we can not say with certainty that the cocktails are not handed out before going on the ice. Given that this is team Russia it is not beyond the realms of possibility to suggest that many of the players donâ€™t even notice that theyâ€™re not drinking Gatorade!

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Team Russia's favourite drink, in Russian colours!

Up until a recent change in management, Nikitin was also the teamâ€™s General Manager; a role now filled by second line centre Andrey Barbashev. He too spoke glowingly of the core of young players that have now been afforded ice time for their national team, and of the importance of giving these highly-touted talents the chance to develop as players and grow into their respective roles for team Russia.

â€œIt is important to Russia to continue developing players who we feel will have a greater impact in the future,â€ he said after the game. â€œWith Maximova, Morenov, Koroviev and recent transfer Bure playing in this seasonâ€™s IHF tournament, this not only gives Russian youth an opportunity to play against some of the best but it also allows our young guns to get an idea of what they need to do to take their game to the next level. We are hopeful with the IHF experience that our rookie core can continue to get stronger and eventually become elite players for their respective clubs and for the Motherland. The players and management understand that this is a process. We preach patience and encourage work ethic. It may not seem like much now, but this experience that our rookies are gaining will help them become great players, but most importantly great people. Players like Maxi, Morenov, Koro and Bure are the future of Russia. Soon they will become the leaders of Russia.â€

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fgh · 08-04-2015, 05:58 PM

Maxi da cutest :wub:

From Russia with love guys Wink

**Rich** · 08-04-2015, 05:59 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Alucard@Aug 4 2015, 03:45 PM
"Players like [b]Maxi, Morenov, Koro and Bure are the future of Russia. Soon they will become the leaders of Russia.â€[/b]

Go Knights! Knights