Americans Control Russians to Advance to WJAC Finals

Another dominant performance by the Americans resulted in a 4-2 victory over Russia, earning a spot in the World Junior A Championship game on Saturday.

While Russia has struggled between the pipes during the tournament, American goaltender Cayden Primeau came in leading all goalies at the WJAC with a 0.50 GAA and .980 save percentage in two games games. At the other end, Russia’s Dimitrii Raiko allowed eight goals in the first two games, resulting in a 3.84 GAA and .871 save percentage. Good thing Russia has been able to score so many goals, as their eleven goals in the first two periods put them just behind USA and Canada West by one goal each, despite playing one less game.

The first period saw the Americans take control of the puck for the majority of the opening frame, and it resulted in a 2-0 advantage for them after 20 minutes. At 18:05, Zach Solow, who scored against Switzerland on Wednesday, took a pass and fired a wicked fast wrist shot past Raiko, giving USA the 1-0 lead.

Then, with just over 20 seconds left in the period, the Americans scored again. Solow did a great job of keeping the play alive, but it would be Chris Berger putting the puck in the net after a wild scramble in front saw four different Americans touch the puck.

The second period was fairly even, but the Americans would grab the 3-0 edge before the end of the frame. The Americans would score yet another goal on the power-play, this time with Brannon McManus finishing off the connection by knocking in the puck to the right of the Russian net.

A big part of Russia’s downfall in the tournament had to do with Raiko’s poor rebound control. It would once again come back to bite him after a deflection in the net by the Russian netminder made it out to the point, where Jake Ryczek was able to retrieve it. His shot was perfectly placed down low, beating Raiko before he really had a chance to recover from the original shot to make it 4-0 USA.

The Russians were struggling offensively, but if anyone was going to score, it was going to be Andrei Svechnikov. One of the top ranked prospects heading into the 2018 NHL Draft, Svechnikov scored not once, but twice, in the third period to bring his point total to eight, the most in the tournament. Unfortunately for him and his country, it wasn’t enough to lead Russia to the victory, with the United States advancing to the tournament finals with a 4-2 victory.

With the victory, the United States will meet up with either Canada East, who they defeated 3-1 in the preliminary round, or the Czech Republic, who beat the Americans 1-0 in a shocking result earlier in the tournament. The championship game will take place on Saturday night 5:00 PM local time at the RJ Lalonde Arena in Bonnyville, Alberta.

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