Russia 6, Finland 4
New York (The Draft Analyst) — Vladislav Kamenev scored the tiebreaking goal during a four-goal second period as Russia used six different goal scorers in Monday’s 6-4 win over host Finland at the World Junior Championship.
Russia (2-0) responded to a 3-1 deficit in the middle frame with four unanswered goals, beginning with a shorthanded tally from Andrei Svetlakov. Svetalkov raced up the ice with Yegor Korshkov and wristed a shot over goalie Veini Vehvilainen’s glove to cut Finland’s lead to 3-2. Left wing Pavel Kraskovsky tied the score 3-3 when his centering feed during a power play banked in off Finnish defenseman Miro Keskitalo. Kamenev gave Russia the lead for good when he converted a centering feed from Kirill Kaprizov with a snap shot over Vehvilainen’s left shoulder. Alexander Polunin gave Russia a two-goal lead 27 seconds later when he jammed home a loose puck past Vehvilainen.
Kaprizov opened the scoring for Russia with a one-timer from the right circle during a power play in the first. Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect Radel Fazleev completed the scoring when his wraparound attempt was pushed in by Keskitalo’s skate. Korshkov finished with three assists, and defenseman Ivan Provorov and forward Maxim Lazarev each added two assists. Alexander Georgiev stopped 28 shots to pick up the win.
Aleksi Saarela, a New York Rangers third round pick in 2015, scored twice for Finland (1-1). Draft prospect Jesse Puljujarvi had three assists and leads the tournament in scoring through two games with six points. Patrik Laine, who like Puljujarvi is one of the tournament’s top draft-eligible players, added a goal and two assists.