2002. Pardubice, Czech Republic
The national teams of Russia and Canada were at the preliminary stage in the same group, and their first meeting ended with a convincing victory for Canadians - 5: 2. In the group, ours also lost to the Finns - 1: 2. But in the playoffs they took revenge, having previously defeated the US team in the quarterfinal - 6: 1. In the semifinals, the team of Vladimir Plyushchev, the backbone of which was the world champions among juniors in 2001, also beat Finland with a score of 2: 1. The decisive match turned out to be incredibly spectacular. Canadians initially led - 2: 0 and 3: 1. Plushenko replaced the main goalkeeper Andrei Medvedev with Sergei Mylnikov, and this move was successful. Before the end of the second period, the Russians scored three unanswered goals and came forward. Canadians efforts equalized Chuck Kobasyu, now striker “Calgary”, equalized, and the “golden” goal was thrown by the captain of the Russian team Anton Volchenkov, today playing for the “Ottawa”.
By the way. The Czech team, having won two previous world championships, failed the home tournament (7th place), like the Russian team a year earlier.
2003. Halifax, Canada
The second consecutive victory of the Russian team, and even in Canada, which is doubly valuable. And again the “golden” puck threw the captain of our team - this time Yuri Trubachev.
The final was again over-emotional. Our led, the Canadians recouped and came forward - 2: 1 after two periods. But the third twenty minute painted in Russian colors. Grigorenko, Trubachev - 3: 2. Vivat, Russia! Cry, Canada ...
An excellent match was held by Andrei Medvedev, who again was the main goalkeeper. However, Canadian Mark-Andre Fleury was recognized as the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
By the way. This World Cup was the first for Alexander Ovechkin. The 17-year-old striker didn’t stand out in the final, but became the best sniper of the tournament in the company with Igor Grigorenko and Swiss Patrick Birchi.
2005. Grand Forks, USA
A lockout in the NHL allowed Canadians to collect absolutely all the strongest young players. And it turned out to be one of the best, if not the best team in the history of youth championships. As a result, Canadians reached the finals without visible resistance from rivals. They "carried" all to the half-horse. And although the Russian team, which was headed by Sergei Gersonsky at that tournament, was considered the only team that could stop the Canadian car, there was little chance of it. Which confirmed the final match.
The main Russian stars - Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, the first two at the 2004 draft - were simply turned off the game, as probably only Canadians can do. They stuck it on the watchman, provided a safety net and beat him whenever possible. Then, over and over again, the defenders of the Russian national team were demolished. And in the end, they took the gold as playfully as they went through the entire tournament.
By the way. The start of the final game did not at all portend the Russian team to defeat. She missed the first, but after a minute Dmitry Pestunov scored - however, the referee did not count the goal. Soon the Russian team received a double numerical advantage by 72 seconds. Canadians survived, and the question of the winner was no longer raised.
2006. Vancouver, Canada
The Russians really hoped for a revenge for the defeat a year ago. Additional hope was inspired by the fact that the tournament was held in Canada. After all, the previous Canadian championship brought the Russian team gold. But in the end, the team, which was already led by Sergei Mikhalev, suffered an even more crushing defeat. Not counting - 0: 5, according to the game. Canadians did not leave ours, like all previous rivals, no chance. The Canadian national team was especially convincing on the defensive: in six games, only six goals were conceded, and not a single in the semifinals and finals!
Once again, the finals were unsuccessful Evgeni Malkin. Having gotten under tough pressure, the leader of our team quickly wilted, and there was no other leader in the team.
By the way. Canada was not the undisputed favorite of the championship. First of all, because Brent Sutter has assembled a completely new team, in which there was only one participant in the previous tournament - defender Cam Barker. But the teams of 1986 born in the national teams of Russia and the USA were considered very strong.
PS Vyacheslav Buravchikov, captain of the Russian national team, note: his goal in the third period will significantly increase the chances of our guys for gold medals.