Brandon McMillan and the WHL all-stars put the final nail in the Russian Selects‘ coffin on Thursday night.
Playing in front of a near-capacity crowd of 5,753 at Prospera Place, the Kelowna Rockets forward and WHL all-stars‘ captain scored what stood up as the game winner as the WHL won 4-2 to give CHL all-star teams a sweep of the six-game Subway Super Series. At game‘s end, McMillan was named the WHL‘s top player for his efforts, which included tipping the deciding goal past Russian netminder Igor Bobkov on a power play at 9:18 of the second period.
Stefan Elliott, Linden Vey and Willie Coetzee, with an insurance marker late in the third period, also scored for the WHL (2-0-0), which also beat Russia 2-1 in Victoria on Wednesday night. Maxim Gorechishnikov, with the lone goal of the first period, and Maxim Kitsyn, with his fourth goal of the Series in the third, replied for Russia (0-6-0), which previously lost twice to both the OHL and QMJHL all-stars.
At Kelowna, the Russians were visibly tired, having played their third game in four nights. Russia also lost 5-2 to the OHL all-stars on Monday in Windsor, Ont.
Thursday‘s result flattered Russia for the second night in a row, thanks in large part to Bobkov, who made 35 saves to earn his second straight player-of-the-game award. The 19-year-old, who plays for Moscow Dynamo, was coming off a 40-save performance in Wednesday‘s loss. Martin Jones, who plays for the Calgary Hitmen, had an easy night in the WHL net, turning aside 16 shots.
After an energetic first period for both teams, which the WHL ruled, then a lethargic second period by the Russians, the two teams combined for an entertaining third. With the WHL up 3-2, Coetzee closed the door on Russia with an individual effort at 17:28, as he cut across Russia‘s blue-line, slid right and snapped home a far post shot to close out the scoring.
Kitsyn had cut the deficit to 3-2 early in the third period, tapping in a centring feed from Kirill Petrov, who drove wide on the WHL defence before dishing a back-door pass to an open Kitsyn who scored short side on a dumbfounded Jones.
Gorechishnikov opened the scoring for Russia midway through the first period, firing a soft wrister from the point that beat a screened Jones five hole.
The WHL all-stars controlled play for much of the first period, outshooting the Russians 12-6. Still, it was a sharp contrast from Wednesday when the WHL reps dominated the opening frame, outshooting Russia 17-2.
The second period was more lopsided, however. The WHL pulled away with three unanswered goals, including two power-play markers, and outshot Russia 17-6 in the middle frame.
Elliott evened the score, with a well-placed wrister from the top of the circle seconds into a two-man advantage, at 2:42. Then, with the Russians showing signs of fatigue from their cross-Canada tour, Vey capitalized on a defensive breakdown and buried his own rebound to give the WHL a 2-1 lead at 6:21. McMillan made it 3-1, redirecting Michael Stone‘s shot past Bobkov, who had been holding the fort with several stops in the same sequence.
McMillan and Kelowna teammate Tyson Barrie made strong cases for their inclusion at Hockey Canada‘s final world junior evaluation camp in Saskatchewan, Dec. 11 to 13.
WHL all-stars coach Willie Desjardins will also man the bench for Team Canada, and said he expects between 30 and 36 players will receive invites, most having starred in the Super Series.
Barrie, who also played and earned an assist on the winning goal in Victoria, looked right at home manning the point on the WHL power play. Paired with Stone of the Calgary Hitmen, Barrie created a few scoring chances and had a handful of shots on goal. He also did his part defensively, highlighted by breaking up a Russian short-handed, two-on-one rush in the first period.
McMillan, skating alongside Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers and league-leading scorer Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen, made his presence felt at both ends of the ice as well. Prior to scoring the winner, McMillan blocked a shot on a second-period penalty kill that ricocheted out of the zone.
Not everyone had a desired showing on Thursday. Kelowna native Curtis Hamilton, a forward for the Saskatoon Blades, suffered an apparent upper-body injury in the second period and was taken to hospital. The 17-year-old son of Rockets president and GM Bruce Hamilton had been skating on a line with Coetzee and Wacey Hamilton of the Medicine Hat Tigers, though that trio didn‘t generate much prior to Curtis Hamilton getting hurt.
ICE CHIPS: The CHL teams are 13-1 all-time against Russia in Super Series play. They outscored the Russians by a combined 27-11 in the 2009 competition, and outshot them 277-139 over six games. . . . The Rockets (12-13-1-0) return to WHL action tonight, traveling to Chilliwack to take on the Bruins (11-12-1-4). Puck drop is 7 p.m. at Prospera Centre. The Bruins lead the Rockets by two points for second place in B.C. Division standings, but Kelowna has two games in hand. . . . The Rockets are then home to the Kootenay Ice (11-13-1-1), tied for third in the Central Division, on Saturday night. Game time is 7 p.m. at Prospera Place. Top of Page
