For the first time in Subway Super Series hockey history, Russia rules.
Team Russians made it official Thursday night at CN Centre with a convincing 5-2 win over Team WHL.
Stanislav Bocharov scored three goals to spark his team to its first Subway Super Series win since the format was introduced in 2003.
After two wins over Quebec to start the series and a third over the WHL on Wednesday, a 7-6 shootout decision in Kamloops, the Russians had a 9-6 lead in points heading into Thursday's sixth and final game. In this series, wins in regulation time are worth three points, and anything less for Team WHL would have resulted in a series win for Russia.
And for awhile there in the third period, the guys from the WHL made that a definite possibility.
The game reunited Prince George minor hockey alumni Brett Connolly and Ryan Howse as linemates for the first time since their bantam hockey days, and Connolly brought the sell-out crowd of 5,918 to its feet in the third period when he pounced on a rebound and pulled the puck across the crease to beat goalie Dmitry Shikin. That made it a 4-1 game with 7:10 gone in the third period.
Linden Vey followed up 28 seconds later with a heads-up play to chip the puck into the clear and he scored on a wrist shot from close range -- all of sudden, the home team had some life.
Connolly came close to making it a one-goal game at the end of a WHL power play when he threw the puck on net from a sharp angle with Cody Eakin in front of the net but Garipov covered up.
Realizing his team needed three goals to at least have a shot of winning the game in regulation and forcing a shootout, WHL coach Ryan Huska pulled Seattle netminder Calvin Pickard to the bench with 3:57 left. That plan backfired when Bocharov dumped the puck into the open net from a sharp angle to seal the win at 16:29.
The Russians struck first with the only goal of the first period from Bocharov after a giveaway from defenceman Mark Pysyk. Pysyk took a pass behind the net from Brett Ponich and tried to make a return pass on his backhand but the puck hit the side of the net and bounced out to Bocharov, who put the deke on Pickard.
The WHL stars threw the kitchen sink at Shikin and the five-foot-10, 176-pound Russian was spectacular in blocking 19 shots in the middle frame alone. He also had some luck on his side when no less than three WHL shooters -- Quinton Howden, Tyson Barrie and Brayden McNabb hit the goalpost.
The Russians didn't get a lot of chances but did cash on one glorious opportunity to take a 2-0 lead with 7:06 gone in the second period. Forward Maxim Kitsyn was perfectly-positioned to pop in a rebound on a 2-on-1 break after Pickard made the initial save off Danill Sobchenko.
Shots were 40-24 in favour of the WHL.
LOOSE PUCKS: Cougars forward Charles Inglis centred a line with Howden and Brendan Gallagher. Howden, who plays for the Moose Jaw Warriors, was one of four WHL players who also faced the Russians Wednesday night in Kamloops. Pysyk, Linden Vey and backup goalie Kent Simpson were the others.
