Team Russia have collected their third win at the Under-20 World Ice Hockey Championships in Canada, tearing their Latvian opponents apart with a 14-0 scoreline.

­Russia captain Evgeny Kuznetsov had a hand in nine points on the night, completing a hat-trick and assisting his partners six times, which is the second-best achievement in Junior Worlds history.

Nikita Gusev bagged seven points, with two goals and five assists. Aleksandr Khokhlachev scored a brace, while Nail Yakupov and Nikita Kucherov each added three more assists.  

The defending champs’ netminder Andrey Vasilevsky has kept his second clean sheet in three games in Canada.

The only fly in the ointment for Russia was Mikhail Grigorenko’s ankle ligament injury, which may see him out of action till the end of the tournament.   

Valery Bragin’s charges are in the confident lead in their in Group A where they maintain a 100 per cent result.

Russia face Sweden in their last game in the preliminary stages on January 1.