Russia beats Canada in junior hockey series for first time since 2014

Russia’s junior hockey team has beaten players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in game six of the annual Russia-Canada series to win the competition for the first time in four years.

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The series could have been tied at 3-3, as Valeri Bragin’s men were trailing the QMJHL 1-2 in the final game with 15 seconds remaining in the third period, before Dmitry Zavgorodniy dramatically netted Russia’s second goal to send the game into overtime.

Saveliy Olshansky sealed Russia’s victory by hammering in a power-play goal to make the score 3-2 in the game and 4-2 in the series.

Russia’s Stepan Starkov, who scored two goals and made four assists during the six-game tournament, was named the player of the series.

The series was held for the 16th time, with Russia celebrating success on three other occasions in 2014, 2012, and 2010.

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The competition was the main test-event ahead of the World Junior Championship, which is scheduled to take place in Vancouver and Victoria from December 26 till January 5, 2019.

The Russia-Canada series is comprised of six games with Russian players taking on major Canadian Hockey league teams – QMJHL, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL), with two games played against each team.