Russia 4, Sweden 3 (OT): Marat Khusnutdinov (Minnesota Wild) scored a power-play goal with six seconds remaining in overtime, and Russia ended Sweden’s 54-game preliminary-round winning streak in a Group B game at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship on Wednesday.
Russia got a power play when Sweden forward Arvid Costmar (Vancouver Canucks) was called for holding with 25 seconds left in overtime. Russia gained possession, and Rodion Amirov (Toronto Maple Leafs) carried the puck to the net. Sweden goalie Jesper Wallstedt (2021 NHL Draft eligible) made the save, but Khusnutdinov knocked the rebound under his pads for the winning goal.
It’s the first time Sweden has lost a preliminary-round game since Dec. 31, 2006, when it lost to the United States.
Amirov had a goal and two assists, Khusnutdinov had a goal and an assist, and Egor Afansasyev (Nashville Predators) and Kirill Kirsanov (2021 draft eligible) scored for Russia (2-1-0-1, eight points). Iaroslav Askarov (Predators) made 33 saves.
Alexander Holtz (New Jersey Devils) had a goal and an assist for Sweden (2-0-1-0, seven points), and Costmar and Noel Gunler (Carolina Hurricanes) scored. Wallstedt made 31 saves.
Gunler scored with 1:00 left in the third period to tie the game 3-3. With Wallstedt pulled for an extra attacker, Holtz’s shot from the point went in off Gunler’s shin pad.
Russia took a 3-2 lead at 9:46 of the third on Kirsanov’s goal from the left face-off circle.
Afanasyev gave Russia a 1-0 lead at 7:28 of the first period when he scored from the slot off a pass by Mikhail Abramov (Maple Leafs).
Costmar tied it 1-1 at 14:33 when he scored on a backhand in front.
Amirov put Russia ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal with 46 seconds left in the first off a setup by Vasiliy Podkolzin (Canucks).
Holtz tied it 2-2 at 15:59 of the second period. He missed an open chance from the slot but got to his rebound below the goal line. He threw the puck in front, and it bounced off Askarov and into the net.
Russia next plays in the quarterfinals Saturday. Sweden plays the United States on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).
Germany 5, Switzerland 4:Tim Stuetzle (Ottawa Senators) and John-Jason Peterka (Buffalo Sabres) each scored five points, and Germany clinched third place in Group A with its first win of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship on Wednesday.
Stuetzle, the No. 3 pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, scored two goals and had three assists. Peterka scored a hat trick and had two assists. Florian Bugl (2021 NHL Draft eligible) made 31 saves for Germany (1-1-0-2, five points), which will play in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Since the current tournament format was adopted in 1996, it’s the first time Germany will play in a playoff round.
“It’s very important, maybe even a historical moment for us,” Germany coach Tobias Abstreiter said. “We reached the quarterfinals now. … With all the conditions, the obstacles we had to [face], the team made a big impact and always believed in themselves. It’s unbelievable what they achieved and every player can be proud.”
Germany played with 12 forwards and seven defensemen for the first time after being limited to nine forwards and five defensemen during its first three games because of coronavirus issues.
“Everybody knew our situation, we were down to 14 guys,” Stuetzle said. “I’m so proud of the team. It’s just special how everybody is working together. I think we totally deserve it. And I’m so excited and can’t wait to play the quarterfinals.”
Switzerland (0-0-0-4, zero points) scored four times in the third period. It will finish last in Group A.
Ronny Daehler (2021 draft eligible) had a goal and an assist, and Noah Delemont (2021 draft eligible), Noah Meier (2021 draft eligible) and Simon Knak (2021 draft eligible) scored for Switzerland. Thibault Fatton (2021 draft eligible) made 20 saves.
“Last 20 minutes was probably the best 20 minutes from our team,” Switzerland coach Marco Bayer said. “We started again not good in the first, I was really loud in the first [intermission] to wake them a little bit up and then I think we played well, had some great chances.”
Peterka scored on the rebound of a Stuetzle shot at 4:38 of the first period to give Germany a 1-0 lead, and Stuetzle made it 2-0 at 9:08 when he scored after taking a pass at the Switzerland blue line and muscling round defenseman Cedric Fiedler 2021 draft eligible). Peterka scored a power-play goal to make it 3-0 with 2:44 remaining in the first.
Stuetzle scored his second goal for a 4-0 lead at 13:19 of the second period.
Delemont scored Switzerland’s second goal of the tournament at 9:59 of the third period to make it 4-1, and Daehler made it 4-2 at 10:55.
Peterka completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal at 17:39 of the third period that made it 5-2, but Germany forward Justin Volek was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking with 2:01 remaining.
With Fatton pulled for an extra attacker and a 6-on-4 advantage, Meier made it 5-3 with 1:46 remaining, and Knak scored with 24 seconds left to make it 5-4.
Bugl made his biggest save with 17 seconds left against Raymond Fust (2021 draft eligible) from the crease.
Finland 6, Slovakia 0: Anton Lundell (Florida Panthers) scored a goal and had two assists to help Finland to its third straight win in Group A.
Samuel Helenius (2021 draft eligible) scored two goals, and Kasper Simontaival (Los Angeles Kings) and Topi Niemela (Toronto Maple Leafs) each had a goal and an assist. Kari Piiroinen (2021 draft eligible) made 12 saves.
Finland (3-0-0-0, nine points) and Canada (3-0-0-0, nine points) are tied for first place in Group A. They will play for the top seed in the group for the quarterfinals Thursday (6 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).
“We had a good first period, but I think we played even better in the second and third,” said Lundell, who is tied with Niemela for the Finland lead with six points (three goals, three assists).
Samuel Hlavaj (2021 draft eligible) made 44 saves for Slovakia (1-0-1-2, four points).
Lundell, Finland’s captain, scored the game’s first goal at 8:57 of the first period when he tapped in a cross-ice pass from Simontaival, giving him a goal in each of his team’s three games. Lundell then set up Niemela’s goal during a delayed penalty to make it 2-0 at 6:09 of the second.
Simontaival was credited with the goal that gave Finland a 3-0 lead at 8:35 of the second. He carried the puck to the net, Hlavaj poked it away from him, but it bounced in off the stick of Slovakia defenseman Oliver Turan (2021 draft eligible).
Santeri Hatakka (San Jose Sharks) made it 4-0 when at 6:10 of the third when he scored from the goal line, putting a shot between Hlavaj’s head and the post. Then Helenius, who received a B rating from NHL Central Scouting in its preliminary players to watch list, made it 5-0 at 7:27 when he scored on the rebound of a shot by Benjamin Korhonen (2021 draft eligible), and made it 6-0 at 13:49.
“We had a good first period, but I think we played even better in the second and third,” Lundell said.
Slovakia is assured of playing in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
“In that second period, there was lots of pressure on us, they were all over us … we were losing lots of battles,” Slovakia coach Robert Petrovicky said. “We have to go back to what it was in the first few games and the first few days, see what was working for us, especially those first few games.”
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
