Sunday, Jan. 04, 2009

Canada, Sweden meet Monday in WJC final

From Herald news services

OTTAWA -- Jordan Eberle and John Tavares scored in a shootout and Canada beat Russia 6-5 on Saturday night in Ottawa to advance to World Junior Hockey Championships final for the eighth straight season.

Eberle, a first-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers who plays for the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League, scored twice in regulation, the second with 5 seconds left and goalie Dustin Tokarski off for an extra attacker.

Tri-City Americans goalie Chet Pickard did not play for Canada on Saturday.

Canada will face Sweden -- a 5-3 winner over Slovakia in the first semifinal -- on Monday night. Last year in the Czech Republic, Canada beat Sweden 3-2 in overtime in the final for its fourth straight title.

Canada is trying to match its record of five straight titles, set from 1993-97.

Tokarski, who plays for the Spokane Chiefs, stopped Pavel Chernov on Russia's second shootout attempt to end the game. On Russia's first attempt, Dmitri Kurgryshev hit the post after Eberle scored.

Brett Sonne, Patrice Cormier and Angelo Esposito also scored in regulation, and Tokarski made 23 saves. Dmitri Klopov scored twice for Russia, and Maxim Goncharov, Evgeni Grachev and Sergei Andronov added goals.