Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Russian's look lost in the fog


It's not so much the humidity, it's the heat of the Canadian attack! The Canadian side of the Super series competition got their legs back in full motion for game number two and that proved to be a bad thing for their Russian hosts.

With some solid goal tending from Jonathan Bernier of the Lewiston Mainiacs the Canadians secured a 3-0 shutout on the fog shrouded ice of Ufa, the brand new rink which perhaps might wish to invest in a faster working ventilation system.

With a Canadian referee overseeing the match, the parade to the penalty box seemed to be a little less frequent as Canada faced only five short handed situations compared to the fourteen from game one.

The Russian squad seemed to have problems coping with the Canadian game plan, unable to secure the neutral zone and losing far too many battles in their own end and far too many face offs to motivate any kind of attack.

Frustration seemed to get the better of the Russians as they became more chippy as the game wore on, taking bad penalties of their own and getting away with a few blatant fouls that should have been called.

David Perron of the Lewiston Maineiacs, Kyle Turris of the Burnaby Express and Stefan Legein of the Niagara Falls IceDogs notched the goals for the Canadian side, which seemed to be in sync completely as early as the first period of play.

As the Canadians began to control the play, the famed discipline of the Russian's seemed to fall to the side as they got away from any sense of an organized attack and instead seemed to be confused as to how they should handle the Canadian game plan. The fog was rather symbolic for the Russian play on the day, for at times they seemed to be lost on the ice unsure of what their next move should be.

It's farewell to Ufa and on to Omsk for games three and four, where hopefully the air circulation will provide for a clearer view of the ice for players, fans and the television audience.

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