Bowers records another assist
Shane Bowers earned his second point in as many games, while Russian duo Danila Zhuravlyov and Nikolai Kovalenko made their World Juniors debuts.Forward Shane Bowers earned his second point, an assist, in as many games, as Canada narrowly edged their feisty Swiss counterparts, while defenseman Danila Zhuravlyov and forward Nikolai Kovalenko, the Avalanche’s duo of Russian prospects, made their World Juniors debut in their team’s win against Denmark.
Both Zhuravlyov and Kovalenko made their World Juniors debut against the Danes, with the latter being a late addition to the lineup, after it was announced that he has been named to Russia’s roster about an hour prior to the game. Denmark rebounded from their 14-0 opening game shelling quite remarkably, as they put up a great performance despite ultimately losing 4-0, even managing to outshoot the favored Russians 20-18. While Zhuravlyov played an integral role on the team’s blueline, ranking third in TOI (20:09) and first in shifts, Kovalenko played little over 10 minutes before being handed a game 10-minute misconduct following a boarding call shortly after the halfway mark of the game.
Kovalenko played little over 10 minutes in his World Juniors debut before being assessed a game misconduct for boarding (Source: Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)
Following a blowout win, the hosts were involved in a much tighter-contested game, as they had to battle the surprisingly resilient Swiss up until the final buzzer for a 3-2 win. Although playing little over 11 minutes in total, Bowers made his mark on the game with an assist MacKenzie Entwistle’s go-ahead goal in the second period. Skating in behind the net, the BU forward made a quick backhand pass to the front of the net, surprising the entire Swiss defense, which failed to react in time. Bowers now has two points, both assists, in two World Junior appearances.
Bowers earned his second assist in as many games on Entwistle's second-period go-ahead goal (Source: Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)
In other news, Finland announced that it filled its final roster spots, meaning that Avs third-rounder Sampo Ranta won’t play at the tournament despite making Finland’s preliminary roster and attending their training camp.
Yesterday’s results:
Russia – Denmark 4:0 (1:0, 1:0, 2:0) [Danila Zhuravlyov and Nikolai Kovalenko both without points]
Slovakia – Sweden 2:5 (1:2, 0:1, 1:2)
Switzerland – Canada 2:3 (0:1, 1:2, 1:0) [Shane Bowers – 1 point (0+1)]
Finland – Kazakhstan 5:0 (2:0, 1:0, 2:0)
Today’s schedule:
Czech Republic – Russia
Kazakhstan – USA
Michal Hezely, Slovakia, hezely@eurolanche.com
28/12/2018 - 19:00
