Saturday, August 18, 2007

Canada/Russia Junior Super Series Starts Next Week

BOULDER, Colorado -- Junior national squads from Russia and Canada will square off in an eight-game series starting August 27 to mark the 35th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.

The first four games of the series will be played in the Russian cities of Ufa and Omsk, while the last four will be played in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Red Deer and Vancouver.

The tournament will be a good warm up for the World Junior Championships, which will be held in the Czech Republic in December. Canada has defeated Russia three years in a row in the gold medal game of the WJC, and they have met in the finals five out of the last six years.

The head coaches of both teams are NHL veterans, as Sergei Nemchinov will guide the Russian team, and Brent Sutter will be behind Canada's bench.

Canada won the historic Summit Series 4-3-1, after winning three games in a row to erase a two-game deficit. The series-clinching goal was scored by Paul Henderson with just 34 seconds remaining in game eight in Moscow, giving Canada a 6-5 win. The goal is widely regarded as the most memorable moment in Canadian hockey history.

For complete rosters and other tournament information, visit the Hockey Canada website.

Here's a complete tournament schedule, and all games will be televised live in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet or TSN/RDS (all times Eastern):

Game 1: August 27, Ufa, Russia, 9am
Game 2: August 29, Ufa, Russia, 9am
Game 3: August 31, Omsk, Russia, 8am
Game 4: September 1, Omsk, Russia, 8am
Game 5: September 4, Winnipeg, 8pm
Game 6: September 5, Saskatoon, 8pm
Game 7: September 7, Red Deer, 10pm
Game 8: September 9, Vancouver, 8pm

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