RUSSIANS OFF TO SEMIS AFTER ROUT OF CZECHS

TIMMINS, Ont. – It looks like Russia may have a little McIntyre Arena magic. 

For the first time since Atlanta Thrashers superstar Ilya Kovalchuk led Russia to World Under-17 Hockey Challenge gold in Timmins ten years ago, Russia is back into the tournament semifinals after blanking the Czech Republic 6-0 on Saturday afternoon at The Mac.

The win gives Russia one of the two final four spots in Group B, although it will not know where, when or who it plays until the result of Saturday night’s Pacific-United States game is known. The Russians will likely face the Group A winner in Timmins on Sunday, unless Pacific beats the U.S. by three goals or more, which would send Russia to Iroquois Falls as the Group B winner.

Alexander Khokhlachev was the offensive catalyst for Russia (3-1), racking up a goal and four assists to give him a tournament-leading 10 points. Anton Zlobin had three helpers to push his total to seven, a tournament-high.

Andrey Sigarev scored twice to lead the way in that category for the Russians, while Zlobin, Alexey Shamin and Alexey Vasilevskiy also found the back of the net. Andrey Makarov earned the shutout in goal, making 30 saves.

David Honzik made 27 saves for the Czechs (0-0-1-3), who were the only team to finish preliminary round play without a victory. They will face Finland in Sunday morning’s ninth-place game in Timmins.