2010-11 Team Canada Brayden Schenn Jersey

The Kardiac Kids (Сердечная детей) from Russia pulled off the third and most spectacular comeback of the 2011 World Junior Championship last night. Not only was it their most spectacular comeback of this year's tournament, but it was also the greatest comeback in a gold medal final in the history of the World Juniors.

Russia opened their tournament looking outgunned as they hung with Canada through two periods before Canada pulled away convincingly with three goals in the third period to win 6-3. Things did not get any easier for Russia when they gave up two first period goals to Sweden and had no answer for the Swedish defense, which held them scoreless to win 2-0, leaving Russia halfway through their Group B schedule tied with Norway at exactly zero points.

Fortunately for Russia, outmanned Norway was next on their schedule and an 8-2 win was an opportunity to get some much needed points in the standings and regain some needed confidence. With Sweden and Canada stealing the headlines with their matchup for the bye that came with winning Group B, Russia faced off against the Czech Republic to determine who would advance to the playoff round and an all-important chance to wipe their slate clean.

Russia took care of business for the second game in a row, building an 8-2 lead after two periods to escape the Preliminary Round and head into a quarterfinal matchup with the second place team in Group A, Finland.

Although Russia scored first half way through the first period, Finland equalized in the first period, added a second in the second and built their lead to 3-1 with a goal 2:24 into the third. When the Finns took their third penalty of the period with five and a half minutes remaining, Russia got the opportunity they needed. Or at least the opportunity Yevgeni Kuznetsov needed.

The Washington Capitals draft pick simply took the game into his own hands and crammed in a shot that appeared to be under the Finnish goaltender Joni Ortio. A minute later Kuznetsov skated into the Finnish zone and through the defense to put a solid shot on goal, which Ortio could not corral and Maxim Kitsyn converted the rebound into a tie score, which would last through the end of regulation.

Kuznetsov celebrates Russia's comeback against Finland

After trading chances, Kuznetsov received the puck from Kitsyn along the boards, cut toward the middle of the ice and fired a laser past a screening defenseman and over Ortio's shoulder to pull one out of the fire for Russia and advance them a quarterfinal rematch against Group B winner Sweden.

Russia scored the first two goals, but found themselves in peril when Sweden came back to tie the game 1:20 into the third period and scored with 3:19 remaining in the third period to put themselves in position to advance to the gold medal game. The Russians were not done, however, as Sergei Kalinin rammed in a loose puck with a dramatic diving stab with 1:27 remaining to keep the Russians alive and send the game into overtime.

The overtime settled nothing despite Sweden outshooting Russia 5-1 and the contest moved to a shootout. Denis Golubev scored on Russia's second shot and Dimitri Shikin made all three saves Russia needed to win the shootout and advance to the finals to meet Canada, who overpowered the United States 4-1.

Golubev celebrates his shootout goal

Canada, backed by a thousands and thousands of red-clad Canadian fans from just over the border from Buffalo, opened the scoring at 4:50 with a power play goal and extended their lead at the end of the first period when Carter Ashton scored with just 13.5 seconds remaining.

Canada again had their way in the second period, holding Russia off the board and also adding to their lead when Brayden Schenn hammered a one-timer past a helpless Shikin at 6:27 to tie the Canadian record for most points in a World Junior tournament with 18 from 8 goals and 10 assists. It was to be his last point of the tournament.

And Canada's.

Shikin was pulled in favor of Igor Bobkov, who's only prior action was letting in 6 goals to Canada in their opening game of the tournament. At this point Canada had outscored Russia 6-0 over the last three periods of play against each other heading into the third period, which had all the feeling of a victory lap for Canada on their way to the gold medal.

Russia broke the shutout at 2:33 on a goal by Artemi Panarin on a wrist shot over Canadian goaltender Mark Visentin's glove to make it 3-1, but no cause for alarm. The Canadian fans sat up straight however when Russia caught everyone off guard when Kitsyn squeezed a shot through Visentin's pads to make a game of it for the first time all night.

In a development worthy of a Hollywood movie, Russian captain Vladimir Tarasenko, who had left the game in the second period after taking a hard blow from a Canadian player's shin while he was prone on the ice, took a great pass from Kuznetsov to tie the game at 7:29, their third goal in less than 5 minutes, and fully energize the Russian squad.

Tarasenko gets up off the mat to take part in the shocking Russian comeback

The tables were fully turned when the Russians refused to let the Canadians repeatedly clear the zone and Tarasenko worked a perfect give-and-go with Panarin, who buried the puck deep into the back of the net for the first Russian lead with 4:16 to play.

Nikita Dvurechenski put the game out of reach when he easily scored the fifth even strength goal of the period for Russia when he easily won a race to a loose puck in the Canadian zone and put it between Visentin's legs at 18:44 to begin the Russian celebration and leave the Canadian faithful in stunned silence.

Panarin finished with two goals and Kuznetsov had three assists in the third period turnaround to lead the Russians to a shocking gold medal, completing their third consecutive come from behind victory and become the first team to win the World Juniors after losing their first two games.

2011 World Junior gold medal champions Russia

Today's featured jersey is a 2010-11 Team Canada Brayden Schenn jersey. Schenn led all tournament scorers with 8 goals, 10 assists and 18 points and was named to the tournament All-Star Team, was named the Best Forward of the tournament and the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Despite all the personal awards he gathered, he came away without the one he really wanted, the gold medal.

Schenn's jersey worn in Canada's game on December 28th against the Czech Republic is currently up for bid on ebay, and had 42 bids, the highest of which is for $2,383.86 at the time of this writing.

Here are highlights of the gold medal game of the 2011 World Junior Championship and Russia's historic come back against Canada.

2011 World Junior Tournament Quarterfinal Report

The quarterfinals of the 2011 World Junior Championship provided some real fireworks on Sunday.

In the first game Canada fell behind by a goal just 1:09 into the contest but did not ignore the wakeup call and came back to score four straight goals from four different players to dispatch Switzerland in the early game, setting up the game everyone in North America was hoping for against the United States, only one round too early thanks to Sweden defeating Canada in a shootout on New Year's Eve.

In the second game, Finland led 3-1 with 3:41 to play when Yevgeni Kuznetsov bashed in a puck that appeared to be covered by Finnish goaltender Joni Ortio on a power play to pull Russia to within one and set up an exciting last few minutes.

Kuznetsov dazzled the crowd when he streaked into the Finland zone with under two minutes to play and danced his way though the defense to get a close range shot on Ortio, who made the save but failed to contain the puck, which was then sent home by Maxim Kitsyn to tie the score and cause the building to erupt.

The game then moved to overtime and Kuznetsov again was at the center of the action when he got the puck in the left faceoff circle from Kitsyn. He then fired passed a Finnish defender and over Ortio and into the top right corner to complete the amazing comeback for Russia.

The Russians (3-2) now advance to play unbeaten Sweden (3 regulation wins and 1 shootout win) Today at 3:30 PM eastern time, followed by the host United States (3 wins and 1 overtime win) taking on rivals Canada (4 wins and 1 shootout loss) at 7:30 PM to determine the gold medal finalists on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in the Relegation Round, Slovakia had an easy time of Norway 5-0 to ensure Norway's return to Division I next season, while the Czech Republic did the same to Germany with a narrow 3-2 win with a goal with just one minute remaining.

Following today's semifinals, all four clubs will get a day of rest before the bronze and gold medal games, but Tuesday still has three games scheduled, with Germany and Norway and the Czech Republic and Slovakia finishing out the Relegation Round schedule even though both teams in the second game have already had their survival assured, taking away any final drama at the Dwyer Arena.

Finland and Switzerland will meet at the HSBC Arena to determine fifth place only because they have to in order to determine which group each will be placed in for next season's tournament in Edmonton and Calgary.

2011 World Junior Tournament Update

With the Group Stage now completed at the 2001 World Junior Tournament in Buffalo, New York, the pairings are now set for the quarterfinals, which will both take place today.

The United States earned a bye into the semifinals by winning Group A with their hard fought 2-1 win over scrappy Switzerland on Friday night, while Sweden prevailed over Canada in a thrilling 6-5 game determined by a shootout in their final Group B contest, easily the best game of the tournament to date.

The quarterfinal matchups were determined by having the second place finisher from Group A, Finland, facing the third place team in Group B, Russia. They will face off today at 3:30 PM, followed by the second place finisher in Group B, Canada, playing the Group A third place team, Switzerland, in the evening game at 7:30 PM.

The quarterfinal losers will meet in an all but meaningless game on Tuesday to determine 5th and 6th place that will affect which groups they will be placed in for next season.

As for the four teams not already mentioned, Slovakia, Germany, Czech Republic and Norway, after finishing fourth and fifth in their groups, they have been placed in the Relegation Round to determine which two teams will be demoted to Division I for next season. Since Slovakia and Germany have already faced each other in the Preliminary Round, the result of their 2-1 overtime win for Slovakia will carry over to the Relegation Round standings, as will the result of the 2-0 win for the Czech Republic over Norway, meaning the Czechs already have the advantage of 3 points in the standings in the fight for survival which will take place on Monday and Tuesday at Niagara University's Dwyer Arena. Slovakia enters with 2 points, Germany 1 and Norway facing an uphill battle with zero. The two teams who drop down for next year's tournament in Edmonton and Calgary will be replaced by Latvia and Denmark, this year's Division I champions.

In the semifinals, Sweden will play the winner of the Russia/Finland battle at 3:30 PM on Monday afternoon. Things really promise to heat up when the winner of today's early game between Switzerland and Canada will advance to meet the United States tomorrow at 7:30 PM with a shot at the gold medal on the line, with the expected matchup expected to be the United States versus Canada that is guaranteed have the building rocking.

The semifinals losers will meet on Wednesday at 3:30 PM in the bronze medal game to determine which of the two teams will go home happy with a medal, while the other will finish on a down note with two consecutive losses.

The tournament championship will be settled on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM when the semifinal winners play for the gold medal and the IIHF championship trophy with everyone in Buffalo hoping for the host United States in a position to repeat as champions, while those from just across the border in Canada longing for another Canadian gold medal while the European teams are looking to spoil the party for the North Americans.

2004 Team USA Zach Parise Jersey

Today kicks off the IIHF 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo, New York where the 2010 champions from the United States will be looking to defend their title on home ice.

The World Juniors have become a much anticipated annual event, particularly in Canada, and anybody who's anybody has played in the tournament on their road to the NHL, dating back to Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mario Lemeiux, Steve Yzerman, Alexander Mogilny, Sergei Fedorov, Jeremy Roenick, Mike Modano, Pavel Bure, Jaromir Jagr and Peter Forsberg through current NHL stars Jarome Iginla, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Alexander Oveckin, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Johnathan Toews and Patrick Kane, making it a must-see event each year.

The ten teams in this year's edition are divided into two groups of five and each team will play the other four teams in it's group once each in the Preliminary Round, with the top three advancing to the Playoff Round. With so few games determining each team's fate, no one can afford to take a night off as each and every game is critical to each team's chances.

For the unfortunate four clubs who finish in the bottom two of their groups, they will be placed in the Relegation Round. Following a round-robin schedule among the four, the bottom two teams of the group will be demoted to the Division I level for 2012 and will need to earn their way back up to the Top Division, which can only be achieved by winning a championship in Division I. Second place earns you nothing but another season at the Division I level. This relegation format ensures that nearly every game matters in the World Juniors and the games that determine which clubs stay up can be very exciting affairs when two countries are battling with survival on the line. We strongly encourage those in attendance take in the final day of the relegation round if the placings have not already been determined at that point. Spirited games in the much more homey secondary arena can provide some terrific competition in a small town or collegiate atmosphere that differs greatly from the environment more polished main rink and is a recommended part of the World Junior Tournament experience.

Once in the Playoff Round, the two group winners will receive a bye directly into the semifinals as a reward, while the second place team in Group A will face the third place team in Group B and vice-versa, with those two quarterfinal games taking place on January 2nd.

The two quarterfinal winners advance to face the group winners, who will enjoy the advantage of two days of rest, in the semi finals on January 3rd. The semifinal losers will meet for the bronze medal on January 5th with the winners meeting for the gold medal later that evening.

Thanks to some unexpected results in recent tournaments, the usual even distribution of familiar hockey powers in each group has been thrown out the window for 2011. Group A consists of the United States, Switzerland, who finished a strong fourth in 2010, Finland, Slovakia and recently promoted Germany.

Group B on the other hand, has been declared "The Group of Death" and is stacked with Canada, Sweden, Russia, who were classified a disappointing 6th in 2010, the Czech Republic, who shockingly found themselves in the Relegation Round in 2010, and underdogs Norway.

In Group A, the Americans are favored to advance and will be looking to earn one of the coveted byes into the semifinals. Finland and Switzerland are also expected to advance to the Playoff Round and must avoid giving away points, or worse, being upset by either Slovakia or Germany. The Slovaks goal will be to avoid the relegation round, and to do so, must upset one of the favored three teams and steal a point by getting to overtime against one of the other two.

Germany's goal for 2011 will be to maintain their place in the Top Division by surviving the Relegation Round. Their game against Slovakia on December 27th will be a key opportunity to gain points towards that end should Slovakia be the other team placed in the Relegation Round, as the game between the two teams from each group that are placed in the Relegation Round will carry over to the Relegation Round standings.

Group B is obviously a lot more complicated, as annual championship contenders Canada, Sweden, who have strongly re-emerged from a down period with three consecutive medal placings, Russia, who will not want a repeat of last year's disappointing placing following five consecutive finishes in the medals, and the Czech Republic, will all slug it out for the bye awarded to the group winner, with one of those four guaranteed a place in the fight to avoid relegation.

Poor Norway will be in for a rough go and will most certainly be hoping one of the four teams ranked above them will be having a down year and that they can take some points out of the game against the club that will join them in the relegation round for a shot at unlikely survival.

Canada put together a dominant run of five consecutive titles from 2005 to 2009, but their program is a victim of it's own success in breeding top quality players, as tournament eligible players Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly (Colorado), Tyler Seguin (Boston), Jeff Skinner (Carolina), Evander Kane (Atlanta), Taylor Hall (Edmonton) and Kyle Clifford (Los Angeles) will not take part due to having found gainful employment in the NHL. Still, 16 of the 22 Canadian players are already first round draft picks in the NHL. Once again, similar to 2005 when the United States hosted the tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the proximity of the tournament to Canada, this time less than four miles from the Canadian border, should ensure the Canadians will feel right at home playing in front of tens of thousands of red-clad supporters waving the Maple Leaf each time they take to the ice.

The host United States has eight players returning from the team that won gold in overtime to break Canada's streak last year. Goaltender Jack Campbell, defenseman John Ramage and forwards Ryan Bourque, Jerry D'Amigo, Chris Kreider, Jeremy Morin, Kyle Palmieri and Jason Zucker all are back in an attempt to capture a second consecutive gold, this time on home ice.

The tournament begins with four games today, with Germany taking on Switzerland in the opening game at 12:30 PM (all times eastern) in the first of three games at the 18,000 seat HSBC Arena in Buffalo.

The NHL Network in the United States will be replaying last year's gold medal game between the United States and Canada at 2 PM (following replays of the USA's 2010 quarterfinal and semifinal games) as a prelude to their airing of the all-important second game on the schedule between Canada and Russia at 4 PM, also in Buffalo. The game will be carried in Canada by TSN.

Also starting at 4 PM, Norway opens against Sweden at the 2,100 seat Dwyer Arena on the Niagara University campus and the day is capped off by the United States beginning it's championship defense with a stiff challenge from Finland, which will be televised by the NHL Network in the US and on TSN2 in Canada at 6 PM.

Fans in attendance in Buffalo will have the luxury of being able to attend any game they choose since the two arenas are located just 16 miles apart, unlike some other years when the two host arenas have been several hours drive between them. With the large number of games compressed into such a small schedule, the second arena can often find itself hosting some terrific matchups, such as Sweden vs. Russia on December 28th and the Czech Republic vs. Russia on December 31st in a more personal atmosphere than the professional sized main rink has to offer. We highly recommend taking in one game at the secondary arena during the Preliminary Round each year when possible.

In the United States, the NHL Network will be airing all four of the Preliminary Round games for both the United States and Canada, as well as the game on Thursday between Sweden and the Czech Republic at 3 PM. With each game for the US and Canada of the preliminary round being aired, it means each team in the tournament will be on TV at least once.

Once the Playoff Round begins, all six games on January 2nd, 3rd and 5th will be aired through the gold medal final.

For viewers in Canada, the four Canadian Preliminary Round games, as well as the US vs. Finland on December 26th (8 PM - TSN 2), Sweden vs. Russia on December 28th (7 PM), both Sweden vs. the Czech Republic (3 PM) and Germany vs. the United States (7 PM) on December 30th and the United States vs. Switzerland on December 31st (8 PM) will be aired prior to their coverage of the six Playoff Round contests.

In a nice bit of traditional scheduling, the tournament always takes off New Year's Day between the Preliminary Round and the commencement of the playoffs, avoiding any conflict with the now annual NHL Winter Classic, which just also happens to take place less than four hours drive down the freeway in Pittsburgh for the more ambitious (and financially well off) ones in attendance in Buffalo.

Today's featured jersey is a 2004 United States National Team Zach Parise jersey from the first American team to ever capture a gold medal at the World Junior Tournament, which took place in Helsinki, Finland. The United States won their group by defeating Austria, Slovakia, Sweden and Russia before defeating Finland and then Canada in the final to claim the championship.

Parise led the US with five goals and 11 points on his way to being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

This style of jersey was first used by the United States at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and remained in use through the 2005 World Junior Tournament.

Here are extended highlights from the 2004 World Juniors when the United States captured the gold medal thanks to an errant clearing attempt by Canadian goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

This next highlight is the gold medal winning goal in overtime by American John Carlson from last year's World Juniors, the second title for this year's hosts the United States.