Canada, Russia rekindle rivalry

[Patrice Bergeron] and his teammates are aware of the great rivalry between the Canadians and the Russians, which will be rekindled when the countries meet for the WJC gold medal Tuesday night in Grand Forks' Ralph Engelstad Arena. "I certainly think that Canada is the favorite," U.S....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inKnight Ridder Tribune News Service p. 1
Main Author Fee, Kevin
Format Newsletter
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Tribune Content Agency LLC 03.01.2005
Subjects
Bergeron, Patrice
O Sullivan, Patrick
Sutter, Brent
Canada
Russia
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Summary:[Patrice Bergeron] and his teammates are aware of the great rivalry between the Canadians and the Russians, which will be rekindled when the countries meet for the WJC gold medal Tuesday night in Grand Forks' Ralph Engelstad Arena. "I certainly think that Canada is the favorite," U.S. forward Patrick O'Sullivan said. "Their team is pretty good. I certainly haven't seen a team like them in my three years in the tournament." Because of Canada's stout defense, O'Sullivan said the Russians will see fewer open spaces on the ice. "They better be prepared to pay the price physically," O'Sullivan said. The Russians have high-flying forwards Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, the top two picks in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, respectively. Canada can counter with many flashy forwards, led by NHL player Bergeron and 17-year-old phenom Sidney Crosby.