EBERLE’S LATE GOAL, TOKARSKI’S SHOOTOUT HEROICS LEAD CANADA TO GOLD MEDAL GAME

by Alan Adams

KANATA, ON – Canada's drive for five is alive.

Jordan Eberle (Regina, SK/Regina, WHL) scored twice in regulation time, including the equalizer with five seconds left in the third period, and then had another goal in the shootout to pace Canada to a 6-5 triumph over Russia in Saturday's semifinal at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship.

"Those are the biggest goals I remember," said Eberle. "Now we are going for gold.”

The Russians were trying to hang on to a one-goal lead in the dying seconds of the game when John Tavares (Oakville, ON/Oshawa, OHL) took a quick shot that defenceman Dmitri Kulikov tried to smother. But Eberle stole the puck from the Russian and tucked it past netminder Vadim Zhelobnyuk.

The Canadians carried the play in the 10-minute overtime but failed to beat Zhelobnyuk, sending the game to a shootout.

After Eberle beat the Russian goaltender with a slick backhand and Tavares snapped a shot home, Canadian netminder Dustin Tokarski (Watson, SK/Spokane, WHL) turned away Pavel Chernov, sending Canada to its eighth straight gold medal game.

It will be a familiar foe across the ice at SBP Arena on Monday in the tournament’s final game – Canada will face Sweden, who it beat for gold last year in Pardubice, Czech Republic.

In another classic game in hockey most-storied rivalry, the Canadians and Russians alternated on eight goals over the first three periods.

Four times the Canadians took leads – on goals by Brett Sonne (Maple Ridge, BC/Calgary, WHL), Patrice Cormier (Cap-Pelé, NB/Rimouski, QMJHL), Eberle and Angelo Esposito (Montreal, QC/Montreal, QMJHL) – only to see the Russians claw right back, sometimes just seconds later.

Russia took its first lead at 17:40 of the third period, setting up Eberle’s heroics and a tense shootout.

"You have 20,000 Canadians standing up watching every one and you can't really watch on the bench,” Tavares said. “Guys had their heads down or were holding each other, praying for pucks to go in and pucks to stay out."

Tokarski downplayed his heroics in the shootout.

"I have to play better if we want to win," he said.

The semifinal showdown marked the eighth time in the last decade that Canada and Russia have met in a medal-round game at the World Juniors – Canada has won four straight, including a 4-2 victory in the gold medal game in their last encounter in 2007.