Asked why they were able to come from behind to win their last three games of the tournament, forward Evgeny Kuznetsov smiled and shouted, “Because we are Russians! We are champions!”
Front and centre in the debacle was goaltender Mark Visentin of the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara IceDogs, as he coughed up five goals in a little more than 13 minutes in the third period. For the second year in a row, the Canadians had to settle for the silver medal.
“There is no worse feeling than this loss,” Visentin said. A few feet away and a few minutes later, Kuznetsov, who had three assists, said “it’s the greatest feeling in the world.”