Sergei Shirokov has plenty of reasons to smile these days.
For starters, his native country of Russia stunned Canada in the world junior final on Wednesday night in Buffalo, making Shirokov one happy camper at Moose practice on Thursday morning.
“It’s really good for Russian hockey,” the winger said. “It was a really good game, fun to watch. It was a great comeback, and I’m happy.”
The comeback victory was extra sweet for Shirokov, who played for Russia when it lost to Canada in the final of both the 2005 and 2006 tournaments in Grand Forks, N.D., and Vancouver, respectively.
Another reason Shirokov is feeling fine right now is because of the eight-game point streak he’s currently riding, which is only three shy of the Moose franchise record of 11 set by both Bill Bowler and Brett Hauer in 1998.
Shirokov has seven goals and three assists during his hot streak, which head coach Claude Noel said got started on Dec. 14 in Austin, Texas. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Moose have lost only once in nine games since Shirokov started rolling.