It shouldn't have even been this close.

Justice was finally served in the form of Mika Zibanejad, Sweden's star 18 year old centre picking up a loose puck at the Russian blueline and skating in all alone, doing a forehand to backhand deke to finally bring a nation out of their junior hockey misery and to the place that they rightfully belonged in 2012: on top of the junior hockey world. And you know, what, they're kind of happy about it:

It was Sweden's 58th shot on Andrei Makarov, the surprise Russian starting goaltender who was absolutely heroic in a game in which his teammates couldn't do much of anything right in front of him. Sweden dominated from the start, and only in the third period did Russia mount any kind of counter attack. They almost stole this one because of Makarov, much like how they rode Andrei Vasilevskiy as far as he could take them leading up to the gold medal game. Johan Gustafsson thwarted a couple of good chances, particularly by robbing Nikita Gusev in the final minute of regulation.

Sweden wins. And there is no denying it: they were the best team at this tournament. They came over to Alberta and never lost once. They even beat Canada in the final pre-tournament game when Canada had a fully healthy roster. They dominated their group. They outshot all their opponents in this tournament combined 318-122. The most shots they allowed in a game was 27 to Switzerland, who forced them to a shootout. Max Friberg led the tournament with 8 goals plus two shootout markers.

And in the final, they outshot their opponents 58-17, and embarassed Russia horribly in the first fourty minutes. It was almost like Sweden was playing Bulgaria. Zibanejad had seven shots total, as did Rickard Rakell. 12 Swedish players had more shots on goal than any Russian player did (Russia's players topped out at 2 shots).

But they couldn't score. Andrei Makarov did get some form of help from his teammates, who protected the cross-ice passes very well and allowed Makarov, a goaltender who likes to play deep in his crease, the ability to react to shots from further out. Sweden didn't get many odd-man breaks, in fact, I can't think of a single breakaway before Zibanejad's golden goal. Sweden didn't get many rebound chances, and didn't set up many deflections, either. The difficulty rating of Sweden's chances wasn't enormously high, but the volume, and the continual pressure was amazing. It was amongst the best games I've ever seen a team play in a Final.

I'll have more to say about the tournament as a whole later, but Sweden deserves their moment before we get all reflective. They won this event in 1981, but no one cared about this tournament back then accept the parents of the players and the national federations. This is a huge moment for Swedish hockey, and we best let them enjoy it, like the SVT announcers above sure were.

Tonight the fans in southern Alberta will get a chance to see some of the top young talent in the game. I hope they appreciate this opportunity, even if they aren't wearing the jerseys they were necessarily hoping to see. Both Sweden and Russia have incredibly deep rosters, full of scoring talent, top flight skaters, baby-faced star 17 and 18 year olds as well as returning veterans leading their teams to this moment. Players playing for national glory, in the biggest game of their young lives to date. Some will go on to great things, others might never experience anything quite like this again. Most of these players will become professional players of some note, and a decent amount will become solid NHL or international players. A couple of the players might even be superstars for the next decade or more. You can wish for Canada, but you can't really ask for more out of a final than what this matchup provides.

Sweden has been a dominant possession team throughout the tournament, including their New Year's Eve comeback win against Russia. They did the same against Finland, but Head Coach Roger Rönnberg knows the team needs to score early for a change and can't keep relying on late heroics. That being said, Sweden has had a comeback against them this tournament as well: Switzerland scored two late third period goals to send their game to a shootout, which Sweden won with the infamous Max Friberg goal and stick-riding celebration. Scoring first doesn't guarantee a lot in this tournament, and leading late seems to mean even less.

Russia is a team that is truly breathtaking for stretches of the game, and completely reliant on their goaltending for others. And Valeri Bragin is making a controversial move by starting Andrei Makarov over Andrei Vasilevskiy in this gold medal game. Vasilevskiy should be the tournament's top goaltender, but allowing four Canadian goals in the third period yesterday when the lead was safe seems to have soured Bragin on his budding young star. Makarov was expected to be the starter heading into the tournament, and is a year older than Vasilevskiy. He's been having a good year with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL, but this is quite a leap of faith.

The tournament's likely top two forwards are facing off in this one: Max Friberg and Yevgeni Kuznetsov have led their respective teams and it could definitely come down to which of the two forwards has the better night.

In the end, I like Sweden for the gold tonight. It's been 31 years without a gold for the elite hockey nation, and I'm calling it to end tonight because of their well disciplined, well structured game. They have more talent on the blueline than the Russians, and can match forward lines with Russia, who have two key injured forwards in Mikhail Grigorenko and Ivan Telegin. The biggest issue with Sweden is Johan Gustafsson in goal, but even with that, I think Sweden will control the game for more than enough time tonight to get the win.

Enjoy the game, and I'll be doing recaps of the tournament for the next little while here, so hopefully you'll keep visiting for that.

It wasn't the when they wanted to hear their anthem, but Team Canada got to stand and sing "Oh Canada" on their blueline at the end of this tournament after all. Canada defeated Finland quite handily 4-0 in the Bronze Medal Game, in a game in which they dominated. Canada outshot Finland 44-27, and 38-18 through the first two periods to build a 3-0 lead.

Quinton Howden scored twice, and the Barrie Colts connection of Tanner Pearson and Mark Schiefle each scored a goal and assisted on each other's marker. Mark Vinsentin got the shutout, as he was able to hold the 3-0 lead in the medal game he played in this year after allowing 5 goals in the gold medal game a year ago in Buffalo. Visentin held the shutout by also stopping a penalty shot from Teemu Pulkkinen, who was chosen by his head coach to take the shot after not being used in their semifinal shootout vs. Sweden.

This is the last time a Canadian crowd will get to cheer on Team Canada on home ice until the 2015 tournament, in a city yet to be announced (supposedly the announcement will take place this summer). The next two years, the tournament heads back to Europe and will take place in Ufa, Russia, before heading to Malmö, Sweden in 2014.

This was the 14th straight year in which Canada takes home a medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship. The last time Canada did not medal, they finished 8th in 1998. Only five times has Canada come home empty handed, and one of those times was due to expulsion (1987).

After the game, the top 3 players for each team in the tournament were named by the IIHF: Mikael Granlund, Joel Armia, and Sami Aittokallio for Finland; Mark Stone, Brett Connolly and Brandon Gormley for Canada.

This isn't the time slot Canada was supposed to be playing in on Thursday. The main event takes place in the evening, not the middle of the afternoon. The opening act of the final day isn't supposed to feature the local heroes, but that's the fate Canada faces. Bronze is not the medal that Canadian boys dream of playing for at this tournament, but it is all that is available to them now.

Canadian hockey teams generally aren't big on bronze medals. Historically, Canada has opted for an 'all or nothing' type strategy and playing in it essentially means they're playing for nothing. Canada's Boone Jenner kind of embodied that attitude by his foolish spear of Yevgeni Kuznetsov after the whistle when Canada looked out of their semifinal game (but ended up not being so out of it after all). Jenner's tournament ended there, so Canada is down their top faceoff man for their last game as a result. All their other players, aside from Devante Smith-Pelly, will be there, though. And the fans in Calgary will all be there as well. National pride was hurt on Tuesday, but a measure of redemption can be achieved with a win here.

For Finland, this marks a chance for the nation to get its first World Junior medal after a five year drought. That's definitely a huge motivator for them, but 2012 looks like a very wasted opportunity for the team. I didn't feel they were a great match for Sweden, but they nearly pulled off the upset, squandering the lead on a puck-handling gaffe by their goaltender Sami Aittokallio, and then falling in the shootout in their last opportunity. I say this was a missed opportunity because while I didn't necessarily like how they stacked up against Sweden in a game with gold medal aspirations still in tact (I would've felt differently if it were in the bronze medal game), I did like how Finland stacked up against Russia. Finland had a lot of the elements Russia had: talent on three different scoring lines, a decent goaltender, but better centres than Canada in general, and a more disciplined team in general. I really believe if Finland had won the shootout against Sweden that they'd win the gold here

As it stands, I don't like how they match up against Canada. Finland's defence is good at preventing odd man rushes but can be exploited in the cycle game and that's Canada's bread and butter. The only redeeming factor for Finland heading into this game is that it's Aittokallio in goal instead of Christopher Gibson, and that Boone Jenner isn't there to injure one of their defensemen again. Historically, Finland are very tough in bronze medal games and I expect this game to be a lot closer than the 8-1 game that opened the tournament on Boxing Day, but in the end, I expect Canada will close out their tournament by hearing "Oh Canada", just not in the timeslot they wanted nor wearing the medal they truly coveted around their necks.

Gametime is at 1:30 PM MST. Broadcasts of this game are on every channel you expect: TSN/RDS (Canada), MTV3 (Finland), NHL Network (USA), SVT (Sweden), Eurosport2 (Europe), NTV Plus (Russia), and Fasthockey (webcast).

Woe, Denmark. Denmark knew what they were in for in this tournament. They were the fodder of the Group of Death, with no chance of victory against the likes of Canada, USA, Finland and the Czech Republic. They had some nice moments, like Sebastian Feuk keeping the team in their game against the Americans through twenty minutes, and they scored goals in three of their four games. But their real tournament was always going to be in the relegation round, where they had a long shot against the likes of Switzerland or Slovakia, but could legitimately beat Latvia to stay in the Top 9 for another year. Denmark had a big game against Switzerland, forcing them to overtime, before losing. It was a great result that gave them confidence heading into their final game against a slightly more favoured Latvian team. Unfortunately, their fate was sealed in overtime again. They needed a hero in one of their games to stay up, and they didn't get it.

Nikita Jevpalovs scored for Latvia in the extra frame, sending Denmark back to Division 1A. That means that Zegmus Girgensons will get to come back a year older next year in Ufa, Russia, and Latvia's home fans could make the trip and help support their boys. It's a good moment for the team, and they have a shot at being in this tournament more frequently now that there is only one team demoted. They've won at least one game in each World Junior Championship they've appeared in, so if they keep that streak up, they should be able to measure themselves against the top nations every year.

For Denmark, a return to Division 1 isn't a horrible fate. Sure, it's disappointing, and it means that star forward Nicklas Jensen won't get another shot at the top nations, but the team will get a shot to earn their way back to the main group against the likes of Norway, Belarus and Austria next year instead. And that's a big deal, since the 2014 World Juniors are scheduled to take place in Malmö, Sweden, which in a lot of ways is a suburb of Copenhagen, a quick drive over the bridge/tunnel that connects the two nations. I hope Denmark applies to host the tournament next year as a result to give them the best possible chance at promotion. They came oh so close to winning their first game at this level twice, and I think it's only a matter of time for them.

In other action Wednesday, the expected teams did win, although it was closer than anticipated for the Americans. The disappointing finish for them concludes at 7th place, with a 2-1 win over Switzerland. Both teams expect to do better next year, and by the looks of things, the Americans will have an easier draw in 2013 than they did this year. That's because the Czech Republic did as expected and won the Fifth Place Game 5-2 over Slovakia. Sometimes this game can be a little whacky, as it is really there only so that every team gets to play at least 6 games at the tournament. Two years ago, Finland beat a completely disorganized and toxic Russian team in the game, and last year Switzerland upset Finland. That led to tough draws for the 7th place finisher than the 8th place finisher in a lot of ways, so it's nice to see the pools get distributed a bit more evenly this time around. We'll know next year's pools after the medal games on Thursday.

I'll have full recaps for every team over the next little while as we leave the day-to-day coverage.

The title only gives you a taste of went on last night at the IIHF World Juniors. Canada is out, falling by the historically prescient score of 6-5 to Russia, nearly completing a comeback from a 5 goal deficit in just over ten minutes. Sweden, too, came back on Tuesday, overcoming a 2-0 third period deficit to win 3-2 in a shootout over Finland. The two best teenaged hockey players not in the NHL, Yegveni Kuznetsov of Russia and Mikael Granlund of Finland, each had defining moments in their games, for entirely different reasons. The two semifinals had completely different standards of officiating, with Sweden-Finland becoming a 'let 'em play' game with tons of infractions let go, while Canada-Russia saw a ton of penalties called both ways, including an ejection and a 10 minute misconduct called. We saw goaltending ranging from spectacular to horrendous. We had own goals, flubs, clean breaks caused by bad line changes, and errors galore.

This is junior hockey at its elite level. It's not the best hockey that can be played, but at it's best it can offer up the most excitement you'll see on a rink.

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My dad is a big proponent of renaming the semifinal games at tournaments that award medals the Silver Medal games, to kind of get rid of the stigma that you win gold and lose silver. I've taken to that mentality, especially since it kind of leads to a backwards mentality that you'd rather win bronze than silver, since at least you won the game to get you that medal. Because, you know, losing the big game is better than not being good enough to be in it at all. You have to win a lot of games to win a silver medal, and the semifinal of the IIHF World Junior Championship game is the true must win game to achieve what is still an impressive accomplishment. So today the teams play for silver. Later, the two teams of silver medallists will try and trade up for the gold, while the losers have to settle for a shot at the bronze.

First up on the game lists, though, is that pesky relegation round. Sorry, USA Hockey fans, this is your fate this year.

Relegation Round: USA (1-0-0-0) vs. Latvia (1-0-0-0) - 11:00 AM MST

This, on paper, shouldn't be much of a game. The Americans are too good for this spot, and Latvia is a team that should be focused on tomorrow's big game vs. Denmark to stay up with the big boys. Still, you've got to play the game out. The game is being webcast on NHL.com for American viewers, and on Fasthockey for the rest of us. A USA victory guarantees a return to the elite pool, which Switzerland did yesterday with a 4-3 OT win over Denmark.

Silver Medal Game 1: Sweden (A1) vs. Finland (B2) - 3:00 PM MST

This is a classic rivalry, and Sweden's juniors will be looking to avenge for the men's team which lost in the IIHF World Championship Final last May. Sweden hasn't won at this tournament in 30 years, while Finland is back in the medal games for the first time since 2006. Both goaltenders have a lot to prove: Johan Gustafsson has been the worst starter of the elite nations so far in this tournament, yet Sweden has played so well in front of him they have yet to lose. Sami Aittokallio was awful in the quarterfinals after two strong preliminary round games. Up front, it is a battle between Max Friberg and the Granlund brothers, who are starting to take over the tournament and make good on my pre-tournament prediction of Mikael Granlund for MVP. Sweden has the better team overall, but Finland has improved a lot from the start of the tournament to now, especially on defence.

Silver Medal Game 2: Canada (B1) vs. Russia (A2) - 7:00 PM MST

Does it get any better? Canada has been perfect so far, extending Don Hay's win streak as junior team Head Coach to 11 games. Scott Harrington and Nathan Beaulieu suffered injuries in their final preliminary game against the Americans, but should be good to go tomorrow. Scott Wedgewood will likely be tapped as the starting goaltender, though it wasn't official when I wrote this up, and Canada has the best line in the tournament in Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Strome, and Mark Stone. Russia is coming off an exhausting quarterfinal overtime win against the Czechs, and have some big time injury concerns up front with Mikhail Grigorenko almost certainly out after attempting to come back from a probable ankle sprain, while Ivan Telegin suffered a wrist injury in the quarterfinal game and is questionable. The team's MVP is goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has helped the team to a 100% PK unit that will face a tough test in Canada. It'll be important for the top defensive pairing of Zakhar Arzamastev and Artyom Sergeyev to keep Canada's top line in check, which would go a long way to pulling off the upset here as Canada hasn't proven to have dependable scoring depth so far. Russia will need all hands on deck offensively, led by Yevgeni Kuznetsov, Nikita Gusev, Nikita Kucherov, Alexander Khokhlachev and Nail Yakupov.

Who will emerge victorious and into the final?

Silver Medal Games Broadcast: TSN/RDS (Canada), SVT (Sweden), MTV3 (Finland), NTV Plus (Russia), Eurosport2 (Europe, only CAN/RUS).

On a team stocked with offensive stars, the real story of Team Russia at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship has been 17 year old goaltender Andrei Vasilievskiy. In an unbelievable goaltending duel against Czech star Petr Mrazek, the rising star came out on top and continued an amazing tournament that has yet to see him give up a soft goal despite often being peppered behind a sometimes porous defence. He's also been key in leading the Russians penalty kill, which killed off their 22nd straight penalty this tournament at the end of regulation and into overtime before the unlikely Russian hero Grigori Zheldakov blasted the game winning goal on a feed from Lightning prospect Nikita Kucherov at 1:30 of overtime to send Russia to the semifinals and a date with Canada tomorrow night.

This was a game that had a lot of what you want to see as a hockey fan: ten bell chances thwarted by great goaltenders, lots of free-flowing action, huge momentum shifts, tons of chances, tons of shots, overtime, missed calls, desperate shot-blocking, players battling through injuries to try and win. Russia dominated early, utilizing great stretch passes to create odd man rushes and being very aggressive in the offensive zone to create turnovers and get shots in from the point and slot areas. Then, the second period started and the Czechs made outstanding adjustments: the neutral zone was clogged, their defence joined the rush and their forwards made life hard on the Russians' true weakness, their lack of depth on defence. Playing hurt after suffering a probable concussion versus the Americans, David Musil was excellent in the final forty minutes, as was Daniel Krejci. After exchanging second period goals, the game became a matter of inches, missed opportunities and elite goaltending from both sides.

It was hockey in all its best glory. The referees let the play go, which wasn't exactly fair, as with such top notch goaltending a power play goal could've made a huge difference. In the final minute of the third, the Czechs finally got a man advantage after an offensive zone high-sticking penalty to Kucherov. They couldn't beat Vasilievskiy, who in the second half of the game became a bigger figure than Mrazek, who stole the show early.

Here are the highlights:

So, we have our rematch of last year's gold medal game in the semifinals. After the jump, we'll look at the other semifinal between Finland and Slovakia.

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