Russia defeats Sweden in OT to advance to gold medal game at WJHC

Ivan Morozov scored the game-winner as Russia defeated Sweden in overtime on Saturday to earn a berth in the gold medal game at the world juniors.

Russia will meet Canada in the championship on Sunday after the latter cruised past Finland in its own semifinal clash. It will mark the second meeting of the tournament between the two rivals, as Russia defeated Canada 6-0 in the preliminary round.

Against Sweden, the Russians found themselves in an early hole as Rasmus Sandin, who had four points in the contest, found the back of the net 16 seconds into the first period. However, after Sweden forward Nils Hoglander was ejected for a hit to the head, Russia capitalized on a five-minute power play and eventually led the contest 3-1.

Sweden stormed back to take a 4-3 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the final frame, prompting Russia to pull starting goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. Egor Sokolov then scored the equalizer with 11 minutes to go, forcing three-on-three overtime.

Russia advances to its first championship game since 2016, and has a chance to claim its 14th gold in the tournament's history and its first since 2011.

Meanwhile, Sweden's futility at the junior showcase persists for another year. Despite going 52-0 in preliminary round games since 2008, the Swedes have captured just one gold medal over that span.