December 23, 1999
NR.123

CANADA AND RUSSIA BATTLE TO A 1-1 DRAW IN FINAL TUNE-UP GAME BEFORE BEGINNING OF 2000 WJC

LYCKSELE, SWEDEN - Canada's National Junior Team tied Russia 1-1 Thursday in it's final exhibition game before the beginning of the 2000 World Junior Hockey Championship.

Matt Pettinger, of Victoria, BC, opened the scoring for Canada at the 3:58 mark of the first period. His shot from the deep slot eluded Russian goalkeeper Ilya Beyzgalov.

The two finalists from last year's World Junior Hockey Championship in Winnipeg, MB, battled hard in front of 950 enthousiastic fans from the small town of Lycksele, Sweden. Russia finally evened the score at 1:49 of the final frame, as Valeri Khlebnikov hammered a rebound past Brian Finley, of Sault Ste. Marie, ON.

Finley and Maxime Ouellet, of Beauport, QC shared the duties in the Canadian net and excelled, as the two combined for 30 saves in a game that saw Russia outshoot Canada 31-21.

Canada's National Junior Team will travel to Skelleftea Friday morning, before practicing in the afternoon. Canada opens it's World Junior Championship on December 25, 1999 at 7:30 pm local time, against Finland. The game will be broadcast live coast to coast on TSN and RDS at 1 pm, Eastern time.

There will be a conference call on December 27, 1999 at 10 pm local time, 4 pm (Eastern) and 2 pm (Pacific) with the National Junior Team's Head Coach, Claude Julien. Details to follow on December 26, 1999.