Team

Betting

FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA

Flames at World Juniors Day 1: Russia beats USA, despite Wolf

By Ryan Pike

Dec 26, 2020, 00:05 ESTUpdated: Jan 6, 2021, 20:28 EST

Comments

The first day of the 2021 World Juniors proved to be more eventful from a Calgary Flames perspective than anybody had really anticipated. Russia defeated the United States, but in a manner that saw Dustin Wolf come into the game.

Russia 5, United States 3

The story of the game was goaltending, notably a shaky performance from American starter Spencer Knight that saw him allow four goals on 12 shots – including a fourth goal off a Mike Smith-esque puck-handling miscue.

Wolf came in and played the final 26:35 of the game. He faced 11 shots and made 11 saves, helping a shaky American squad settle down. Wolf made a couple nice stops, including a pretty sold performance on a few breakaways allowed by the defense.

Everett Silvertips

@WHLsilvertips

·Follow

"No." - Wolf, Dustin #WorldJuniors

Watch on X

4:46 AM · Dec 26, 2020

Read 1 reply

Scott Wheeler

@scottcwheeler

·Follow

Dustin Wolf: “It’s definitely hard to come in off the bench... Knighter’s a tremendous person. In the locker room it was more of ‘hey man, keep going, you’re a tremendous athlete and person.’ I know he’ll bounce back.”

5:16 AM · Dec 26, 2020

Read 2 replies

For Russia, Yan Kuznetsov was rock solid. He took an early tripping penalty that didn’t lead to much on the ensuing American power play. He was beaten to a rebound on the second American goal, though, as John Farinacci got away from him and then grabbed the loose puck.