VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Pavel Shen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Russia defeated Canada 2-1 Monday in the world junior hockey championship.
With the win, Russia (4-0-0-0) claimed the top spot in Group A in the preliminary round. Canada (3-1-0-0) finished second in the group.
Shen, a Boston Bruins prospect, scored 11 minutes into the third period, skating around Canada’s Markus Phillips and tucking the puck behind Vancouver Canucks prospect Michael DiPietro.
Florida Panthers prospect Grigori Denisenko scored Russia’s first goal.
Canada’s Cody Glass scored off an assist from Owen Tippett. DiPietro stopped 29 shots for the Canadians.
Russia’s Pyotr Kochetkov had 30 saves.
In Group B, Sweden locked up the top spot with a 4-1 victory over Kazakhstan. The U.S. is scheduled to close out preliminary-round play against Finland on Monday.
The Americans fell 5-4 to Sweden in its third preliminary round game.
All 10 teams in the tournament will have New Year’s Day off before games resume on Wednesday.
Russia will face Slovakia in the quarterfinals. Canada will play the loser of the game between Finland and the U.S.