Russia Wins FISU Over Kazakhstan

The 2017 Winter Universiade in Kazakhstan ended with Russia taking the tournament title thanks to a 1-0 win in the finals.

The game was scoreless for the first 41 minutes until Russian forward Daniil Ilyin potted one past Sergei Kudryavtsev during a mad scramble in front. With a team made up of mainly KHLers, Russia dominated Group C action, posting 35 goals and allowing just one in three round robin contests. Russia then crushed Japan 9-2 in the quarter-finals before easily defeating Canada 4-1 to earn a spot in the finals.

Kazakhstan was able to grab their third consecutive silver medal after losing to Russia back in 2015 and Canada in 2013. The home team finished the overall Universiade with 36 medals (11 gold, eight silver, 17 bronze), trailing just Russia who had 71. Kazakhstan was led by Konstantin Savenkov, who put up 12 points in six games (trailing Russia's Andrei Alexeyev by one point) to help Kazakhstan finish with just two goals against.

Earlier in the day, Canada beat the Czech Republic by a score of 4-3 to win the bronze. The four-time tournament champions were led by Tommy Giroux, who scored twice, including the game-winner mid-way through the second, to take the victory.

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