BELARUS FINISHES STRONG, GRABS FIFTH WITH WIN OVER SWEDEN

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – Siarhei Drozd finished his World Junior A Challenge career in style Saturday night, banging in the game-winning goal with 2:05 to go to help Belarus to a 5-3 win over Sweden in the fifth-place game at Molson Canadian Arena at CUP.

Drozd finished the 2009 tournament with four goals, giving him 11 all-time, more than any player. His 14 career points (11g, 3a) leaves him second to Casey Pierro-Zabotel (16 points in 2006-07) in that category.

With both teams looking for their first win of the tournament it was Belarus who came out with jump in the early going, notching the game’s first goal when Aliaksandr Kachan beat Swedish goaltender Jonas Gunnarsson just shy of the period’s midway point.

The Belarussians got into penalty trouble in the second half of the period, however, and were forced to kill three consecutive Swedish power plays to maintain their lead heading into the intermission.

The lead doubled midway through the second period thanks to Nikita Remezov, who picked up his first goal of the tournament off a feed from Mikita Feaktsistau at the 9:20 mark.

Belarus netminder Dzmitry Volkau owned the middle frame, turning aside everything he faced as Sweden outshot the Belarussians 13-4, but trailed by a pair heading to the third period.

Sweden’s offence came alive in the third, finally beating Volkau when Sebastien Dyk tipped a cross-crease feed from Ludvig Rensfeldt past the Belarussian goaltender in the early minutes of the period.

Rensfeldt was in on the tying goal as well, getting the puck back to Swedish captain Adam Almquist, who blasted a shot through the legs of Volkau to pull the Scandinavians even with 13 minutes left on the clock.

Remezov’s second of the game, when he kept on a 2-on-1 and ripped a wrist shot over the glove of Gunnarsson, restored the Belarussian lead, but the Swedes would pull even shorthanded again not even three minutes later off the stick of Jonathan Johansson.

That set the stage for Drozd, who had not scored since recording a hat trick in Belarus’ tournament-opening loss to Canada East on Monday. He batted a puck through Gunnarsson to give Belarus its third lead of the game, one it would not relinquish.

Siarhei Maliauka finished off the scoring into an empty net in the dying seconds.