WHL to keep firing at Russia

With the Subway Super Series already won, the Western Hockey League isn't about to let the foot off the gas pedal in the final game.

The WHL's 5-2 win in Regina on Wednesday clinched the series for the Canadian Hockey League. The CHL won the series for the eighth time in its nine-year history, reclaiming the title from the Russians, who won it last year with a 4-1-1 record. Team WHL assistant coach Ryan Huska doesn't anticipate any letdown from either team in the series' final game.

"It's a great opportunity for some of the players to show… they deserve a chance for an invite at Christmas (to Canada's world junior selection camp), just as they should be very proud to represent the Western Hockey League," Huska says. "It's an honour to be chosen to play in these games, and I know the group (in Thursday's game) is going to compete and play just as hard as (Wednesday's) group."

TV note: Catch the final game of the Subway Super Series when Team WHL hosts the Russians on Sportsnet ONE at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

The WHL will carry over just six players from Wednesday's team, although many of the players playing in Thursday's game were on hand in Regina to watch the WHL's victory.

After losing both games against the Russians last year, the WHL will look to regain bragging rights with their eastern cousins from the Ontario Hockey League, who defeated the Russians in both of their outings.

"We want to respect our league," says Mark Stone, the league's leading scorer. "We want to show we're one of the best leagues in the CHL."

Can the WHL play with the same intensity?

Team WHL played with a physical edge in Wednesday's game, something the league's reputation preceded. Draft-eligible prospect Mathew Dumba, who will not play in Thursday's game, delivered the biggest check in the first period on a hit that will appear on highlight reels all season.

Dumba's defensive partner, Duncan Siemens, had also thrown the body around and will preach this approach to his teammates.

"When we got physical, they didn't seem to want much with the puck," Siemens explains.

Says Huska, "There was a fair amount of nerves early on, but after the first 10 minutes I thought we did a good job of raising the ante with finishing our checks and making sure we were consistently on the body."

Will the Russians' style create more offence?

The Russians were trying two different plays to create chances on Wednesday. First, by finding the late man in the high slot and with backdoor passes. Although they scored just twice, there were many more opportunities generated by these approaches.

"You have to make sure you keep them to the outside," Siemens explains. "They can be very dangerous coming through the middle."

"That's one of their strengths; they do a good job off the rush," Huska says. "They stretch the neutral zone out and then they'll attack you with some speed, and they have a lot of skill where they can find the late guys. Our forwards have to do a good job of picking up those late guys off the rush and really not trying to give them too much time to make their plays."

"They are a little bit more risky with the plays they make," addsTeam WHL forward Max Reinhart. "You can't fall asleep against this team, and that's the biggest thing I've learned."

The Russians' passing plays on the power-play aren't entirely familiar to the WHL players. Siemens is confident his team can learn from Wednesday's game and implement new strategies for Thursday.

"They like to throw around and fire the puck blind," Siemens says. "They kind of do a lot of hope-and-pray plays. It has worked for them, so we have to make sure our sticks are on the ice and make sure those lanes are blocked and take away those opportunities."

Will the WHL reach new heights offensively?

It's hard to imagine a team leaving room for improvement after firing 42 shots, but since the mandate is for a large amount of pucks on net, the WHL wants to take it to another level. Team WHL head coach Don Hay preaches the importance in getting as many shots as possible before the game, an area his team can step it up.

"I still think there were some times we passed up some chances to get pucks to the net, and we have to make sure we have that mindset all the time," Huska says. "We're going to have to get as many pucks as possible and as many bodies in front as possible. Every chance we get, we want our guys shooting and we want them hungry in front."

"As a team, we did pretty well, but there's always room for improvement," echoes Reinhart. "There were opportunities that we passed up."

How intense will each team play with world junior spots on the line?

The final game of the Subway Super Series is often the final opportunity for players on both teams to leave an impression before the world juniors. For WHL players, it means playing in front of Hay, Canada's head coach, and Huska, the assistant coach.

"I feel pretty confident that I will be able to even take my game a step further from what it was (on Wednesday)," says Reinhart, who scored the insurance goal.

"It's been a long process for me in trying to prove myself to Hockey Canada," Stone says. "You grow up watching the world juniors at Christmastime, and to be able to play at the world juniors would be something special for me, and it's something I've wanted to do ever since I was a young player."

Sixteen players who won gold for the Russians at last year's world junior tournament played in the Subway Super Series. If that's not motivation enough, pride will also be on the line.

"They're a competitive group," Huska says. "We're expecting the same type of effort. They're a team that will come and work hard (Thursday) night. They're going to push for that win. It's important for them and we have to be ready to play a similar style as we played (on Wednesday)."