Russia’s ice hockey stars are making final preparations for Sunday's world title clash against tournament hosts Canada. The Russians clobbered Finland 4-0 in the semis, allowing coach Vyacheslav Bykov to avenge last year’s painful defeat, when the Finns k

The Russian team, consisting of NHL and Superliga stars, knows the Canadians won't be a push-over. The hosts showed great determination in overcoming a tough Swedish team in the semi-finals.

Russia were in control from the start in their semi-final against Finland. Sergey Fyodorov opened the scoring in the first period while Danis Zaripov added another in the second.

During the third period the game evened up, giving the crowd a well-matched tie with chances on both sides. But it was Russia, who scored again. Aleksey Morozov, later named the man of the match, took advantage of his team’s power play.

Finland made a late effort to save the game, dismissing their keeper for the final minutes. But they failed to put the puck in the net. In the end it allowed Maksim Sushinsky to score into an empty goal to settle the match. The final score was 4-0 for Russia.  

This is Russia’s first appearance in the final since 2002, when they were beaten by hosts Slovakia.

In the other semi-final support of the home crowd helped Canada overcome Sweden 5-4. 

The final will be played on Sunday.