2016 World Ice Hockey Junior Championship kicks off in Helsinki

Players of the Czech Republic and Russiastrive for the puck during the 2016 U20 IIHF World Championship in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki on Dec. 26, 2015. Russia won 2-1. (Xinhua/Sergei Stepanov)

HELSINKI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Russian young ice hockey players secured a victory over their Czech rivals in the opening game of the 2016 World Junior Championship on Saturday.

The two teams mounted numerous attacks when the game started at 2 pm local time, and Czechs scored the first goal in the second section.

Russians equalized later, and won the game after Maxim Lazarev, No. 11, shot a shootout in the play-off.

The event kicked off in Hartwall Arena in Helsinki. It was the 40th official annual competition organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The players are supposed to be under 20 years old.

The 10 national teams, namely Canada, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, the United States, Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland and Belarus, are divided into two groups.

The best four teams, two from each group, will go to the semifinals. The finals will take place on January 5, 2016.

Russia has won four gold medals since 1999, and before that the Soviet Union won nine. Czech Republic won its first gold medal in 2000 and another in 2001.