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U.S. gets past Finland

Raisanen busy, Lamoureux-Davidson scores winner

U.S. gets past Finland

USA's Hilary Knight #21 celebrates after scoring a first period goal against Finland's Meeri Raisanen #18 during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship

 

 

Hilary Knight and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored for the defending champion Americans, who maintained their perfect record after beating host Canada in the opener on Monday.

"Obviously, we got off to a slow start, but to come out with a W is huge," said Knight.

Michelle Karvinen scored for Finland, who relied on overworked star goalie Meeri Raisanen to keep it close.

"There were a lot of shots," said Raisanen. "It’s always like that. I think we played maybe the best game ever against the USA."

The U.S. could have scored more, but seemed a little sluggish after yesterday's barn-burner. It wasn't a highlight-reel peformance, but it was another three points for coach Ken Klee's crew.

The Finns, who won bronze last year, drew first blood on a nice 2-on-1 rush at 5:03. Riikka Valila slipped a sweet, short feed over to Karvinen, who beat U.S. goalie Jessie Vetter with a backhand deke.

"Me and Riikka have a great chemistry," said Karvinen. "I knew I was going to get the puck back, and I went backhand over the pad. It felt good to get a one-goal lead."

Despite being outplayed by the stronger, more skilled Americans, Finland looked set to head to the dressing room with the lead. But Knight spoiled those plans. Standing in front of the net, she tipped in her third goal of the tournament off Lee Stecklein’s wrister from the left point to make it 1-1 at 19:02.

Raisanen, a tournament all-star in 2015, had to stay sharp as the U.S. fired away from all angles in the first. She made a great save on NCAA scoring ace Kendall Coyne's breakaway.

The bombardment continued in the second period, with the Americans outshooting Finland 20-1. At 15:09, Lamoureux-Davidson scored from the low slot to put the U.S. up 2-1.

Raisanen did her best to keep her team in it, stopping Dana Trivigno’s in-close deke with 1:34 left before the second buzzer.

But it wasn't enough in the end. The Finns had a golden opportunity to tie it with about six minutes left, as Karvinen set up Petra Nieminen, but Vetter made her best save of the night. Rosa Lindstedt took an interference penalty with just over a minute remaining, killing Finnish hopes of an equalizer.

The main concern for the Americans thus far might be that they're not filling the net at their usual rate. Last year, they had 37 goals in just five games. Still, given that they've just faced the two other teams who medaled last year in Canada and Finland, there's likely more scoring to come.

"We had a great, hard, physical camp and came here and had two hard games," said Knight. "We just need to make sure our minds are set the right way and our bodies are healed up and ready to go."

The Americans entered this game with a record of 13 wins, one tie, and one loss against Finland. The only Finnish win was a 1-0 overtime victory at the 2008 Women’s Worlds in Harbin, China on April 8, 2008. Heidi Pelttari scored there in sudden-death.

On Thursday, the U.S. will take on Russia, while Finland faces Canada to round out the Group A slate.

"We have a chance to go straight to the semi-final," said Karvinen. "We know we’re really good as a team. We have a really great system, which makes it hard for the top teams to play against us. We need to continue like this, but keep the puck within the team and not give it away. Otherwise, we’re not going to get any goals. But we’ll see. Anything canhappen."

 

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Czech out this upset!

Vanisova scores twice in second Czech win ever

Czech out this upset!

Czech Republic's Tereza Vanisova #21 scores a second period goal against Switzerland's Florence Schelling #41 during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship

 

 

Tereza Vanisova stepped up to give the Czechs a 2-0 second-period lead, and the newly promoted squad held on to upset Switzerland 3-1 on Day Two in Kamloops

 

It was just the second Czech win in Women's Worlds history, and has to be considered a true shocker, coming against the 2014 Olympic bronze medalists.

The first Czech win ever was a 3-2 decision over Sweden at the 2013 Women’s Worlds in Ottawa. The Czechs came close to beating Sweden in their tournament opener here in Kamloops, but allowed a goal with eight seconds left and lost 3-2.

After surviving two Swiss power plays in the scoreless first period at McArthur Island Centre, the Czechs went on the attack early in the second period.

Vanisova shocked the Swiss faithful with her two quick goals, first on the power play at 1:53, and then unassisted at even strength at 3:11.

Vanisova, a 20-year-old Strakonice native, played for the HTI Stars in Mulmur, Ontario, this season and will suit up for the University of Maine in the fall. She had just one assist in her 2013 Women’s Worlds debut.

In a small reversal of fortune, Vanisova was serving an interference minor when Swiss prodigy Alina Muller cut the deficit to 2-1 at 7:50 of the middle frame.

But Samantha Kolowratova provided some crucial third-period insurance when she beat goalie Florence Schelling on the power play with 5:35 remaining to give the Czechs a 3-1 lead. It was pure ecstasy for coach Jiri Vozak's team, and heartbreak for the surprised Swiss.

Czech goalie Klara Peslarova earned the win as the Swiss outshot the Czechs 23-17.

The result spoiled Nicole Bullo’s 200th game in a Swiss national team uniform. The veteran bueliner was in the penalty box for Vanisova’s opening goal.

The Swiss will round out their preliminary round slate against Sweden on Thursday. The Czechs battle Japan earlier that day.

 

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IIHF Men's Under 18 Ice Hockey Division II Group B World Championships 2016

:ESP Valdemoro (ESP) - 26.03.2016 - 01.04.2016 :ESP

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Round-Robin

6 Nations, Round-Robin Tournament, 1st Nation will be IIHF Men's Under 18 Ice Hockey Division II Group B World Championships 2016 Champion

 

Day 3 Results

 

:EST Estonia  3 - 2   China :CHN   

(Score by Period: 1-0, 1-1, 1-1)

29th March 2016, h. 13:00 (GMT +2), Francisco Fernandez Ochoa Arena, Valdemoro

 

:SRB Serbia  2 - 1  Belgium :BEL       

(Score by Period: 1-1, 1-0, 0-0)

29th March 2016, h. 16:30 (GMT +2), Francisco Fernandez Ochoa Arena, Valdemoro

 

:ESP Spain  3 - 0  Iceland :ISL      

(Score by Period: 1-0, 0-0, 2-0)

29th March 2016, h. 20:00 (GMT +2), Francisco Fernandez Ochoa Arena, Valdemoro

 

 

Provisional Standing After Day 3

RANK NATION GAME WINS W(OT) L(OT) LOSE SCORE POINTS
1 :EST Estonia 3 3 0 0 0 18:5 9
2

:ESP Spain

3 3 0 0 0 14:4 9
3 :ISL Iceland 3 1 0 0 2 9:11 3
4 :SRB Serbia 3 1 0 0 2 7:10 3
5 :BEL Belgium 3 1 0 0 2 6:16 3
6 :CHN China 3 0 0 0 3

7:15

0
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Germans back in 2017

Promoted to top women’s division

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The German women’s national team celebrates promotion back to the top division for the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship. 

 

2017 is the year on the Germans’ helmet. It will see the country host the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship – and the women’s team back in the top division.

After four out of four rounds the Germans won the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group A in Aalborg, Denmark, to earn a swift return to the top division.

A double from Laura Kluge and a shutout from Jennifer Harss sends Germany back into the top division of women’s hockey and booked the team its ticket to Plymouth, USA, in 2017. The Germans beat its nearest rival in the standings, France, 5-0 on Tuesday.

“I can’t find words. It was such a great team effort,” explains an ecstatic Germany assistant captain Andrea Lanzl outside of her team’s dressing room that has been filled with cheers and singing still 10 minutes after the win.

“It is amazing! It is my first championship that we win and I am very happy,” said Laura Kluge

“It feels great! We are super happy about it. It feels awesome,” says an excited German goalkeeper Jennifer Harss.

Harss made 16 saves to record her second consecutive shutout, knocking aside everything that was shot at her. The three-year-veteran has by far been the stand-out goaltender in Aalborg and proved that once again against France. The 28-year-old made crucial saves throughout the afternoon, but none more-so with her team only 1-0 up in the first period when she kicked aside a shot from Amandine Cuasnit, after the Frenchwomen found herself with a free shooting lane 11:10 into the period.

“My team has played super-well in front of me and that helps me a lot,” said Harss about her players and continued. “I knew what kind of games I had to expect coming here. I was mentally prepared for not seeing as many shots, but being mentally ready. That was my main focus.”

Young championship-leading goal and point scorer Laura Kluge netted twice to continue her hot form in Denmark, helping her team onto victory. The 19-year-old, who is in just her second year with the senior women’s national team, has impressed with her 6 goals and 3 assists to currently sit at the top of both the individual goal and point scoring standings with one game day still to play.

“I have no idea if I am leading or not,” says a shy and modest Kluge. “I think we have done a good job playing as a team.”

Player-of-the-Match against France, Andrea Lanzl scored three points, assisting twice and getting a goal of her own. Lanzl has been with the German team since their Olympic campaign in 2014. The 28-year-old from Starnberg felt the pain of relegation from the top division last year and says that it was always the goal for the ladies to get back up to the top as soon as possible.

“It was our plan, our goal, to get up as soon as possible. We know what was going on in the top division and we wanted to go back,” said Lanzl.

“We knew how difficult it would be to go back up, so we went straight with our game plan the whole tournament. We were so self-confident. Everyone knew their role in the team and we had great coaching staff that always said that we could do it.”

With the goal of always returning to the top division and staying as competitive as possible, the Germans prepared for the Division I Group A by playing exhibition games against many of the top-flight European teams like Sweden, Finland and Russia. This strategy was to keep them as sharp and fast as possible and to ensure that they would control the games in Aaalborg, and give them the best possible chance of promotion. Their plan worked.

“We needed those games to play at the higher level, to have the speed of the game and be fast. To battle against the good teams helps us in this situation. We had to go and make the game,” explained Lanzl.

Germany will celebrate their win, no doubt long into the night and for the coming months, but it will be back to business in the summer when they prepare for the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championships in Plymouth and for the Final Olympic Qualification tournament in February.

“As of right now, I can only focus on this tournament but it is going to be great to go up. We are going to work hard in the summer for the World Championships and for the Olympic Qualification,” says Jennifer Harss.

“We will take this self-confidence with us. We know there is no stop and we have to keep getting better every game and tournament. We know that there is more we have to bring. It takes time but we will take the time to work on those things,” says a determined Andrea Lanzl

 

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Ice Hockey 2015 - 2016 Discussion Thread
Posted (edited)

IIHF Women's Ice Hockey Division I Group A World Championships 2016

:DEN Aalborg (DEN) - 25.03.2016 - 31.03.2016 :DEN

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Round-Robin

6 Nations, Round-Robin Tournament, 1st Nation will be IIHF Women's Ice Hockey Division I Group A World Championships 2016 Champion

 

Day 4 Results

 

:AUT Austria  4 - 1   Slovakia :SVK     

(Score by Period: 1-0, 0-1, 3-0)

29th March 2016, h. 13:00 (GMT +2), Gigantium Arena, Aalborg

 

:FRA France  0 - 5  Germany :GER       

(Score by Period: 0-1, 0-0, 0-4)

29th March 2016, h. 16:30 (GMT +2), Gigantium Arena, Aalborg

 

:DEN Denmark  3 - 2  Norway :NOR    

(Score by Period: 2-1, 1-0, 0-1)

29th March 2016, h. 20:00 (GMT +2), Gigantium Arena, Aalborg

 

 

Provisional Standing After Day 4

RANK NATION GAME WINS W(OT) L(OT) LOSE SCORE POINTS
1 :GER Germany 4 4 0 0 0 15:4 12
2

:FRA France

4 3 0 0 1 11:7 9
3 :AUT Austria 4 2 1 0 1 13:9 8
4 :DEN Denmark 4 2 0 0 2 11:10 6
5 :NOR Norway 4 0 0 1 3 6:14 1
6 :SVK Slovakia 4 0 0 0 4

4:16

0

 

 

Following Nations Have Qualified for Women´s IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships 2017

  • :GER Germany
Edited by hckosice
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Stars and Stripes succeed

Americans rally to edge host Canada on Day One

Stars and Stripes succeed

USA's Hilary Knight #21 with a scoring chance against Canada's Emerance Maschmeyer #30 while Marie-Philip Poulin #29 defends during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship.

 

 

The defending champion U.S. bounced back to beat Canada 3-1 in an exciting first-day showdown between the likely finalists at a sold-out Sandman Centre.

 

Hilary Knight scored twice and Brianna Decker had the winner for the Americans. Knight and Decker finished 1-2 in tournament scoring last year.

"We stuck to it, focused on ourselves, and put ‘em in when it counted," said Decker.

Laura Fortino replied for Canada, which drew first blood early in the third period but couldn't hold on to the lead.

The Americans have won six out of the last eight Women’s Worlds, but Canada is the reigning four-time Olympic champion. The U.S. defeated Canada 7-5 in the 2015 gold medal game in Malmo, Sweden. So there was plenty of pride on the line. It was a hard-fought but clean game.

"It was a good start to the tournament," said the U.S.'s Monique Lamoureux. "Obviously it was a little bit sloppy for us, not connecting on some passes and some turnovers. We’ll want to eliminate those down the road in the tournament. But you win games in different ways."

As has become the norm between the North American archrivals in recent years, the U.S. had better wheels and puck movement overall, but Canada countered with its tenacious, never-say-die attitude.

Canadian goalie Emerance Maschmeyer looked good in her first career Women’s Worlds start, going head-to-head with the U.S.’s Alex Rigsby. Last year, Maschmeyer was Canada’s third goalie and did not play. The U.S. outshot Canada 38-23.

"It’s always disappointing getting a loss, especially against the U.S," said Maschmeyer. "It doesn’t feel good, but it gives us motivation to get them back again."

The Americans enjoyed the territorial advantage in the first period. Maschmeyer was tested from every angle during a U.S. two-man advantage that lasted over a minute.

"The big positive to take out of this game is that we killed off two 5-on-3’s," said Fortino. "We were dominant all game. Moving forward, I think we’re really going to believe in our special teams."

In the second period, the torrid pace continued. Rigsby slid across to make a great save on Brianne Jenner’s one-timer off the rush. The U.S. came close to taking the lead off an Anne Pankowski near-breakaway.

The third period was hell bent for leather. The partisan red-and-white crowd at the Sandman Centre was loud and excited.

Fortino put Canada on the board 14 seconds in on the power play. Natalie Spooner and Meghan Agosta had come within a hair's-breadth of scoring during a goalmouth scramble. Fortino snared the puck above the hash marks and whizzed it over a prone Rigsby.

"I feel like I assisted on their first goal," said Monique Lamoureux. "I passed it right to [Fortino]. But I thought we bounced back and played well."

Just past the four-minute mark of the third period, Maschmeyer made a stellar glove save on the U.S.'s Dana Trivigno to maintain the lead. Krzyzaniak nearly put Canada up by two when she put one off the crossbar moments later.

Halfway through the third, Knight burst into the Canadian zone on the left side and unleashed a wrister that tipped off Krzyzaniak's stick and over Maschmeyer's glove to tie it at 1-1.

With 6:05 left, Decker gave the Americans the lead, pouncing on the rebound from a Monique Lamoureux drive in the slot and capitalizing.

In the dying moments, the Canadians pulled Maschmeyer for a sixth skater and used up their timeout, but to no avail. Knight added an empty-netter with 20 seconds left.

"We’ve just got to find a way to put the puck in the net more 5-on-5, and continue to work on building off the momentum we generated on our kill there," said Canadian coach Laura Schuler.

"I think we came in with the mindset that we need to get better," said U.S. coach Ken Klee. "And obviously we’re pleased with the win, but we can certainly improve in a lot of areas."

The game saw the return of three famous Canadian veterans who did not play at the 2015 tournament: forwards Hayley Wickenheiser and Meghan Agosta and defender Meaghan Mikkelson.

On Tuesday, the Americans will face Finland, while Canada takes on Russia.

 

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Carlsson to the rescue

Last-minute goal lifts Swedes over Czechs

Carlsson to the rescue

Sweden's Pernilla Winberg #16 celebrates a third period goal while Czech Republic's Klara Peslarova #29 looks on dejected during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship

 

 

Olivia Carlsson scored with eight seconds left in regulation to give Sweden a 3-2 win over the newly promoted Czech Republic on Monday.

 

It was both a heartbreaking and heartening start to the tournament for the Czechs, who have only appeared once at an elite IIHF Women’s World Championship before. Interestingly, in their debut in Ottawa 2013, they upset Sweden 3-2. It’s still their only win in Women’s Worlds history.

The Damkronorna, who outshot the Czechs 31-18, narrowly avoided making the same mistake twice. They will now set their sights on Japan on Tuesday. The Czechs will battle the Swiss earlier that day.

This game was nearly half over when Petra Herzigova beat Swedish goalie Sara Grahn to open the scoring for the Czechs. Sweden’s Sabrina Lambertz Kuller tied it up with a shorthanded tally with 2:24 remaining in the middle frame.

The teams exchanged goals in the first half of the third period. Hanna Olsson gave Sweden its first lead of the night on the power play at 1:22, but Aneta Ledlova notched the equalizer at 7:58.

Carlsson’s late winner was her first goal in 10 career Women’s Worlds games. Pulling Czech netminder Klara Peslarova with eight seconds left for an extra attacker was a brave but futile gesture.

Sweden is looking for its first medal at a top-level IIHF women’s event since 2007 (bronze).

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Finns outlast Russia

Niskanen hot as defending bronze medalists win

Finns outlast Russia

Finland's Jenni Hiirikoski #6 celebrates a second period goal against Russia with Michelle Karvinen #21, Riikka Valila #13, Rosa Lindstedt #4 and Petra Nieminen #11 during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship.

 

 

In a rematch of last year’s bronze medal game, Finland beat Russia 5-3 at the Sandman Centre. Special teams dominated, as both sides had two power play goals.

 

Tanja Niskanen scored twice and added an assist, and Jenni Hiirikoski, Ronja Savolainen, and Noora Tulus had singles for Finland, which defeated the Russians for third place last year in Malmo, Sweden.

Iya Gavrilova had a pair of unassisted goals, and Anna Shibanova also scored for Russia. The Russians have medaled twice in tournament history, winning bronze in 2001 and 2013.

"Of course, they scored three times," said Hiirikoski. "Maybe too much. But whatever! We scored five times today, and Tanja was on fire. It was good."

Finnish starting goalie Meeri Raisanen got the win versus Russian counterpart Nadezhda Morozova in this spirited, up-and-down affair. Finland outshot Russia 28-25.

"Obviously I’m not glad about the result," said Russia's Alexandra Vafina. "The luck wasn’t on our side. We had so many chances. The game was really good, pretty fast. I’m just a little bit disappointed."

Niskanen broke a scoreless tie with 1:18 left in the first period when she circled into the slot and beat Morozova high to the blocker side with a smart wrister.

The Russians drew even at 11:44 of the second period. On a nice solo effort, Gavrilova danced out from behind the goal line and surprised Raisanen with her quick release. It is Gavrilova’s tenth IIHF Women’s World Championship dating back to 2004

With the towering Rosa Lindstedt providing the screen in front, Hiirikoski’s centre point shot trickled home to put Finland up 2-1 less than three minutes later.

The Finns took a penalty for too many players on the ice, and it cost them. Russia struck back with Shibanova’s great one-timer from the right faceoff circle at 15:43 to make it 2-2.

Finland jumped ahead again at 3:31 of the third. Working on a 5-on-4, Niskanen tried to find Venla Hovi standing on the doorstep in front and the puck found its way past Morozova.

"I have played with her this season in Jyvaskyla so I know how good she can be," Hiirikoski said of Niskanen.

However, Russia wasn't done yet. Vafina provided the screen as Gavrilova cut out of the corner to the goalie’s left and zipped it home at 7:05 with the man advantage.

But then the Finns pulled away.

At 8:07, Savolainen cruised in off the blue line and took a rising shot that found twine past Morozova’s right post.

Finland went up 5-3 at 10:35 when Noora Tulus corraled a rebound on her backhand and flung it past the goalie.

Vafina missed on a partial breakaway late in the game, dinging it off the crossbar. That was as close as the Russians would get.

"We will keep trying harder next time," said Vafina.

Tough tests loom. Next up for Russia is host Canada on Tuesday. The Finns will play the Americans in the early game at the Sandman Centre that day.

"We just have to be brave and do our best," said Hiirikoski. "Keep the puck moving. Let’s see what happens."

 

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Switzerland tops Japan

Four points for Huni in return to Swiss team

Switzerland tops Japan

Switzerland's Christine Hueni #19 celebrates her first goal against Team Japan assisted by Switzerland's Lara Stalder #7 during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship.

 

 

Unlike in 2015, the Japanese weren’t able to open these Women’s Worlds with an upset win. They fell 4-2 to Switzerland at McArthur Island Centre on Monday.

 

Forward Christine Huni (nee Meier) showed no rust after a five-absence from this tournament. She led the way with two goals and two assists for Switzerland

Japan shocked host Sweden with a 4-3 shootout win to kick off last year in Malmo, and they’ll get another crack at the Swedes on Tuesday evening.

This game was a duel between Florence Schelling, named Best Goalie at the 2014 Olympics, and Nana Fujimoto, named Best Goalie at the 2015 Women’s Worlds. Switzerland outshot Japan 32-28.

Japan ran into early penalty trouble, and the Swiss took advantage. Appearing in her first Women’s Worlds game since 2011, Huni drew first blood with a power play goal at 7:33.

With under two minutes left in the first period, Japanese captain Chiho Osawa tied it up.

However, it took just 1:50 into the middle frame for Lara Stalder to put Switzerland up 2-1 with a two-man advantage. The Japanese would never equalize again.

Third-period goals by Phoebe Stanza and Huni put the game out of reach. Yuka Hirano cut the deficit to 4-2 on the power play with about 10 minutes left, but that was as good as it got for coach Yoshifumi Fujisawa’s troops. Daniela Diaz earned her first Women’s Worlds win as the Swiss head coach.

Next up for Switzerland is the newly promoted Czech Republic. The Czechs last appeared in this tournament in Ottawa 2013.

 

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Ice Hockey 2015 - 2016 Discussion Thread
Posted (edited)

A little off topic.

but guys do you remember the different goalhorns of each team at last worlds? there a video of the official dj introducing all 16 songs parts:d I just love the goal horns, I love this when a team score and the selected song is played.

which one is your prefered from those 16?

the video start at 0:45

 

 

For me the top 3 are for sure

Latvia and Goran Bregovič (Gas, Gas) :d

 

 

Finland and Scooter

 

 

and Slovenia , I just loved this goal horn:d

 

 

 

Edited by hckosice
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Ice Hockey 2015 - 2016 Discussion Thread
Posted (edited)

Pre-Championship Ranking

USA first, tough battle for PyeongChang 2018

  Pre-Championship Ranking

Who will make it to PyeongChang 2018? Sweden (5th) and Russia (6th) are currently the countries at the edge for the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Ranking and can improve their position in Kamloops

 

 

The International Ice Hockey Federation has released its Women’s Pre-Championship Report where the United States and Canada lead tied in points.

 

The report includes all World Ranking points from the Women’s World Championships and Olympics between 2013 and 2015 with just the numbers from the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship to be added in April to get the final 2016 IIHF Women’s World Ranking.

 

The United States are first with 2,360 points followed by Canada with the same number of points. (The result from the last event is the tie-breaker.) That means whichever of the two North American rivals fares better in the upcoming 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship will also be ranked first in the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Ranking.

 

This ranking will be more important than the last ones since it will determine the seeding for the 2018 Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament including determining the five automatically qualified teams and the seeding for the Olympic Qualification tournaments to be played during the 2016/2017 ice hockey season.

 

The top-5 teams from the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Ranking and host Korea will be automatically qualified while other nations can earn one of the two additional spots through the Olympic Qualification events.

 

The points indicate that the USA and Canada are already qualified no matter how they end up in Kamloops while the chances for the Czech Republic and for Germany (plays in Division I) are zero and for Japan slim to gain enough points in order to move to fifth place or higher in the new World Ranking.

 

Therefore it’s mainly Finland, Switzerland, Sweden and Russia that will battle for the three remaining spots for direct qualification to PyeongChang 2018. The teams that reach the semi-finals will make it, the others will have to wait, see and calculate.

 

The team from this quartet that doesn’t make it will as consolation have the right to host one of the two Final Olympic Qualification tournaments in February 2017. This right can be used by the top-ranked teams (6th and 7th) that don’t reach the top-5 and direct qualification for PyeongChang 2018.

 

The other team getting that right will likely be Japan. The Japanese will overtake 7th-ranked Germany, which will not earn enough points to defend its position after being relegated last year and playing in the Division I Group A tournament this spring. The Czech Republic also have a theoretical chance to take seventh place in the World Ranking but will likely need to finish three or four positions better than the Japanese in Kamloops to overtake the Asians.

 

The nations ranked 6th to 11th will get a spot in the Final Olympic Qualification that will take place in two groups from 9 to 12 February 2017. Preliminary Rounds will take place with other teams in August and November 2016. Click here for more information on the Olympic Qualification for the men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

 

Click here for the 2016 Women’s Pre-Championship Report.

Edited by hckosice
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Taipei women defend title

Home team wins Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia

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The participating teams pose for a joint photo after the closing ceremony of the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia Division I

 

Host and defending champion Chinese Taipei won the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia Division I on home ice at the Taipei Arena Ice Land in Taipei City.

For the ladies from the island of Taiwan no hurdle was too big in the five-team round-robin event as the result in the final game between the two undefeated teams showed. Chinese Taipei beat Thailand 8-1 in front of 793 spectators in what became the tightest result for the home team.

Previously Chinese Taipei had already beaten Malaysia, India and Singapore, as did Thailand in its first three games.

Hui-Chen Yeh was the dominating player for her team as she led all players in scoring with 14 goals and 8 assists for 22 points earning her the Best Forward award. She and her linemate Ting-Yu Hsu each scored a hat trick in the final 8-1 win over Thailand.

Yeh scored the important first two markers in the game against Thailand while Nuchanat Ponglerkdee tied the game at one at 4:59. Following that marker Chinese Taipei reacted with seven unanswered markers.

Thailand’s Ponglerkdee was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. She followed second in point scoring and was the best goal scorer with 15 goals and 3 assists for 18 points. Her teammate Sirikarn Jittresin was named Best Defenceman while India’s Noor Jahan won the award for the Best Goaltender.

Singapore, which already participated in 2004 but missed out on last year’s event, earned a third-place finish after starting the event with an 8-1 victory against India while finishing it by defeating Malaysia 4-1.

India and Malaysia were the newest countries to form a women’s national team in ice hockey. Both teams competed for the first time and collected important experiences in their debut. Both teams came to Taipei City under very different conditions at home. In Malaysia games and practices usually happen at an ice rink in a shopping mall near the capital of Kuala Lumpur while in India hockey is mostly played in the northern region of Ladakh close to the Himalayas where ice is only available during two or three months when the ponds are frozen.

Malaysia had the better start when the two teams went head to head. Inarah Haniff opened the scoring after 27 seconds and had another marker 13 minutes later to make it 2-0. The Malaysians added another goal late in the first period and two more midway through the game for a commanding 5-0 lead. Then India reacted with a pair of markers from Tsewang Chuskit and another one from Stanzin Dolkar but eventually the Malaysian women’s team got its first-ever win, 6-3
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1 hour ago, intoronto said:

 

 

Wow!

 

yes. wow. and when we imagine that only few years ago we played the olympics...:( the situation in our womens hockey is just a disaster and trust me as I see how the things works here the future looks even worse

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