Ice Hockey IIHF World Championships 2017

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Womens

 

Division I Group B World Championships 2017 in Katowice (POL)

Day 5 (14th April 2017)

GMT +2

 

Last Day

 

13:00  Kazakhstan vs Italy  2-1

16:30  Slovakia vs Latvia  8-0

20:00  China vs Poland  6-0

 

 

  Slovakia  won the tournament with 12 points thanks 4 wins from the 5 tourney games. A deserved gold and promotion to the Womens Division I Group A next year. Thankfully the slovak girls showed very decent play and especially a great shooting efficiency. Scoring the most goals of all teams (22) and strong defence conceding only 9 goals were the major points of the quick return to higher division for the in average the youngest team of the tournament.

 

Silver went to Kazakhstan with 10 points, Despite a very bad start with 2 losses, the Kazakhs won all 3 remaining games including a win over Slovakia. In overall it resulted in a great silver medal. And in case the IIHF council will increase in July the Womens top division participants to 10 teams, Kazakhstan will automatically also qualify for dividion IA thanks their second place here.

 

Latvia took the bronze medal, Finishing the championship with 9 points for 3 wins. Latvia fought for promotion untill the end, only Latvia and Slovakia were in the advancing battle before todays last round.

 

China another pre-tournament favourite finished 4th with 8 points, Same as for the Kazakhs, China can regret their first matches which costed them in final a better and expected rank.

 

5th finished Italy with 4 points, The Italians did the most important. They managed to grab points from games they focused the most, a 3 points won against the hosts and 1 point after GWS lose against the Chinese was enough for the azzuri to stay in this division.

 

Last 6 place go to the host. Poland collected only 2 points in this tournament after the GWS win over Kazakhstan (their 1st ever historic womens win in a Division I category match) it´s unfortunately not enough to avoid the quick relegation after only 1 year in this division back to the Womens Division II Group A next year, where Poland will replace South Korea promoted team from this years Womens Div IIA tournament played like a pre-olympic test in PyeongChang few weeks ago to this Division IB next year.

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Tomorrow another very busy IIHF WCh day, the Mens U18 Top Division continue with another 4 games, also the Mens Divison III has in it´s schedule a important first knockout phase day.

 

And tomorrow will start also 2 new tournaments. Bled in Slovenia will host just 2 days after the end of the mens U18 Div IA another tourney this time a championship in which they will also participate the Mens Under 18 Division I Group B.

6 Nations and will battle for the only available spot for the Mens Under 18 division IA next year and to avoid last place and the relegation to the Mens Under 18 Division II Group A.

 

Also the very last womens IIHF this seasons world championship tournament will start tomorrow in Austria, the womens Division I group A. 6 Nations and will play for the 1st place and promotion to the Womens next year top division, and to avoid last place and relegation to the next years Womens Division I Group B tournament as well.

 

 

 

Mens

 

Division III World Championships 2017 in Sofia (BUL)

Day 4 Schedule (15th April 2017)

GMT +3

 

Semifinals

16:30  1B-2A Luxembourg vs Hong Kong

20:00  1A-2B Bulgaria vs Georgia

 

5th-8th Places Semifinals

10:00  3B-4A South Africa vs Bosnia and Herzegovina  5-0 Forfeited

13:00  3A-4B Chinese Taipei vs United Arab Emirates

 

Livestream

 

 

 

 

Mens

 

Under 18 Top Division World Championships 2017 in Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves (SVK)

Day 3 Schedule (15th April 2017)

GMT +2

 

Group A in Poprad

15:30  Finland vs Switzerland 

19:30  Canada vs Slovakia

 

Group B in Spišská Nová Ves

15:30  United States vs Russia

19:30  Sweden vs Czech Republic

 

Livestream

 

 

 

 

Mens

 

Under 18 Division I Group B World Championships 2017 in Bled (SLO)

Day 1 Schedule (15th April 2017)

GMT +2

 

13:00  Italy vs Ukraine

16:30  Slovenia vs Japan

20:00  Poland vs Austria

 

*Tournament Format:  6 Nations will play a usual Round-Robin Tournament, The 1st Ranked Nation will be promoted to the Mens Under 18 Division I Group A next year where they will replace Hungary relegated from this years U18 mens Division IA tournament played last week also in Bled. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ranked nation will have to stay in this division also next year. The 6th ranked Nation will be relegated to the Mens Under 18 Division II Group A tournament next year where they will replace Romania promoted nation from this years U18 mens Div IIA tournament played few weeks ago in South Korea.

 

Livestream

 

 

 

Womens

 

Division I Group A World Championships 2017 in Graz (AUT)

Day 1 Schedule (15th April 2017)

GMT +2

 

13:00  Denmark vs France

16:30  Hungary vs Japan

20:00  Norway vs Austria

 

*Tournament Format:  6 Nations will play a usual Round-Robin Tournament, The 1st Ranked Nation will be promoted to the Womens Top Division next year where they will replace Czech Republic relegated from this years Womens Top Division World Championships played few weeks ago in United States. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ranked nation will have to stay in this division also for the next year. The 6th ranked Nation will be relegated to the Womens Division I Group B tournament next year where they will replace Slovakia promoted nation from this years Womens Div IB tournament which finished just today in Poland.

 

 

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WOMEN'S

DIVISION I GROUP B

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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Slovakia bounces back

Women win promotion at first attempt

  The Slovak women’s national team celebrates winning the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group B after a victory in the deciding game against Latvia.

 

Slovakia’s women recovered from last year’s relegation to take gold in the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group B. A comprehensive 8-0 victory over Latvia in Friday’s decisive game saw Andrej Schober’s team secure top spot and an immediate return to Division IA.

For Latvia, it was another season of frustration. Last time, in Italy, the Baltic nation came second behind Hungary; this time, despite remaining in contention until the final day, it was again unable to secure top spot and promotion.

Friday’s showdown between Slovakia and Latvia also promised to be a shootout between Nicol Cupkova and Liga Miljone, the two players in contention for the leading goalscorer prize. The pair came into the game tied on five goals apiece, although Latvia’s Miljone was four points up thanks to her handful of assists throughout the tournament. With two goals and three assists, Cupkova ended the competition as the top goal- and point-scorer.

The 24-year-old, who plays for Agidel Ufa in Russia’s Women’s Hockey League, wasted little time in moving ahead on the goal tally, opening the scoring in the fifth minute. Iveta Fruhauf forced a turnover out on the boards, Cupkova took over the loose puck and rushed to the net to beat Kristiana Apsite from close range.

That set the tone for the game. Slovakia was clinical when opportunities came its way; Latvia struggled to carve out clear chances of its own. Cupkova was an influential presence on offence throughout the game. The second goal, scored by Viktoria Ihnatova in the 27th minute, began with Cupkova’s rush round the back to stretch the Latvian penalty kill. Two unassisted goals followed, with Cupkova’s linemate Jana Kapustova adding a third before Fruhauf thumped in a fourth from the blue line to put the outcome beyond doubt with almost half the game still to play.

Cupkova got her second of the night – and her seventh of the competition – to make it 5-0 before the second intermission. She showed some lovely skills to get past her opponent, only for Apsite’s pads to block the initial effort. But the puck bounced for Kapustova whose pass found Cupkova wide open at the back door.

Two further assists in the final stanza lifted Cupkova to 7+4=11 points, topping the scoring for the tournament. Ihnatova and Lucia Drabekova were the beneficiaries of her helpers as Slovakia’s lead grew. Viktoria Maskalova added an eighth to wrap up the scoring in the 56th minute, while goalie Romana Kiapesova had 14 saves for her first shut-out of the tournament.

Kazakhstan finished second, separating Slovakia and Latvia. This was an improvement on its bronze from 12 months earlier. The silver medallist had a frustrating tournament, defeating both of the teams that contested the decisive Friday showdown, but missing out on a shot at gold due to a slow start that saw losses against China (0-2) and Poland (3-4 in a shoot-out) in the opening two games before Alexander Maltsev’s team hit its stride.

The battle to avoid last place and potential relegation went down to the final game, with host nation Poland needing to beat China in regulation to move up from last place. The Chinese, looking to capitalize on a sudden flurry of interest in ice hockey in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, had other ideas. Di Deng dominated as her team fired in four unanswered second period goals to secure fourth place ahead of Italy and Poland.

 

 

Results Thread

 

 

 

 

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MEN'S UNDER 18

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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Group A

Finland 5 - 1 Switzerland
Period-by-Period: 2-0, 2-0, 1-1
April 15th 2017, h. 15:30, Poprad Arena, Poprad

 

Fantastic Finns win, 5-1

Swiss no match for puck control of Suomi

 

Finland moved to the top of Group A by beating the Swiss (1-1). Linus Nyman got off a plane and had two goals and assist for the winners.

 

Linus Nyman pretty much came from the airport after an overnight flight from Canada to score the first two goals of the game and assist on another to lead Finland to a convincing win over Switzerland this afternoon in Poprad.

 

Nyman's Kingston Frontenacs were swept by the Peterborough Petes in OHL playoff action on Thursday night, and Nyman was on a plane the next day to Slovakia. So was teammate Eemeli Rasanen, a defenceman.

 

The rest of the team was also sensational today in defeating the Swiss soundly.

 

"The first few minutes were tough, but then I got going," Nyman said. 

 

"It was tough going to the bigger ice," Rasanen admitted. "It's harder to close the gap and you have so much more time."

 

Nyman opened the scoring at 7:28 on a power play when he was the third man in a nice tic-tac-toe passing play. Goalie Gianluca Zaetta tired to intercept Aarne Talvitie's pass to Nyman, but the Finn knocked in the puck from the top of the crease anyway.

 

"I just went to the net as we were controlling the play, and I scored on the rebound," Nyman said. "It was a good feeling for me and big goal for the team."

 

The Finns made it 2-0 late in the period thanks to some nice patience by Nyman. Carrying the puck and looking for a play, he drifted through the high slot, waited for a screen, and then fired a shot past Zaetta at 16:14.

 

Suomi doubled its lead with two quick goals midway through the second period. On the first, it was sensational forechecking from Rasmus Kupari that created the chance. He hounded Nico Gross for several seconds before forcing a turnover, then made a nice pass to Jesperi Kotkaniemi in front. Kotkaniemi made no mistake with the point-blank shot.

 

The nicest goal of the tournament so far came off the rush after an ill-adivsed Swiss pinch at the Finland blue line. Vesalainen brought the puck up ice, dished to Nyman inside the Swiss end, and Nyman made a crisp pass to Joni Ikonen, who redirected the puck quickly into the open side at 13:19, just 65 seconds after Kotkaniemi's goal.

 

Nicolas Muller got the Swiss on the board at 7:40 of the third. After some nice puck movement by the Swiss, he banged in a rebound with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen down and out.

 

Any hopes of a comeback, however, were dashed just 13 seconds later when Otto Latvala counted another one for the Finns.

 

Finland next plays Latvia tomorrow while the Swiss have a day off before facing Canada on Monday night.

 

 

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MEN'S UNDER 18

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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Group B

United States 5 - 4 Russia
Period-by-Period: 0-1, 3-0, 2-3
April 15th 2016, h. 15:30, Arena Spisska Nova Ves, Spisska Nova Ves

 

U.S. hangs on for 5-4 win

Fierce Russian rally falls just short

 

The United States jumped out to a 4-1 lead but had to hang on for a 5-4 win in Spisska Nova Ves this afternoon.

 

The win keeps the Americans perfect at 2-0 while the Russians fall to 1-1. 

 

Ryan Poehling had two goals for the winners while teammate Sean Dhooghe chipped in with three assists. 

 

Dmitri Samorukov had a pair of goals for the Russians.

 

Russia opened the scoring midway through the first period when Pavel Koltygin capitalized on a short-handed chance.

 

The lead held up for more than 20 minutes as the Russians played a tactical game that frustrated the U.S. But patience paid off, and the Americans counted three goals in the final six minutes of the second.

 

Grant Mismash tied the game at 13:57, and two and a half minutes later Poehling put his team up for good. He added a second goal, short-handed no less, in the final minute.

 

But the order of the first two periods gave way to puck chaos in the third as the America s tried to distance themselves and the Russians fought back valiantly.

 

Josh Norris made it 4-1 early, but Samorukov got his first of the night to cut the lead to two.

 

Quinton Hughes made it 5-2 midway through the period, and the Americans perhaps felt the heat was off. Not so. 

 

Samorukov scored again with 3:27 remaining, and then Ivan Chekhovich made it 5-4 just 36 seconds later. That was as close as they got, though, and even with a sixth attacker in the final minute the Russians couldn't get the tying goal.

 

Both teams have Easter Sunday off. The Americans play the Czechs on Monday afternoon, after which Russia and Belarus tangle.

 

 

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First ever point against Canada in the U18 category

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MEN'S

DIVISION III

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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5th-8th Places Semifinals

South Africa 5 - 0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Forfeited
April 15th 2017, h. 10:00, Winter Sports Palace, Sofia
I
Chinese Taipei 4 - 0 United Arab Emirates
Period-by-Period: 3-0, 0-0, 1-0
April 15th 2017, h. 13:00, Winter Sports Palace, Sofia

 

 

Semifinals

Luxembourg 8 - 1 Hong Kong
Period-by-Period: 3-0, 2-1, 3-0
April 15th 2017, h. 16:30, Winter Sports Palace, Sofia
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Bulgaria 9 - 3 Georgia
Period-by-Period: 4-0, 2-1, 3-2
April 15th 2017, h. 20:00, Winter Sports Palace, Sofia

 

 

 

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Mens

 

Under 18 Division I Group B World Championships 2017 in Bled (SLO)

Day 1 (15th April 2017)

GMT +2

 

13:00  Italy vs Ukraine  2-4

16:30  Slovenia vs Japan  10-0

20:00  Poland vs Austria  2-3 After OT

 

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Womens

 

Division I Group A World Championships 2017 in Graz (AUT)

Day 1 (15th April 2017)

GMT +2

 

13:00  Denmark vs France  1-0

16:30  Hungary vs Japan  0-1

20:00  Norway vs Austria  4-6

 

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MEN'S UNDER 18

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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Group A

Canada OT4 - 3 Slovakia
Period-by-Period: 3-1, 0-1, 0-1, OT: 1-0
April 15th 2017, h. 19:30, Poprad Arena, Poprad

 

 

Canada wins thriller in OT

Mattheos scores the decisive goal

 

Stylianos Mattheos snapped a hard wrist shot over the shoulder of Jakub Kostelny at 2:38 of overtime to give Canada a 4-3 win over Slovakia.

 

"I came off the bench and saw McIsaac had the puck," Mattheos recounted. "I called for it and thought I saw a lane for the shot, so I took it, and it went in."

 

Canada had struck for three late goals in the first period to erase a 1-0 deficit, but Slovakia scored two goals--late in the second and early in the third--to send the game to overtime. 

 

The hosts were spurred on by a sellout crowd of 4,318 that was supportive all night long.

 

"It's kind of hard to focus sometimes when they're against you," Isaac Ratcliffe said, "but it also makes for an awesome atmosphere."

 

"We have a lot of character," enthused defenceman Marek Korencik. "We lost by one goal to Finland and one goal to Canada. We have a good team, and our fans are amazing. We lost because we played badly for 90 seconds. That's it. I'm proud of this team. We were better than Canada, maybe. And Canada is something."

 

The win moves Canada to 2-0 while the Slovaks have a single point with two losses (regulation and OT).

 

This was not an easy win, and Slovakia certainly deserves all the credit in the world for playing their collective hearts out.

 

For Canada, undisciplined play was the number-one feature of the game. Canada drew nine minors as well as a misconduct to Maxime Comtois in the first for shooting the puck between goalie Juraj Sklenar's pads long after a whistle.

 

To the plus side, Canada's entire team blocked countless shots in front of Ian Scott. 

 

In the end, though, Slovakia might well have been the better team this night, save for a two-minute lapse at the end of the first.

 

"They were a very strong team, and I don't think we were expecting that," Ratcliffe said. "We came out a little slow, but we got three quick goals, which was great."

 

Canada had won all nine previous meetings at the U18 level, and the Slovaks had never scored more than two goals in a game. All that changed tonight as Slovakia earned its first ever point from Canada.

 

"We can play better," Mattheos said. "We got better as the game went on, but we took way too many penalties. It's a bit of discipline, but the standards are also a little tighter, so we have to get used to that."

 

The Slovaks whipped the crowd into a frenzy by scoring at 8:37 on a power play. Adam Ruzicka’s bad-angle shot was awkwardly stopped by Scott, but the puck rolled in behind him and Milos Roman was there to knock it over the goal line.

 

Canada didn’t tie the score until a late flurry stunned the crowd into silence. It started at 18:18 when Mackenzie Entwistle skated down the left side and tried to pass in front. Sklenar got a stick on the puck, but it bounced in front anyway to Kyle Olson who snapped it in.

 

Just 18 seconds later, Canada took the lead. Mattheos drove down the left wing and cut sharply in front untouched. He made a little deke on Sklenar and stuffed the puck in the far side.

 

Then, with just eleven seconds remaining, Ratliffe collected a loose puck in centre ice after a block inside the Canadian blue line. He wired a hard shot over Sklenar’s glove from the top of the circle.

 

"It was a great block by Jaret [Anderson-Dolan]," Ratcliffe recalled. "It was a character play, and I couldn't have scored without that block. I was able to grab the puck in the neutral zone and get a shot off. Luckily enough, it went in."

 

The Slovaks got the only goal of the second, and deservedly so. They outskated Canada and drew several penalties and were rewarded at 16:34 on a great play from Roman. Driving down the left wing, he spotted Patrik Hrehorcak to the back side and fed him a hard pass. 

 

Hrehorcak wired a sleek one-timer past Scott to revive the crowd and make the third period all the more interesting. 

 

"We just wanted to keep going after the first," Korencik said. "We had 40 minutes left to play, so let's play!"

 

It didn't take long for the game to take another turn. Adam Liska found a loose puck in the slot and snapped a shot off the far post past Scott at 2:38 to tie the game. The goal came short-handed and proved to be the goal that sent the game to a 3-on-3 overtime.

 

"We got a little too comfortable when we got the 3-1 lead," Mattheos admitted. "But in the end we were on the penalty kill too long. It was good to get the win."