Ice Hockey IIHF World Championships 2017

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WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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Preliminary Round

DAY 10

 

Group A
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Denmark 2 - 4 Sweden
Period-by-Period: 0-1, 0-2, 2-1
May 14th 2016, h. 20:15, LANXESS Arena, Cologne

 

Sweden books QF spot

Lundqvist and Backstrom enjoy win

 

Niklas Backstrom bagged two points to lift Sweden to a 4-2 win over Denmark and clinch a quarter-final spot in Sunday's evening game in Cologne.

 

Sweden brought high-profile reinforcements into its local derby against Denmark – and delivered the victory that confirms its quarter-final spot.

 

Niklas Backstrom, who flew in from Washington on the morning of the game, claimed a goal and an assist in Sweden’s 4-2 success, while New York Ranger Oscar Lindberg also tallied a point in his first game of the competition. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist, playing alongside his twin brother Joel, shrugged off the after-effects of his flight from New York to backstop the team with 19 saves.

 

"I felt alright, but not great," Lundqvist admitted after the game. "It's a big rink, my timing's still a bit off and I need a couple of days and a few practices. As the game went on I felt a bit better and obviously we got to spend a lot on the PK so that was good for me. I got to see a lot of how we work together."

 

But it was two goals from William Nylander late in the second period that took the game beyond a hard-working Danish team and made the Maple Leafs forward his country’s leading scoring with nine points. A rally from Denmark in the third period made things tense before Backstrom wrapped up the win with a late power play goal.

 

"It was a good win, we needed it," the goalie added. "Maybe it got a bit close at the end but we finished it off on that power play."

 

With all the hype about the Swedish goalie it was inevitable that the first key play of the game would involved a Lundqvist. The surprise, perhaps, was that it was Joel who made the early impact, opening the scoring in the third minute. Denmark’s Oliver Laurdisen got caught in possession by Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Kruger supplied the feed from behind the net and Lundqvist fired home a wrister from the right circle.

 

For a time it seemed that Sweden would put the game out of reach early on. William Nylander drew a big save from George Sorensen after leaving Matias Lassen trailing in his wake, then Kruger was almost gifted a shooting chance when Emil Kristensen got tangled up bringing the puck out from behind the net.

 

Victor Hedman felt that the new faces on the roster contributed to the team's flying start. "We have added some world class players and we're fortunate to have them on the team," he said. "It means a lot for us to get that kind of talent. To get Hank back there to play a game for us, and then Backstrom and Oscar in on three of the four goals, it's a big contribution from them."

 

Despite yielding the early initiative, Denmark was determined to remind its neighbour that it faced a battle. Nikolaj Ehlers came close to embarrassing the Swedish defence when his blistering pace sent him surging down the left-hand channel. His shot went through Lundqvist’s five-hole only to come back off the post to safety.

 

And Lundqvist had another moment to shine in the middle session with one of those up-close saves that have become something of a trademark for the New York Ranger. Sent sprawling by Matias Lassen’s deflected shot from the point, Lundqvist reacted smartly to block Morten Poulsen’s attempt on the rebound.

 

However, the Danes were struggling to get shots on the net – a failing that was painfully visible on a ponderous 5-on-3 power play shortly after the midway point. Sweden killed that penalty with relative ease and, once back to full strength, showed how an incisive offence can function. John Klingberg’s pass picked out Nylander with an astonishing amount of space beyond the Danish D; the forward took advantage to force Sorensen to make his move before steering the puck round the goalie’s outstretched skate.

 

Lindberg also got an assist on that one, helping him to settle into the tournament. "I was just getting into it in the first period, getting some puck movement and holding onto it," said the forward. "We have a lot of players from North America, good players, and so I think we have a good shot to do well the rest of the way through."

 

Then Nylander added a third as the second period drew to a close. Describing a huge arc from the boards to the slot, he exchanged passes with Backstrom before roofing the puck from close range to give the Swedes a comfortable advantage.

 

The third period saw another fine Lundqvist save, this time flinging out a pad to deny Frederik Storm before the goalie was finally beaten in the 50th minute. Oliver Ekman-Larsson lost out to Ehlers and he fed Morten Madsen for a close-range finish to make it 1-3. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, visiting Cologne to promote next year’s tournament in Copenhagen, finally had a moment to cheer from his countrymen.

 

It got better for Denmark with four minutes to play. Ehlers, whose lightning pace was always a problem for Sweden's defence, set off again on a dizzying rush around the Swedish end. A drop-off pass for Markus Lauridsen was gobbled up by the Danish D-man and suddenly it was a one-goal game.

 

"On that second goal we scored you can see that Nik wheels around and they don’t know where the rest of the guys are," said Oliver Lauridsen. "Then my brother went back door to tap it in.

 

"They scored a couple of goals on mistakes on our part. I thought we had a chance all the way too bad they got a 3-0 lead. "

 

Danish excitement got the better of the team, though. A slashing call against Julian Jakobsen reversed the game's momentum and Backstrom converted the power play to settle the outcome in Sweden's favour.

 

 

 

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2017

 

 

 

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Preliminary Round

DAY 10

 

Group B
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Switzerland 2 - 3OT  Finland
Period-by-Period: 2-1, 0-0, 0-1, OT: 0-1
May 14th 2016, h. 20:15, AccorHotels Arena, Paris

 

Group B Provisional Standing After Day 10

 

Nation	P	W(OTW)	L(OTL)	GF	GA	+/-	Pt.
Canada	5	4(0)	1(1)	22	8	+14	13
Czech Republic	6	5(2)	1(0)	22	11	+11	13
Switzerland	6	4(2)	2(2)	19	13	+6	12
Finland	6	4(2)	2(1)	18	17	+1	11
Norway	5	2(0)	3(2)	10	10	0	8
France	6	3(2)	3(0)	19	18	+1	7
Belarus	6	1(0)	5(1)	11	24	-13	4
Slovenia	6	0(0)	6(1)	12	32	-20	1

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2017

 

 

 

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Preliminary Round

DAY 10

 

Group B
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Switzerland 2 - 3OT  Finland
Period-by-Period: 2-1, 0-0, 0-1, OT: 0-1
May 14th 2016, h. 20:15, AccorHotels Arena, Paris

 

Filppula completes comeback

Swiss blow early 2-0 lead, lose 3-2 in OT

 

Valtteri Filppula scored on a bad-angle deke at 2:24 of overtime to complete Finland's comeback from 2-0 down.

 

The win gives the Finns 11 points and moves them to fourth place in Group B while the Swiss stay at 12 points, now in the 3rdplayoff spot.

 

The game mirrored last night's Swiss win over Canada in which the Canadians went up 2-0 early only to lose in overtime, 3-2. Tonight, the Swiss had the 2-0 lead and lost in OT.

 

"It often happens that teams can’t keep a 2-0 lead," said Finn Mika Pyorala. "You start to play too defensively and too passive, and the other team gets momentum. In the second, they pulled back a bit, so we wanted to keep going and felt we had a good chance."

 

The winning goal came when Filppula cut in from a sharp angle and slid the puck between Leonardo Genoni's pads.

 

"He had some good speed coming from the side of the net and I didn’t close the five-hole," Genoni said. "It’s my fault. I’m sorry for the team."

 

"We weren’t ready at the start," said Pyorala. "We gave them two easy goals but we started to push hard and in the third period they got a little tired. We got the momentum and created more scoring chances."

 

The Swiss dominated the opening period but the Finns went to the dressing room down but a goal. The scoring started at 4:40 off the stick of the hot Fabrice Herzog, who scored twice 24 hours ago in the big win over Canada.

 

Tonight, he took a slick feed rom linemate Tanner Richard and fired a bullet over the glove of Joonas Korpisalo for the early Swiss lead.

Six minutes later, the Swiss went up 2-0. This time it was a Joel Genazzi point shot that went all the way, bouncing off Korposalo’s glove and in.

 

That was enough for coach Lauri Marjamaki. He pulled his goalie and inserted Harri Sateri, and the move worked. He didn't allow a goal the rest of the way.

 

"It’s not the goalie’s fault," Lajunen said of the move. "It’s a wakeup call for the whole team."

 

The Finns came within one in the final minute. Andres Ambuhl took a minor and misconduct for checking to the head of captain Lasse Kukkonen, who was clearly hurt on the play.

 

Jusso Hietanen batted a loose puck off Genoni and in with 59.3 seconds remaining, giving the Finns a psychological boost heading off after 20 minutes, despite being outshot 11-4.

 

The second was the reverse, as the Finns dominated and were unlucky not to have at least tied the game. But Genoni was solid in goal and his teammates collapsed around him and blocked every shot imaginable.

 

Indeed, the best scoring chance of the period belonged to Swiss Denis Hollenstein who stole a puck inside his blue line and raced down ice, only to be stoned by Sateri.

 

The Swiss had two great chances to increase their lead early in the third. Vincent Praplan was robbed from the top of the crease by Sateri, and then the Swiss had a power play but couldn't do much with it. These missed opportunities cost them.

 

Finland got a power play of its own, and a point shot by Ville Lajunen went all the way at 7:40 to make it a 2-2 game.

 

"When we’re down 2-0 that early, we know there’s time and if we get one goal, we’re right back in it," Jani Lajunen noted. "In hockey, a 2-0 lead isn’t that big. It was a good comeback for us."

 

Both teams have a day off before finishing their round robin on Tuesday. Finland plays Canada and the Swiss take on the Czechs.

 

 

 

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Preliminary Round

DAY 10

 

Group A
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Slovakia 1 - 6 United States
Period-by-Period: 0-1, 1-3, 0-2
May 14th 2016, h. 16:15, LANXESS Arena, Cologne

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

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2017

 

 

 

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Preliminary Round

DAY 10

 

Group B
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

France 2 - 5 Czech Republic
Period-by-Period: 0-1, 1-2, 1-2
May 14th 2016, h. 16:15, AccorHotels Arena, Paris

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

[hckošice 16,623]

MEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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Preliminary Round

DAY 10

 

Group A
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Denmark 2 - 4 Sweden
Period-by-Period: 0-1, 0-2, 2-1
May 14th 2016, h. 20:15, LANXESS Arena, Cologne

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

[hckošice 16,623]

MEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Preliminary Round

DAY 10

 

Group B
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Switzerland 2 - 3OT  Finland
Period-by-Period: 2-1, 0-0, 0-1, OT: 0-1
May 14th 2016, h. 20:15, AccorHotels Arena, Paris

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

[hckošice 16,623]

MEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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Preliminary Round

DAY 11

 

Group A
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Denmark vs Italy
Period-by-Period:
May 15th 2016, h. 16:15, LANXESS Arena, Cologne

 

Spoiler

 

Russia vs Latvia
Period-by-Period:
May 15th 2016, h. 20:15, LANXESS Arena, Cologne

 

Spoiler

 

Group B
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Canada vs Norway
Period-by-Period:
May 15th 2016, h. 16:15, AccorHotels Arena, Paris

 

Spoiler

 

France vs Slovenia
Period-by-Period:
May 15th 2016, h. 20:15, AccorHotels Arena, Paris

 

Spoiler

 

[Finnator123 342]

@hckosice  I was so close saying, that since when Filppula became Hännikäinen

[Finnator123 342]

8 hours ago, hckosice said:

MEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Preliminary Round

DAY 11

 

Group A
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Denmark vs Italy
Period-by-Period:
May 15th 2016, h. 16:15, LANXESS Arena, Cologne

 

Russia vs Latvia
Period-by-Period:
May 15th 2016, h. 20:15, LANXESS Arena, Cologne

 

Group B
Central European Summer Time (GMT +2)

Canada vs Norway
Period-by-Period:
May 15th 2016, h. 16:15, AccorHotels Arena, Paris

 

France vs Slovenia
Period-by-Period:
May 15th 2016, h. 20:15, AccorHotels Arena, Paris

 

Victories for Denmark, Russia , Canada & France. Those are my predictions.