Ice Hockey IIHF World Championships 2017

[mrv86 3,138]

Why does it always the Mexican Men's team has to throw everything away; losing 6-2 to Israel won't help their chances, but again, I was expecting a miracle

[Finnator123 292]

Let's go ladies!  FIN- CAN in the Semis. 2nd win over Canada can happen

[hckošice 14,836]

WOMEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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Quarterfinal - 3Avs2B

Finland - Sweden  4-0

 

 

 

 

 

[hckošice 14,836]

WOMEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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Quarterfinal - 3Avs2B

Finland - Sweden  4-0

 

Finns outclass Sweden

Semi-finals date with Canada set

 

Finland is playing like it belongs with the North Americans and has distanced itself from the pack in Europe. Tonight's 4-0 win was just another example.

 

Finland overwhelmed Sweden to the tune of 4-0 today to earn another crack at Canada on Thursday. That semi-finals game at 3.30pm will be an elimination game and will give the women's hockey world a better indication of where Suomi stands.

 

Its 4-3 win over Canada and close 5-3 loss to the U.S. within the last few days ago has raised the bar significantly.

 

The Finns limited Sweden to just 16 shots on their own Noora Raty, including just one in the final period, while firing 42 at Sara Grahn. 

 

"Everyone did their job today, and we played well as a team," Sara Sakkinen, one of the goalscorers for Finland, said. "We stuck to our game plan, and we're learning to trust each other and to play with confidence. We've put a lot of hard work into getting to where we are today."

 

Sweden will now play in the 5th/6th placement game earlier in the day on Thursday against the loser of tonight's Russia-Germany tilt.

 

"They have a good team," acknowledged Pernilla Winberg of Sweden. "They played tough from the beginning, and we had a bad first ten minutes. We were supposed to come out hard, but it didn't go our way today."

 

"We were solid for sixty minutes, and now we have so much conifidence getting ready to play Canada," Finland's Susanna Tapani enthused. "We scored the first goal again, and that really helps. We haven't always done that. We feel good in our zone, and now we feel we can play in their zone as well."

 

Finland started like a house of fire and never let up. The first goal came at 4:19 after a Rosa Lindstedt shot went wide of the goal and bounced quickly back to the crease. Sakkinen lifted the loose puck over Grahn for the early lead. 

 

Less than three minutes later, the Finns doubled their lead on a play that also started with a point shot. This time Minttu Tuominen took a low shot that was tipped in by Linda Valimaki standing right at the top of Grahn's crease. 

 

Suomi made it 3-0 just 3:03 into the second on a power play. Jenni Hiirikoski, the best female defenceman in the world, nailed a low slapshot that Grahn couldn't get over to cover. 

 

The Finns were better in every aspect of the game. Their speed off the rush intimidated the Swedes and kept them on their heels, and the Finnish defence was airtight, allowing only shots from the outside and protecting Raty to perfection. As well, the Finns are now a team with some size and physicality, adding another element to their game all over the ice.

 

Finland put an accent on the win with a great goal at 8:53 of the third. Riikka Valila found Tapani all alone in front and made a perfect pass to her. Tapani cradled the puck for a moment, took aim, and drilled a high shot over the glove of Grahn.

 

"Coming in as underdogs, I thought we had a good chance today," Winberg said. "The last couple of years we've been fifth or so, so we were hoping to get past the quarter-finals. Now, we have to aim for fifth again, so that's what we'll do."

 

[hckošice 14,836]

WOMEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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Quarterfinal - 4Avs1B

Russia - Germany  1-2

 

 

[hckošice 14,836]

WOMEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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Quarterfinal - 4Avs1B

Russia - Germany  1-2

 

Germany does it!

Delarbre's late goal defeats Russia, 2-1

 

It's official. Germany is the Cinderella team of the 2017 Women's World Championships. It has defeated Russia, 2-1, and qualifies for Thursday's semi-finals.

 

The hero of the moment is Marie Delarbre who scored midway through the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock.

 

Rebecca Graeve got the puck at the point and made a sensational slap-pass to Delarbre by the side of the goal. She redirected the puck to perfection, beating Nadezhda Alexandrova who was expecting a shot from the point. The goal came at 9:12 and proved to be the winner.

 

"I was standing back door and Rebecca made a great play getting the puck to me," Delarbre said. "I didn't think; I just got my stick on the puck. It was fantastic."

 

The Russians almost tied the game in the final minute with Alexandrova on the bench, but Olga Sosina's shot rang off the post and stayed out.

 

"Sometimes you need to get lucky to win, and my post helped me out there," Harss said with a wide smile.

 

The Germans will play the United States at 7.30pm Thursday night for a place in the gold-medal game. Russia will now face Sweden in the 5th/6th place game.

 

"We seized the opportunity," Delarbre said. "Our coach gave us details to worry about, our game plan, how to think, and that helped us a lot."

 

The result ensures Germany of at least a fourth-place finish, making it the highest placing ever at the WW for a newly-promoted team (Switzerland was fifth in 2005) and the highest finish for Germany in any year (it finished fifth in 2013).

 

The performance is all the more impressive given that last year the team played in Division I and in mid-February of this year the team failed to qualify for the 2018 Olympics. "We were all pretty upset we didn't quailfy," Delarbre admitted, "but that's life. You have to keep your head up and look forward."

 

"We never gave up," Harss enthused. "We kept pushing and we believed in ourselves. We started off well this tournament, and kept going, and we got momentum. We had nothing to lose tonight, but Russia had all the pressure. They had to win."

 

The only time Germany had defeated Russia in six previous meetings was back in 2005.

 

Russia got on the board early, scoring at 2:36 of the opening period off two great plays. First, Alevtina Shtaryova fired a great pass from the left boards to Anna Shokhina in the slot. Shokhina then displayed great hands and patience, deking Harss and tucking the puck in behind her.

 

"I know my team can score goals," Harss said, "so that gives me confidence. After they scored, it felt like no big deal. It was one shot. I knew we could come back."

 

The Russians controlled the period but Germany never seemed overwhelmed or intimidated by the moment. In the second, the Germans came right back to tie the score and really should have had a couple of more goals to boot.

 

Germany had a great chance to tie early in the second when Marie Delarbre fed Nina Kamenik in the slot, but Kamenik bobbled the puck and couldn't get off a good shot.

 

A little while later, Iya Gavrilova had Harss beat but hit the post with her shot along the ice.

 

Russia incurred two early penalties in the middle 20 but killed these off despite some good pressure by the Germans. After killing a penalty of its own, Germany drew three penalties in short order resulting in two lengthy 5-on-3 situations.

 

The Germans didn't take long to capitalize. Julia Zorn fed Kerstin Spielberger with a soft pass that Spielberger ripped to the far side, tying the game at 14:44. But they maintained a 5-on-3 and couldn't do further damage.

 

Teams left the ice tied, 1-1, a score the Germans were happy with, the Russians not so much.

 

And then the improbable happened. Delarbre scored, and Germany is in the semi-finals.

 

[hckošice 14,836]

WOMEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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Relegation Round - Match 1

Switzerland - Czech Republic  2-4

Serie Standing 0-1

HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

[hckošice 14,836]

WOMEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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Quarterfinal - 3Avs2B

Finland - Sweden  4-0

HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

[hckošice 14,836]

WOMEN'S

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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Quarterfinal - 4Avs1B

Russia - Germany  1-2

HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

[hckošice 14,836]

MEN'S

DIVISION II GROUP B

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

 

 

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DAY 2

 

Mexico 2 - 6 Israel
Period-by-Period: 0-0, 0-4, 2-2
April 5th 2017, h. 13:00, Paradise Ice Skating Rink Botany Downs, Auckland

 

North Korea 11 - 3 Turkey
Period-by-Period: 6-0, 4-2, 1-1
April 5th 2017, h. 16:30, Paradise Ice Skating Rink Botany Downs, Auckland
 

China 5 - 2 New Zealand
Period-by-Period: 1-1, 1-1, 3-0
April 5th 2017, h. 20:00, Paradise Ice Skating Rink Botany Downs, Auckland

 

Round-Robin Provisional Standing After Day 2

 

Nation	P	W(OTW)	L(OTL)	GF	GA	+/-	Pt.
China	2	2(0)	0(0)	10	4	+6	6
North Korea	2	1(0)	1(0)	12	8	+4	3
Israel	2	1(0)	1(0)	8	7	+1	3
Mexico	2	1(0)	1(0)	7	7	0	3
New Zealand	2	1(0)	1(0)	6	6	0	3
Turkey	2	0(0)	2(0)	4	15	-11	0