Ice Hockey 2015 - 2016 Discussion Thread

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O Captain! My Captain!

Zeile with three points as Latvia tops Denmark

Latvia's Deniss Smirnovs #10 celebrates after scoring a first period against Denmark during relegation round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.

 

 

Latvia beat Denmark 5-1 to open the best-of-three relegation series at the ICON Sports Center on Thursday. Captain Tomass Zeile had a goal and two assists.

 

Erlends Klavins scored twice, Pauls Svars racked up four assists, and Renars Krastenbergs had two assists. Netminder Gustavs Grigals was solid as his teammates outshot Denmark 26-22.

Latvia is striving to return for its third straight IIHF World U18 Championship next year in Slovakia. The newly promoted Danes would like to make it two years in a row at this tournament for the first time since 2004 and 2005. But their hopes took a blow here.

Latvia drew first blood at 13:25 when Dennis Smirnovs beat Danish goalie Kasper Krog. But Denmark struck back to tie it up just over two minutes later when Joachim Blichfelt scored his team-leading fourth goal of the tournament on the power play.

Denmark’s power play could have been even more of a difference-maker. Coming into this game, it was clicking at 25 percent. But although the Latvians took nine minors in total, the Danes didn’t take full advantage.

Near the midpoint of the second period, Vlads Vulkanovs tallied the eventual winner as Latvia went up 2-1 on the power play.

The Danes pressed for the equalizer in the third as the teams traded rushes. But on a Latvian power play with some deft puck movement, Svars fed Zeile in the slot for a two-goal lead at 11:14.

Klavins put the game out of Denmark’s reach when he scored to make it 4-1 with 4:48 left. He then added an empty-netter for his team-high fourth goal of the tournament with 1:23 to go.

The series resumes on Friday at 19:00 at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

 

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ROAD TO

IIHF MEN´S ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016

 

FRIENDLY MATCHES

 

Denmark  0 - 3  Norway    

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

21st April 2016, h. 19:30 (GMT +2)

 

 

EURO HOCKEY TOUR 2015/16 SERIE

 

Finland  2 - 3  Czech Republic    

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

21st April 2016, h. 18:30 (GMT +3)

 

Sweden  4 - 1  Russia    

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

21st April 2016, h. 19:30 (GMT +2)

 

 

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Finland - Russia  4-3

 

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For Whom The Bell Tolvanens

Hat trick for Finland's #20 in QF win vs. Russia

Finland's Eeli Tolvanen #20 celebrates a first period goal against Russia with Kristian Vesalainen #10, Aapeli Rasanen #22, Markus Niemelainen #21 and Henri Jokiharju #28 during quarterfinal round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship

 

 

Eeli Tolvanen got a hat trick to lead Finland to a 4-3 quarter-final win over Russia. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen debuted in goal since starter Leevi Laakso was sick.

 

The Finns, who won silver at last year's tournament in Switzerland, will play in the final four for the sixth time in eight IIHF World U18 Championships. In the semi-final, they will face the winner of USA-Czech Republic.

"We battled hard all game," said Tolvanen. "I’m proud of the team."

Laakso, Finland’s goalie for all four group games, was a late scratch, but Luukonen was competent as the Finns outshot Russia 32-26. It was a hard-fought affair.

"The guys did good, and Ukko-Pekka played a really great game for that situation, that pressure," said Finnish head coach Jussi Ahokas. "We were the favorites before the game. It was an early game, and we didn’t quite get the best out of ourselves. But the biggest thing is just to win, and that’s what our team did."

Jesse Puljujarvi, Finland's 2016 World Junior MVP, made his presence felt with a goal and an assist after being blanked in his debut in the 3-1 loss to Canada.

The Russians, who did their best with a primarily U17 roster at this tournament, will go home empty-handed. Russia's last U18 medal (bronze) came in 2011.

Maxim Marushev, Dmitri Samorukov, and Yaroslav Alexeyev scored for Russia.

"Actually, we did well [here]," said Alexeyev. "Everybody struggled hard. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough. So that’s why we lost."

The Finns appeared to be a little sleepy with the noon start. They initially couldn’t get anything going on a pair of first-period power plays. Russian goalie Danil Tarasov made nice saves on Tolvanen and Markus Nurmi.

Finland finally broke through with 3:41 left in the first period. Kristian Vesalainen, surrounded by Russian defenders, got the puck to Tolvanen, and he cut into the middle and unleashed a wrister that beat Tarasov on the glove side.

At 6:31 of the second period, Puljujarvi showed why he's a prospective top-three pick for the upcoming NHL draft. Killing a penalty, the Russian defence backed up against the big forward, giving him plenty of time to cue up a wrist shot that sailed past Tarasov’s glove.

Of Puljujarvi's play, Ahokas said: "The big thing is that we’re getting him the puck more and he’s getting more comfortable, getting to know the guys. The best games for him are still ahead."

The teams traded goals in a wild flurry midway through the game.

The Russians got on the board at 10:07 of the second. Danil Lobanov cut in off the left side and, at the last second, slid a slick pass across the crease to Marushev, who banged it in the open side to make it 2-1.

Finland had a swift answer. Just 41 seconds later, Tolvanen got loose on the right and beat Tarasov high to the stick side.

The Russians replied 17 seconds later to cut the deficit to 3-2, as Samorukov glided to his left and floated a high shot past Luukkonen through traffic.

With 21 seconds left in the middle frame, Tolvanen completed his hat trick with the eventual winner, blasting a power play one-timer from the right faceoff circle right through the Russian netminder.

"He’s a goal-scorer," Ahokas said of Tolvanen. "He had tons of chances against Canada where he usually puts the puck in. But now he had a great three goals. He’s going to be a tremendous player."

Russia tried to fight back late in the third period. Mikhail Bitsadze sent a sweet cross-ice pass to Yaroslav Alexeyev, whose one-timer along the ice made it 4-3 with the man advantage at 12:31.

But there would be no last-minute heroics, even though coach Sergei Golubovich pulled Tarasov for the extra attacker in the dying moments.

Yaroslav Alexeyev said he was happy with Russia's play overall despite not medaling: "It was a really good performance for this team."

 

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Canada - Switzerland  9-1

 

 

 

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Canadians wipe out Swiss

Jost another day at the office, Canada wins QF

Canada's Tyson Jost #7 celebrates with Evan Fitzpatrick #1 after scoring a first period goal against Switzerland during quarterfinal round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.

 

 

Canada advanced to the semi-finals with an overpowering 9-1 win over Switzerland on Thursday. Captain Tyson Jost set the tone with three goals and two assists.

 

Canada has medaled at the last four IIHF World U18 Championships (gold in 2013 and bronze in 2012, 2014 and 2015) and gets a chance to extend that streak. This quarter-final victory was Canada's best all-around effort to date.

"It was a big game for us," said Brett Howden, who also shone with two goals, plus three assists of the gorgeous variety. "I feel like every game, we’ve been getting stronger as a team and getting closer together off the ice. That’s a big key point as to why we’re having so much success."

The Canadians will face the winner of Sweden-Slovakia in the semi-finals.

Jost, who stars for the BCHL's Penticton Vees, is gunning to win the U18 scoring title, as he already has 14 points in five games, tying Connor McDavid's single-tournament Canadian record. Last year, U.S. star Auston Matthews topped the parade with 15 points in seven games. Russia's Nikita Kucherov owns the single-tournament record with 21 points in 2011.

"I wouldn’t have any of this success if it wasn’t for my teammates," said Jost, who will play at the Ralph Engelstad Arena next season with the University of North Dakota. "They’re such amazing players and they’re getting me pucks in the right spots. I’ve had wide-open nets for tap-ins."

Michael MacLeod scored twice, and David Quenneville and Cameron Morrison both had a goal and an assist. Dante Fabbro had three assists and William Bitten chipped in two assists.

The Canadian power play was on fire, clicking four times.

In goal for Canada, Evan Fitzpatrick came through when tested as his team outshot Switzerland 45-26. The Swiss went back to Philip Wuthrich after his 32-save debut in the 4-0 loss to the United States.

Of Fitzpatrick, Jost said: "When you have him in net, you can really trust him and rely on him. It makes it easier to play your game when you’ve got such a stud in net like that."

Janik Loosli got Switzerland's lone goal.

The underdog Swiss shocked the hockey world by blanking Russia 5-0 in last year's quarter-final, but couldn't imitate that feat here. They've only medaled once in tournament history (silver in 2001) and have only made the top four on three occasions (fourth in 1999, 2000, and 2015).

"For 60 minutes, Canada was the better team," said Swiss captain Livio Stadler. "No words about that. I don’t know what to say. The tournament is over. We tried to do our best the whole tournament. Now, 9-1 in the quarter-finals is pretty tough for the mentality of the team."

The first sign that it might not be Wuthrich’s day came when the Swiss goalie tried to play the puck from the corner to his right and almost put it into his own net.

Jost opened the scoring on a shorthanded breakaway at 6:40, outracing the Swiss defence and zipping a shot five-hole.

Canada went up 2-0 at 11:56, thanks to exceptional power play puck movement. From the goal line to Wuthrich’s left, Howden sent a beautiful diagonal pass over to Quenneville in the faceoff circle, and he pounded the puck into the gaping net.

As the quarter-final wore on, the size advantage of the Canadian players (186 cm and 87 kg on average) would hamper the Swiss (183 cm and 81 kg on average). Switzerland’s Simon le Coultre tried to fake his way through defenceman Logan Stanley and got dumped heavily into the side boards.

With just over two minutes left in the first, Fitzpatrick stopped a great point-blank chance from Marco Miranda to preserve the two-goal lead. He slid across on a Swiss odd-man break to frustrate Miranda again in the opening minute of the second period.

Jost made it 3-0 on the power play at 3:36, capitalizing on a beautiful spinaround pass delivered by Howden from "Wayne Gretzky's office" behind the net.

"The power play was just clicking tonight," said Howden. "They’re starting to go in. If we can carry that on to the next couple of games, that’ll be good for us."

It was 4-0 Canada at 10:17 after Howden, falling on the rush, got the puck over to Morrison, and he beat Wuthrich for his first goal here in Grand Forks.

The Canadians continued to play solid defence and jump on Swiss errors as they occurred. McLeod took a nice pass from Jordan Kyrou and slipped past three Swiss defenders to loft a cheeky backhander home for the fifth Canadian goal at 16:19.

At 18:37, Loosli spoiled Fitzpatrick's shutout bid on the power play, whacking in a rebound after the Canadians bobbled the puck in front of their net. It hardly mattered.

In the third period, Howden put Canada up 6-1 with the man advantage at 2:01. Jost set up Fabbro on the rush and he hit the post, enabling Howden to tap in the rebound.

The Canadian captain completed his hat trick at 10:07, racing down to convert William Bitten's dazzling backhanded saucer pass.

At 11:21, Owen Tippett came down and fed McLeod for an easy tap-in to make it 8-1. Howden cruised in off left wing and put it five-hole on the 9-1 goal at 15:24.

The lone area of concern for the Canadians after this game might be the sin bin. They took seven minor penalties against a lower-echelon opponent, and that tendency could prove costly in the semi-finals or final.

Switzerland's three best players of the tournament were named after the quarter-final: Nico Hischier, Dominik Volejnicek, and Tobias Geisser.

"We were a young team here," said Stadler. "Our 1999 and 2000 players are a very good group. It will be a good team next year, and I wish them the best of luck."

 

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Sweden - Slovakia  7-2

 

 

 

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Swedes eliminate Slovaks

Sweden moves on to face Canada in semis

Sweden's Linus Lindstrom #28 celebrates a second period goal against Slovakia's Roman Durny #30 during quarterfinal round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.

 

 

Seven different players scored in Sweden’s 7-2 quarter-final rout of Slovakia at the ICON Sports Center. The Swedes will face Canada in the semi-final.

 

Sweden captured the silver medal each year from 2010 to 2012, but hasn’t hit the podium since. They’re chasing their first gold medal in IIHF World U18 Championship history.

While this was a disappointing note for the Slovaks to finish on, they can take a little solace in recording their third consecutive top-eight finish. Their best result at this tournament remains 2003’s silver.

Slovakia’s biggest highlight in this game was when Adam Ruzicka opened the scoring at 6:02.

After that, it was all downhill as Sweden’s skill took over.

Erik Brannstrom notched the tying goal at 11:37, and Linus Lindstrom scored the eventual winner at 15:24 on a two-man advantage. Rickard Hugg got a 5-on-4 goal just 1:04 later to send Sweden to the dressing room with a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.

The blue-and-yellow team’s blitz continued in the second period at even strength. Jesper Bokvist made it 4-1 at 13:59. Axel Jonsson Fjallby got Sweden’s fifth goal at 18:50, and Jesper Bratt rounded out the scoring in the middle frame 41 seconds later.

In the third period, Slovakia's Vojtek Zelenach cut the gap to 6-2 with his power play goal at 4:28. However, no miraculous comeback was in the offing.

With 11 minutes remaining, Tim Wahlgren got his team-leading fifth goal of the tournament with the man advantage to restore Sweden's five-goal edge.

Swedish goalie Filip Gustavsson made 18 saves for the win, while Slovak goalie Roman Durny had 35 saves in a losing cause.

This was the third straight game in which the Swedes have potted five or more goals. Now the question is whether they can sustain that winning momentum against the surging Canadians.

 

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United States - Czech Republic  8-0

 

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U.S. blanks Czechs in QF

victorious Americans set to meet Finns next

The Czech Republic's Josef Korenar #30 makes a pad save against USA's Kieffer Bellows #22 during quarterfinal round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.

 

 

The host United States hammered the Czechs 8-0 in Thursday's last quarter-final in Grand Forks. The defending champs will meet Finland in the semi-final.

 

Clayton Keller and Nicholas Pastujov stepped up with a goal and two assists apiece. Joey Anderson scored twice, and Graham McPhee and Ryan Lindgren each had a goal and an assist. Casey Mittelstadt and Trent Frederic added singles. Adam Fox had a pair of assists.

"We’ve been working hard and we’ve been getting rewarded," said Keller, who sits second overall in tournament scoring with 10 points. "I think we’re just going to continue to do that and come out strong for our game against Finland."

The U.S. edged the Finns 2-1 in overtime in last year's gold medal game. 2016 World Junior MVP Jesse Puljujarvi and his teammates are all that stand between U.S. bench boss Danton Cole taking his group to another final and a shot at a third straight gold medal.

"Any time you play the Finns, it’s going to be a battle," said Mittelstadt. "They’re super-skilled. It’s going to be a great game."

The American attack remains both balanced and bountiful, as all four lines contributed to the scoring here. Goalie Jake Oettinger recorded 15 saves for his first tournament shutout, as his teammates fired 38 shots at the Czech net.

"We came out in the first period and played very well defensively," said Czech coach Robert Reichel. "We tried not to give any chances to the U.S. team, and it worked very well. But after the first period, the U.S. scored two quick goals and they played very well. They had confidence in their game. They scored another goal, and after 3-0 we didn’t have a chance to come back."

For the ninth time in 10 years, the Czechs will finish outside the U18's top four. The exception was 2014, when they won a surprising silver medal.

Knowing they couldn’t afford to play run-and-gun, the Czechs tried to clog up the middle of the ice and collapse around their net to keep the more skilled Americans at bay. That rope-a-dope strategy was reasonably successful in the first period. Although mostly bottled up in their own end and outshot 13-2, the Czechs kept the game scoreless.

But the good times wouldn’t last long for Reichel’s gang.

"In the first period, we played real well, but we couldn’t break the dam and get in," explained Cole. "But we played the way we wanted to. We stuck with what we wanted to do: keep shooting the puck and don’t lose any confidence. Just keep playing the right way. Sooner or later, one will go in."

At 4:50 of the second period, the U.S. grabbed the lead. Logan Brown was allowed to tee up a huge slap shot right down the middle, and Mittelstadt banged the rebound past Czech starting goalie Josef Korenar.

"It was fun going to the net and kind of finding a greasy one," said Mittelstadt.

One minute later, it was 2-0 for the Americans when Frederic circled off the boards and through the right faceoff circle to slide a shot on goal. It squeezed through the kneeling Korenar’s pads – a tough one for the Czechs to swallow.

Czech forward Kristian Reichel (Robert’s son) appeared to get shaken up on a hit along the boards in the U.S. zone. He struggled to regain his footing and was held up by captain Marek Zachar. However, he recovered and would continue.

At 15:35, the Americans took a 3-0 lead. Keller fed it down low to Kieffer Bellows, and his deft reverse pass in front to Anderson was converted.

The U.S. killed off any hope of a Czech comeback just 36 seconds into the third period. With a one-timer along the ice from the left faceoff cricle, Keller finished off a tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Fox and Lindgren to make it 4-0.

At 3:20, McPhee added the fifth American goal, cutting from the left point to the middle and going top shelf on Korenar.

It took only 13 more seconds for the U.S. to go up 6-0, as Pastujov sprawled to knock a loose puck past the goalie's right skate.

That prompted Reichel to yank Kolenar in favor of Dominik Groh. It was purely a kind gesture. This was the first time Groh has seen action at this IIHF U18 World Championship.

At 9:51, Anderson got his second of the night shorthanded on a dazzling diagonal pass by Keller to make it 7-0. Finally, Lindgren rounded out the trouncing with a power play goal with 1:58 left.

"These games are hard in a different way mentally, trying to finish games out and do it the right way and not get away from the way we want to play," Cole said. "But when it’s tight, that’s hopefully when you’ll see our best."