Ice Hockey 2015 - 2016 Discussion Thread

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Switzerland - Czech Republic  1-3

 

 

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Czech out this upset!

Vanisova scores twice in second Czech win ever

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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Finland - United States  1-2

 

 

 

 

 

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U.S. gets past Finland

Raisanen busy, Lamoureux-Davidson scores winner

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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Japan - Sweden  0-2

 

 

 

 

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Japan gets blanked

Swedes take revenge for last year

Sweden's Pernilla Winberg #16 skates with the puck while Japan's Nana Fujimoto #1 defends her net during preliminary round - 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship.

 

 

Swedish goalie Sara Grahn needed just 16 saves to record a 2-0 shutout over Japan on Tuesday night. It was Sweden’s second straight win in Group B.

 

The Swedes were happy to beat the Japanese after falling 4-3 to them in a shootout in Malmo to kick off the 2015 Women’s Worlds. Even more importantly, this results puts Sweden in a great position for the quarter-finals.

It was a tense, scoreless game through two periods.

Pernilla Winberg, who led Sweden at the 2014 Olympics with seven points, got her team on the board unassisted just 59 seconds into the third.

Emma Eliasson added a power play marker at 5:33 to make it 2-0. That was all the Damkronorna needed.

Final shots favoured Sweden 35-16.

Japan pulled goalie Nana Fujimoto with under two minutes to play, but couldn’t cash in with the extra attacker. The Japanese are winless through two games.

Sweden will finish its preliminary round schedule against Switzerland on Thursday and the Japanese will face the Czechs.

 

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Canada - Russia  8-1

 

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Crushin' the Russians

Johnston, Mikkelson, Krzyzaniak shine in romp

Canada's Meaghan Mikkelson #12 celebrates with Tara Watchorn #27, Brianne Jenner #19, Rebecca Johnston #6 and Jennifer Wakefield #9 after a second period goal against Russia during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship

 

 

Host Canada exploded for six unanswered second-period goals and went on to thump Russia 8-1 for its first win of the 2016 tournament on Tuesday.

 

Coach Laura Schuler's squad trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes, marking the first time Russia has ever held a lead over Canada at the Women's Worlds. But that'll be a historical footnote.

Rebecca Johnston set the tone with a goal and three assists. Defenders Meaghan Mikkelson and Halli Krzyzaniak both scored twice. Jennifer Wakefield had a goal and a helper, and captain Marie-Philip Poulin and Emily Clark each added goals. Brianne Jenner chipped in four assists.

"We just needed to get that first goal," said Johnston. "We had a lot of good chances in the first period. Going into the second period, we weren’t down on ourselves. We knew we just had to keep getting shots on net."

Iya Gavrilova, a longtime star for the University of Calgary Dinos, tallied for Russia, which remains pointless.

"The second period was the turning point," Gavrilova said. "I think when they scored on us, we tried to score again. And you can’t do that against teams like Canada and the U.S. You have to be patient. You have to play the same way we did in the first period. I think we just weren’t patient enough."

Although Canada clearly outplayed Russia in the early going, Gavrilova silenced the home crowd when she stickhandled into the slot and whipped a shot past goalie Charline Labonte to make it 1-0 Russia at 13:29. It was her third goal so far in Kamloops.

Just 40 seconds into the second period, Johnston notched the shorthanded equalizer. The Canadians raced into the Russian zone and Jenner found Johnston in the right faceoff circle, where she fired it past Russian starter Anna Prugova.

At 3:07, Canada went up 2-1 thanks to Krzyzaniak. The Russians failed to clear it out of their zone, and the blueliner’s drive from the right point floated in.

Only 35 seconds later, Wakefield powered to the net on a partial breakaway and pushed the puck through the goalie’s legs while crashing to the ice.

"I think they just started to pour in after the first goal," Johnston said.

Trailing 3-1, the Russians tried to switch up the momentum by switching goalies. Prugova -- who also played for the 2013 bronze medal team -- came out in favour of Maria Sorokina. But it wasn’t the magic bullet they desired.

Mikkelson scored the next two Canadian goals, one at even-strength at 4:42 and the next on a 5-on-3 power play 38 seconds later. The roof had fallen in on Russia, and there was no way to disguise it. Five goals in under five minutes is a statement.

"In the first period, we saw they were playing a bit of a trap," said Mikkelson. "So we just talked in the dressing room as a D-corps and said we needed to skate the puck a little bit more. Obviously, putting a couple in the net is always a plus."

Mikkelson, returning to Canada's lineup after taking time off to become a mother, nearly completed the natural hat trick on a penalty shot after the Russians were whistled for illegally covering up the puck in the goal crease. However, Sorokina denied her deke.

With 2:05 left in the second period, Krzyzaniak made it 6-1 on the power play, pinching into the faceoff circle and zinging it over Sorokina's left shoulder.

"I think I just have a little bit more confidence shooting," said Krzynaziak. "We’ve had a lot of great screens in front and a lot of people creating chances for me."

Russia failed to capitalize with an extended 5-on-3 advantage that overlapped the end of the second period and the start of the third. At this point, it was largely academic -- although Canada might be concerned about its lack of discipline. In fact, the red-and-white team totalled seven consecutive minors during this stretch.

"I think that’s something we need to be better at moving forward: discipline," Mikkelson said. "We know kind of what the refs are going to call now, the little hooks and interference and sticks and all that. It’s good that this is happening early on in the tournament so that we know that it’s something we can’t do moving forward."

At 13:19 of the third, Poulin made it 7-1 shorthanded on a beautiful give-and-go with Jenner. Clark rounded out the scoring on a nice flip shot with 2:08 left.

Mikkelson raved about the Sandman Centre crowd and Canadian fans in general: "Whenever we play in Canada, we have such an incredible crowd that comes out and so much support. Our fans have been amazing so far. You hear from them on social media and everything. I think it’s important for them to know that we really feel their support."

Canada improved its all-time Women's Worlds record versus Russia to eight wins and zero losses, dating back to 1997. It was the third time in tournament history Canada has beaten Russia 8-1.

The host nation can clinch a semi-final berth on Thursday by defeating Finland.

Also on Thursday, the Russians will hope for a better fate against the United States compared to last year's tournament. In Malmo, the U.S. hammered Russia 9-2 in round-robin play and 13-1 in the semi-finals.

"We just gotta play all 60 minutes against them," Gavrilova said. "Teams like that, you have to stay patient, follow the system, and stay out of the box."

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17 hours ago, Gianlu33 said:

Wow,  what a disaster for Slovakia 

 

yes disaster, really embarassing results.. This is just shamefull. the situation in our womens hockey last few months is just unacceptable. the future looks very very bad..

[Finnator123 299]

If there's going to be any medal for Finland, i'll guess that it's going to be bronze