Ice Hockey 2015 - 2016 Discussion Thread

[hckošice 14,822]

Canada off to semis

Finns to face underdog Czechs in quarter-finals

Finland's Meeri Raisanen #18 looks on as Canada's Laura Fortino #8 and Natalie Spooner #24 celebrate after a first period goal by Marie-Philip Poulin #29 during preliminary round action 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship

 

 

A three-goal outburst in the second period helped Canada beat Finland 6-1. Canada gets a semi-final bye. The Finns face the Czechs in the quarter-finals

 

Jennifer Wakefield scored twice and Marie-Philip Poulin, Rebecca Johnston, Brianne Jenner, and Jennifer Saulnier added singles for Canada. The Canadians finished second in Group A behind the perfect Americans.

"I think it was our best team game," said Wakefield. "It was really good to carry through momentum. We played a really strong Russia game, and taking it to the next step tonight, I think it’ll be great for whoever we face in the semi-finals."

Petra Nieminen replied for Finland, which came third in the group.

Shots on goal favored Canada 41-19.

The host nation is now two wins away from capturing Women's Worlds gold for the first time since 2012. Every tournament dating back to 1990 has had a Canada-U.S. final, and that'll likely unfold here again.

"Obviously we started with a bang against the U.S," said Natalie Spooner. "I thought we had a good game, but couldn’t win that one. A bit of a slow start against Russia, but we picked it up. Then today I think we had a great game against Finland. We could see them again in the semis, so I think that’s just confidence for us moving forward."

The Finns, last year's bronze medalists, have never beaten Canada in 19 tries dating back to 1990 at this tournament.

Finland will be favored against the Czechs, but can't be overconfident. The Czechs barely lost to Sweden (3-2), surprised Switzerland (3-1) and edged Japan (3-2).

The other quarter-final will pit Russia, fourth in Group A, against Sweden, first in Group B.

Wakefield said she was looking forward to an extra day off before Sunday's semi-final: "it’s always great to have that day off and relax and hang out with family and friends. Then you kind of get back into your hockey bubble after your day off."

Here, it took just 1:04 for the host nation to draw first blood. From the corner, Meghan Agosta centered it to an onrushing Poulin and the puck found its way past Finnish starter Meeri Raisanen.

The Canadian pressure kept coming. Raisanen had to make a nice left pad save on Spooner’s shorthanded rush.

Canada took a 2-0 lead at 8:04 of the second period on the power play. After a wild sequence where a Finnish defender’s stick blade went flying into the crowd, Johnston rushed in to whack a rebound over Raisanen.

Finland looked like it had life when it struck back just 18 seconds later with Poulin off for tripping. Right off the faceoff in the Canadian end, Riikka Valila got the puck to Nieminen, and she beat Canadian goalie Emerance Maschmeyer over the glove

But Finland’s mistakes would prove to be its undoing in the middle frame. Canada struck for three goals in less than three minutes.

Jenner scored at 13:35 on a wraparound, with Canada pressuring the Finns and Raisanen getting caught out of position by her left post.

At 14:33, Saulnier put the game out of reach at 4-1. Blayre Turnbull won a faceoff in the Finnish end, and Saulnier wired it high past the Finnish netminder.

Wakefield scored Canada’s fifth goal unassisted at 16:06, grabbing the puck inside the Finnish blue line on a turnover and racing in to slide it past Raisanen’s left skate.

"Her shot is unbelievable," said Spooner of Wakefield. "We just need her to use it more, and she was tonight."

The partisan fans of the red Maple Leaf rejoiced. There would be no Finnish comeback after that.

Agosta was shaken up in a second-period collision and helped off, but she came back for the third.

"I was a little worried," Spooner admitted. "She’s my linemate, obviously. I felt like we’ve been getting better throughout the tournament, even if we haven’t been finishing as much as we’d like. It would be really tough to lose her at this point. I’m happy she’s feeling good and still going."

Finland switched goalies in the third period, as back-up Anni Keisala saw her first action of the tournament. She allowed Wakefield's second of the night on the power play, a beautiful wrister from the faceoff circle with 1:42 remaining.

"With these last couple of games, we have a lot of confidence going forward," said Maschmeyer. "No matter who we play, we’re not going to change our game plan. We’re going to stick to it and take it to them."

During the first intermission at the Sandman Centre, a ceremony honored the members of the golden 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004 Canadian Women's World Championship teams.

 

[hckošice 14,822]

tie breaker for 4th-6th place

 

• ISL-BEL 4-5
• CHN-ISL 3-5
• BEL-CHN 4-5

1-ISL 3pts (9:8)

2-BEL 3pts (9:9)

3-CHN 3pts (8:9)

 

The chinese were really unlucky today, they needed just one goal to maintaine themselves here.

 

Edited April 1, 2016 by hckosice

[hckošice 14,822]

Switzerland - Japan  3-1

 

[hckošice 14,822]

Swiss get edge on Japan

Special teams step up in Switzerland’s win

Switzerland's Dominique Ruegg #26 and Japan's Aina Takeuchi #9 battle for position while Japan's Nana Fujimoto #1 looks on during relegation round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship

 

 

Swiss team scoring leader Christine Huni got the first-period winner in a 3-1 victory over Japan to open their best-of-three relegation series on Friday.

 

Special teams played a big role in the Swiss victory at McArthur Island Centre.

Japan got off to a great start, taking the early lead on Yurie Adachi’s goal at 1:49. But Swiss assistant captain Anja Stiefel struck back with a power play tally at 6:59 to even the score.

After Huni’s go-ahead goal at 18:40, which gave her six points at these Women's Worlds, Switzerland proceeded to take five of the next six minor penalties assessed in the game.

However, they killed off every Japanese advantage, and Lara Stalder’s 3-1 power play goal at 2:36 of the second period proved to be all the insurance coach Daniela Diaz’s squad would need.

Switzerland outshot Japan 27-15. Star goalie Florence Schelling earned the win against Japan’s Nana Fujimoto, who was pulled for an extra attacker in the closing moments.

Game Two in the series is Sunday at 13:00 local time.

Switzerland, which won the 2014 Olympic bronze medal, is striving to avoid being relegated for the first time since 2004.

Japan, meanwhile, must win two in a row if it wants to stay in the top group for three straight years for the first time in its Women’s Worlds history.

Switzerland's Alina Muller did not play, and will be out for the rest of the tournament. In the previous game against Sweden, she suffered a knee injury on a shot from a Swedish player.

 

[hckošice 14,822]

Russia - Sweden  4-1

 

 

 

[hckošice 14,822]

Welcome to the Sosina Show

Russian skill shines as Swedes fall in QF

Russia's Olga Sosina #18 skates with the puck while Sweden's Emma Eliasson #22 chases her down during quarterfinal round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship.

 

 

Olga Sosina led the way with two goals and two assists as Russia downed Sweden 4-1 to make the semi-finals against the U.S. at the 2016 Women's Worlds.

 

Valeria Pavlova and Tatyana Burina also scored for Russia in the quarter-final win, and Angelina Goncharenko had a pair of assists.

Russia, which finished fourth last year, is seeking its first medal since 2013’s bronze. It will face an overwhelming challenge against the U.S., which it has never beaten. The defending champions thrashed Russia 13-1 in last year's semi-final, and prevailed 8-0 in this year's round-robin.

"I really like the games against the U.S. because it’s a really skillful and powerful team," said Sosina. "We’ll learn a lot from them. We’ll do our best despite what has happened against us in the past."

Johanna Olofsson replied for Sweden, which hasn't medaled since 2007’s bronze. It's a worrisome drought for a proud hockey nation.

"It was a tough game today, and it’s sad that we lost it," Olofsson said.

"I’m still happy with the team up to now, even if we lost, because we played a good tournament," said Swedish coach Leif Boork. "We had a lot of problems with injuries to key players during the season. We had some players playing here now who had bad injuries. Looking at that, I think we played the most consistent tournament we’ve had under my leadership."

Russian goalie Nadezhda Morozova won the goaltending duel with Sweden's Sara Grahn. Shots on goal favored Sweden 27-26.

The Russians had struggled both offensively and defensively in Group A, entering this showdown winless with a 4-21 goal differential. Sweden hadn’t lost en route to topping Group B. But here, the tables were turned.

Sosina, who led Russia in scoring last year with five points, picked a perfect time to break out. The 23-year-old Agidel Ufa sniper had been held pointless prior to the quarter-final.

"Finally, I found my game!" said Sosina. "I’d like to thank my teammates who organized good moments for me. I’m really glad we won this one."

At 3:40, Russia took a 1-0 lead on a pretty odd-man rush. Sosina dished it over to Pavlova, who lifted it past Grahn on the blocker side.

At 5:56, Sweden struck back on the power play. From down low, Olivia Carlsson fed Olofsson at the blue line, and she floated a wrister through traffic past the Russian goalie.

Sosina got a breakaway but rang it off the post. She made up for that moments later at 8:49, as she slid a wrister from the right faceoff circle through Grahn’s legs to make it 2-1. It was a goal the Swedish starter would like to have had back.

"I was really surprised this one went in," said Sosina. "I should have scored on the first chance, but not the second one."

The Russians started marching to the sin bin, taking three straight minors before the end of the period. But Sweden failed to capitalize. Iya Gavrilova got the best chance during this stretch on a shorthanded rush.

Russia went up 3-1 on another power play goal at 4:49 of the second period. Pirogova moved to the centre point and hit the mark with a long slapper that Burina tipped in.

The play slowed and got sloppier as the middle frame wore on. The Damkronorna needed something to give them life. But instead, they kept taking penalties, five in total during the period, including three to Fanny Rask.

In the third period, the Russians gutted it out as the Swedes pressed on the power play. With Swedish assistant captain Emilia Ramboldt firing bombs from the point, Yekaterina Smolina sacrificed her body while blocking a shot.

A cluster of yellow-and-blue fans behind the Swedish bench chanted "Sverige!" to boost their team as the clock ticked down. But the dream was over.

Shoving matches around Morozova's crease ensued as Swedish frustration became evident. Grahn was pulled with 3:21 left for a sixth skater, but to no avail. Sosina added an empty-netter with 13 seconds left to round out the scoring.

"Year after year, we’re able to stay in the top four," said Gavrilova. "I think it shows the progress that women’s hockey has made in Russia. It’s great for me to see as an older player."

The last time the Swedes beat Russia in Women’s Worlds play was April 13, 2012.

"It’s not over," said Boork. "We have to play the fifth-place game, and it’s important to try to finish in a good way."

 

 

[hckošice 14,822]

Finland - Czech Republic  5-0

 

 

 

 

[Gianlu33 4,552]

South Korea wins the derby!  

[rybak 3,217]

Only first nation will qualify to next year Division I Group B?

[hckošice 14,822]

1 minute ago, rybak said:

Only first nation will qualify to next year Division I Group B?

 

exactly.