Men's Ice Hockey Tournament at the Winter Olympic Games 2018

[hckošice 13,216]

FINAL QUALIFICATION ROUND

Tournament 1

Minsk (BLR) - 01.09.2016 - 04.09.2016

 

Day 2 Results

 

Round-Robin

4 Nations, Round-Robin Tournament, 1st Nation will Qualify to the Men´s Ice Hockey Tournament at the Winter Olympic Games 2018

 

Slovenia  3 - 0  Denmark  

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

  2nd September 2016, h. 15:00 (GMT +3), Minsk Arena, Minsk

 

Belarus  5 - 3  Poland

(Score by Period: 4-2, 1-0, 0-1)

  2nd September 2016, h. 19:00 (GMT +3), Minsk Arena, Minsk

 

Round-Robin Standing After Day 2

RANK	NATION	GAME	WINS	W(OT)	L(OT)	LOSE	SCORE	POINTS
1	Slovenia	2	2	0	0	0	9:1	6
2	Belarus	2	2	0	0	0	10:5	6
3	Denmark	2	0	0	0	2	2:8	0
4	Poland	2	0	0	0	2	4:11	0

 

[hckošice 13,216]

FINAL QUALIFICATION ROUND

Tournament 2

Riga (LAT) - 01.09.2016 - 04.09.2016

 

Day 2 Results

 

Round-Robin

4 Nations, Round-Robin Tournament, 1st Nation will Qualify to the Men´s Ice Hockey Tournament at the Winter Olympic Games 2018

 

Germany  6 - 0  Austria  

(Score by Period: 1-0, 2-0, 3-0)

  2nd September 2016, h. 15:30 (GMT +3), Arena Riga, Riga

 

Latvia  3 - 1  Japan

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

  2nd September 2016, h. 19:30 (GMT +3), Arena Riga, Riga

 

Round-Robin Standing After Day 2

RANK	NATION	GAME	WINS	W(OT)	L(OT)	LOSE	SCORE	POINTS
1	Germany	2	2	0	0	0	11:0	6
2	Latvia	2	2	0	0	0	11:2	6
3	Japan	2	0	0	0	2	1:8	0
4	Austria	2	0	0	0	2	1:14	0

 

[phelps 6,775]

3 hours ago, hckosice said:

btw do you know whats the current situation about Ihnacak ? is he still a part of the let say larger Italian roster or his times in Italian NT are over ?

 

he's been dismissed by the coaching staff because of "indiscipline" and "lack of respect for his teammates and the coaching staff", so I guess that his time with our NT is over at least until this staff is in place...

I don't have any idea if he's still available should we hire new officials in the next future...

[hckošice 13,216]

5 minutes ago, phelps said:

 

he's been dismissed by the coaching staff because of "indiscipline" and "lack of respect for his teammates and the coaching staff", so I guess that his time with our NT is over at least until this staff is in place...

I don't have any idea if he's still available should we hire new officials in the next future...

 

wow..

 

do you know what he did ?

[phelps 6,775]

by the way, I really don't understand Austria...they're just disrespecting their Flag...in all sports you can always lose, but you have to perform with dignity...and they're not doing that by any mean...

 

now I can't wait for Sunday's showdowns between GER and LAT + BLR and SLO (always hoping that Anze and co. can do it...c'mon, guys!)...

 

p.s. tonight, no chance for our youngsters against Norway...

[hckošice 13,216]

FINAL QUALIFICATION ROUND

Tournament 3

Oslo (NOR) - 01.09.2016 - 04.09.2016

 

 

Day 2 Results

 

Round-Robin

4 Nations, Round-Robin Tournament, 1st Nation will Qualify to the Men´s Ice Hockey Tournament at the Winter Olympic Games 2018

 

France  4 - 1  Kazakhstan  

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

  1st September 2016, h. 16:00 (GMT +2), Jordal Amfi, Oslo

 

Norway  4 - 1  Italy

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

  2nd September 2016, h. 20:00 (GMT +2), Jordal Amfi, Oslo

 

Round-Robin Standing After Day 2

RANK	NATION	GAME	WINS	W(OT)	L(OT)	LOSE	SCORE	POINTS
1	France	2	1	1	0	0	6:2	5
2	Norway	2	1	0	1	0	7:5	4
3	Kazakhstan	2	0	1	0	1	5:7	2
4	Italy	2	0	0	1	1	2:6	1

 

[hckošice 13,216]

Slovenia blanks Denmark

Scandinavian hopes extinguished after 3-0 loss

 

A masterclass of defensive discipline sees Slovenia rack up their second win on the trot as their Olympic dream lives on with Denmark out of the running.

 

Unsong heroes Sabahudin Kovacevic and Ales Music fired Slovenia ahead to a two-goal cushion in their pivotal second match against Denmark in Group D. Jan Urbas added a late goal as Slovenia rolled on to a 3-0 with Gasper Kroselj recording a shutout with 32 saves.

 

Slovenia's second consecutive win at the Final Olympic Qualification mean they are now one game from sealing a ticket to PyeongChang 2018.

 

"We knew we had to skate really well in all zones and be disciplined in the neutral zone and I think it was the key for us because we take a lot of pucks off them from the neutral zone and counter attack on them," said a delighted Slovenia's defenseman Kovacevic in his post-match interview.

 

Despite outshooting their opponents 32-21, Denmark failed to find the offensive spark required. With two straight defeats Denmark is down and out in their hopes of reaching their historical first Olympic ice hockey tournament.

 

"First and second period is ok," said a dejected Denmark's national team coach Jan Karlsson. "But after their second goal our power went out."

 

An edgy goalless first period saw the Scandinavians win the shots on goal 10-4 and dominate puck possession.

 

"Technically and skating wise Denmark is really good, so there is no point for us to race against them in that way as then we would then lose," said Slovenia's head coach Nik Zupancic

 

 

A sloppy defensive play by Philip Larsen was picked up by Kovacevic who barged ahead to break the deadlock in this pivotal encounter at 24:18, firing a wrister past Frederik Andersen.

 

With a 1-0 lead, Slovenia shut up shop reminiscent of their last competitive meeting against the Danes, at the 2015 World Championship when the Central Europeans ran out as winners thanks to a sole strike.

 

When Mitja Robar served a five minute boarding call for Slovenia and then just 18 seconds later was joined by Urbas as the Central Europeans were fielding too many men, Denmark got their big chance to try and hit back.

 

While Larsen directed most of the play from the point, the Scandinavians seemed to lack any cutting edge in their offensive play as Slovenia weathered the storm to the joy of their travelling contingent of supporters.

 

"The turning point in the game was when we managed to survive that penalty kill which gave the team a great boost," said Zupancic.

The game tilted further into Slovenia's favour when Anze Kuralt barrelled down the left side to pick out Music in the slot who fired home 2-0 after 49:18.

 

But when the expected frantic rally from Denmark never gathered momentum, it was Urbas who streched Slovenia's lead to 3-0 on a powerplay with 2:11 left of the game when he fired home a slapper from the slot after Anze Kopitar had squeezed past Jesper B Jensen from the right wing.

 

While Slovenia one game away from their second consecutive Olympics, it is deja all over for Denmark. During the Final Qualification for Sochi 2014 they lost against both Belarus and Slovenia just as in Minsk this year.

 

Having mustered two goals from their 64 shots over two games Denmark will now be looking to restore some pride in final game against Poland. Meanwhile, Slovenia's head coach is doing his best to put lid on the expectations ahead of their final day showdown in Group D versus Belarus on Sunday. 

 

"There is no time to celebrate but just to prepare for our final game which will come down to 60 minutes of play, so let's see what will happen," he said.

[hckošice 13,216]

Belarus cruises past Poland

Belarus vs. Slovenia in final day showdown

 

Rallying back after a two goal deficit, Belarus charges ahead to beat Poland 5-3. Slovenia now awaits for a place in PyeongChang 2018.

 

Three first period powerplay goals in 3:27 set the tone as Belarus racked up their second straight win in Group D toppling Poland 5-2.

 

With two wins out of two, Belarus are now only one win away from making their fourth Olympic appearance.

 

"We are exactly where everyone wants to be," said Belarus team coach Dave Lewis. "We are happy where we are, but we are not finished yet."

 

Sergei Kostitsyn led the team on points with 0+3 while goals by Nick Bailen, Andrei Stepanov, Roman Graborenko and captain Andrei Stas hoisted Belarus out of trouble during a first frame which saw them turn the game around after going two goals down.

 

Belarus netminder Kevin Lalande was pulled from the net at 8:59 after conceding two goals. Replacement Mikhail Karnaukhov recorded seven saves as Belarus won the shots emphatically by 33:15.

 

Bartlomiej Bychawski, Aron Chmielewski and Bartlomiej Pociecha got on the scoresheet for Poland while Rafal Radziszewski recorded 28 saves. Following two straight defeats, Poland is out of the running for PyeongChang 2018.

 

Just as in their opening day win against Denmark, Belarus got on the backfoot during their second game at the Final Olympic Qualification.

 

Having just got on the ice after serving a penalty call, Bychawski was picked out by Patryk Wajda steaming down the left and found a chink in Lalande's armour after 05:35 to get Poland ahead.

 

Lalande, unstoppable against Denmark, showed a more human side tonight, and was replaced by Karnaukhov after Poland had doubled their lead when Chmielewski stabbed home a rebound to send pulses raising inside the Minsk Arena.

 

"He did not feel comfortable ahead of the game, but we will check on him tomorrow," said Lewis without wanting to get further into the reason for the netminder's discomfort.

 

The home crowd got their hopes up soon after as Poland started their parade to the penalty box. Krystian Dziubinski served a hooking minor and following a goalmouth scramble, Stepanov fed the puck back to Bailen who hit a slapper past the glove side of Radziszewski to pull one back at 13:51.

 

Roles were reversed less than two minutes later. Working on a 5-on-3 advantage, Andrei Kostitsyn won the draw at the right circle, before Bailen turned provider, with a pass along the blueline to Stepanov whose strike took a deflection to tie the game at two.

 

33 seconds later and now on a one man advantage, Graborenko scored on the doorstep after fine work by Stas as Belarus had turned the game to 3-2 to the joy of the 10,820 inside Minsk Arena.

 

Before the first frame was over, Belarus' captain Stas made it 5-2 with 28 seconds left ahed of first intermission.

 

"We got a good start, had a bit of luck scoring our two goals and we had hoped the luck was going to last a little bit longer," said Poland's assistant coach Torbjorn Johansson.

 

"But we took too many penalties and Belarus did well and got in control. After 4-2 it was going to be hard to catch up and we didn't really have many chances after that."

 

A slapper from the point by Andrei Kostitsyn made it five for Belarus at 38:01 which effectively meant game over. Belarus got into cruise control and Poland added a late consolation with 45 seconds left of the game when Pochiecha slammed home a slapshot for 5-3 to deny Karnaukhov's shutout bid.

 

As Belarus now start preparations ahead of their decider against Slovenia where the winner goes to PyeongChang 2018, question marks loom over the condition of their netminder Lalande, but also on their tendency to concede early in both of their Group D games.

 

Poland meanwhile can take positives out from this game and will look to improve further in their final game of Group D as they face Denmark with both teams wishing to finish on a winning note after two straight losses.

 

"The teams we play here are on a new level for many of our players, but we will look for another step forward on Sunday," said Poland assistant coach Johansson.

 

[hckošice 13,216]

German streak continues

Two games, two wins, 11-0 goal record

 

Germany’s impressive streak continues at this year’s Final Olympic Qualification after a 6-0 win against Austria to set up a final on Sunday with Latvia.

 

Like against Japan, Marco Sturm’s team was red hot and broke the initial resistance of the Austrians after the first period.

 

The Germans now have an 11-0 goal record after two games and Philipp Grubauer has two shutouts from two games.

 

“We didn’t expect it. When you come into a tournament, you don’t know what happens, you don’t know the other teams so well. We just play our game, it’s important to do that for 60 minutes,” Grubauer said.

 

It was a game with a different omen for the teams. On one hand Austria fared well against Germany in the past, most notably qualifying for the 2014 Olympics at Germany’s expense and on German soil in Bietigheim-Bissingen. On the other hand Germany beat Japan 5-0 yesterday while Austria lost 8-1 to Latvia.

 

Would it be another goal galore against the Austrians? The Austrians’ answer in the beginning was “nein”. Like against Latvia they started the game well and even outshot their opponent, 11-8, in the first period. Would the Austrians have a chance to win? Not after another breakdown in the second period that opened the Germans the chance to take revenge on the Austrians after the Olympic Qualification trauma three-and-a-half years ago.

 

Like against Latvia the Austrians had trouble scoring and like that it looked like a matter of time until they were behind. This time it took a bit longer when Marcel Goc opened the scoring at 14:22.

 

The Germans won a puck battle at the end boards of the offensive zone. Marcus Kink sent a drop pass to Goc, who opened the scoring in the neighbouring clash.

 

Germany defended the lead well against an Austrian team that was not yet ready to give up. At 8:04 of the second period they extended the lead when Patrick Hager received a side pass from the boards to the crease from Felix Schutz and he stylishly moved the puck around the goalie.

 

With 2:40 left in the period Moritz Muller increased the lead to 3-0 scoring on a rebound after he saw a Goc shot from the blue line blocked by Austrian goalie David Kickert. Again the middle frame settled the case with a three-goal lead.

 

Patrick Reimer made it more lopsided early in the third period when his shot find the way through traffic into the top-left corner. With nice tic-tac-toe passing between Dominik Kahun, Tobias Rieder and eventually Felix Schutz, the Germans scored their fifth goal and on another power play Leon Draisaitl made the final score 6-0.

 

When Austrian forward Thomas Raffl saw his penalty shot saved by Grubauer, it became clear that the Germany shutout streak continued before the “final” against Latvia on Sunday evening that will decide which team from Riga will go to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea.

 

“It’s great for us here, we gel together well. Now it’s all about one game we have to win,” German goalie Grubauer said.

 

“They play in their own arena, in their own country. They will come out like a bat out of hell. They’re a strong team that scored a lot of goals.”

 

[hckošice 13,216]

Latvia rewarded

Japan battled hard in 3-1 win for hosts

 

Latvia set up a final with Germany in the Final Olympic Qualification group in Riga winning the three points it wanted in a hard-fought 3-1 win against Japan.

 

After an easy 8-1 win against Austria, many Latvian fans at Arena Riga probably expected an easy win against Japan, which suffered a 5-0 loss to Germany the day before. They and the Latvian team had to realize quickly that this game would be no cakewalk in the first official game between the two teams since a Latvian 8-2 victory at the 2001 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

 

“They’re a good hockey team. They play hard. They play man-on-man, which is a little different. They’re really disciplined on ice,” Latvian captain Kaspars Daugavins said while being more critical about his team’s performance.

 

“We made a lot of childish mistakes and gave them so many opportunities to actually beat us today. We should be ashamed how we played today but we know we can play way better.”

 

The first period ended scoreless with chances on both sides as Latvia outshot Japan 9-6. The Asians defended their net better and tried to use their speed to score a possible upset.

 

In the second period the home team came out stronger, shot more often but the Japanese created the better chances especially midway through the period including a Yuki Miuri breakaway and Daisuke Obara given leeway to score but shooting wide the net.

 

“Obviously playing a team of Latvia’s stature is not easy for Japan but everybody saw a team that stayed together. I’m proud of the guys and we learned at this tournament,” Japan head coach Greg Thomson said.

 

With 5:04 left in the middle frame the Latvians were cheering but Martins Karsums moved the puck in with his blade in motion and the game continued scoreless. However, not for long. 58 seconds later the spell was broken. After a post shot the puck was sliding between the goal line and Japanese netminder Yutaka Fukufuji. Andris Dzerins reacted the fastest and shot the puck over the line.

 

At 6:16 during Latvia’s first power play of the period Karsums eventually scored his goal of the night. After a long shot Fukufuji blocked the puck that ended up loose between Ryo Hashimoto’s skates. Again the Latvians reacted the fastest and Karsums made it 2-0 to give his team more confidence after two tough periods.

 

The Japanese still didn’t give up and came close in the last minutes of the game. After a drop pass from Seiji Takahashi it was Shuhei Kuji, who skated through the zone and beat Latvian goalie Elvis Merzlikins for the first Japanese goal of the tournament with 2:14 left in regulation time.

 

The Japanese pulled the goalie looking for the second goal but the Latvians defended their lead, Dzerins scored into the empty net and his team can now get ready for the winner-takes-it-all game with Germany on Sunday.

 

“The main game will be in two days. We better think how we need to start playing. We have to improve everywhere. I don’t think anybody should be happy about this game tonight,” Daugavins said about the Sunday showdown