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DIVISION I GROUP B
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
2017
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A Great night for Britain
GB storms past Japan, returns to Div. IA
Japan - Great Britain 0-4
Great Britain erased the pain of two last-day defeats in recent years to overpower Japan 4-0 and claim gold in front of an ecstatic Belfast crowd.
In an arena overlooking the shipyard that built the Titanic, Great Britain ensured that its World Championship heartache would go on no longer. A crushing 4-0 victory over Japan earned gold for the host nation and secured promotion to Division IA after four seasons.
For many of the players it was a case of third time lucky. In Eindhoven in 2015, and again in Zagreb 12 months ago, Britain had been within minutes of promotion only to fall at the final hurdle. This time, there was no mistake.
"It feels like we've got an identity again," said jubilant head coach Pete Russell. "We played a bit different from the way GB played in the past, we were pretty aggressive, we don't sit back. Our identity now is as a proactive team.
"We've earned the right to play at the next level, now we need to stay there. But this is a young team and we have a lot of players who are here for a long time to come."
Aided by a couple of early GB penalties, Japan took the early initiative and home hearts were in mouths as a shot dinged off Ben Bowns’ post. But the Japanese suffered a big blow midway through the opening stanza when Hiroki Ueno limped out of the game after taking a hit in front of the benches. Ueno, part of Japan’s free-scoring first line, was replaced by Masahito Nishiwaki, but some of the chemistry that had powered the team’s speedy offence was diluted and Britain began to take control of the game.
The breakthrough came late in the first period as Japan ran into penalty trouble of its own. GB earned a 5-on-3 advantage and Robert Dowd cashed in with the opening goal. Ben O’Connor saw a slap shot come back to him and passed to Robert Farmer on the goal line.
Farmer then picked out Dowd in front of the net and the Sheffield Steeler sent the crowd into raptures with his fourth goal of the tournament.
And Dowd was involved again as the host nation doubled its lead on another power play in the 25th minute. His shot from the top of the circle took a touch from Brendan Brooks and went through the five-hole.
Japan thought it had a lifeline in the 28th minute when Kenta Takagi put the puck in the net, only for the on-ice officials to call no goal because the net was off its moorings. After a long look at the video, that verdict was upheld, much to Takagi’s disgust.
Seconds later, Japan trailed by three. Colin Shields, one of the heroes of the tournament for GB, fired in a shot from the point and Matt Myers threw up a huge screen to redirect the puck beyond Fukufuji. The Belfast crowd, which included Rod Stewart, in town to watch his son Liam, went wild.
Shields, who also won the forward of the tournament prize, was one of those who had missed out in the past two years. He attributed this victory to solid teamwork.
"We learned from our mistakes of the last two years and this year we really came together," he said. "Tonight was our best game, we played a full 60 minutes. Everybody made a contribution, all four lines, all the defence, Ben Bowns with a shut-out. It was a team effort from top to bottom and we can be really proud of the job we've done here."
Then Myers grabbed his second of the night, finishing off an odd-man rush after a superb David Phillips pass sent Evan Mosey off to the races. With a 4-0 lead, the home crowd started the party 20 minutes ahead of schedule.
"We knew that Japan was a good team, full of goals, and they are flying machines," Myers said. "We knew it was going to be tough but once we got that first one we just kept rolling and finished that job."
That confidence was justified. Japan struggled to get its pacey offence into the game, managing just 10 shots on goal through 40 minutes, an astonishing turnaround from the devastating attacking play Takahito Suzuki’s team had produced in its first four games. The loss of Ueno clearly hurt the Japanese, but the home defence deserves credit for the way it denied the opposition the chance to turn over the puck as freely as it had in previous games.
Aside from a spell early in the third period, Britain kept Japan at arm’s length, and when called upon Bowns was alert between the piping to deny Makuru Furuhashi on a power play chance or kick away a dangerous effort from Takagi. The Cardiff Devils goalie made 20 saves for a well-deserved shut-out.
"I thought we were unbelievable defensively," he said. "We've been great all week but tonight we went to another level. To play a team like Japan and only allow two shots in the first period is just incredible. For me it was a fairly easy night because we all played so well."
Lithuania - Croatia 3-1
Bronze for Lithuania
Comeback win seals third place
Lithuania claimed bronze for the fourth season running after recovering from 0-1 down to beat Croatia in its final game of its 2017 Div IB campaign.
Lithuania claimed a bronze medal for the fourth Division IB campaign in a row as goals from Mindaugas Kieras, Edgar Protcenko and Ugnius Cizas delivered a 3-1 win over Croatia.
The result was also Lithuania's first victory over Croatia in four attempts, underlining the steady progress made by the Baltic nation.
For head coach Bernd Haake, the tournament lived up to expectations. "We're going home with a medal, so this is a success for us," he said. "We knew before we came that Japan and Britain were the real candidates for the gold medal and for us it was about staying ahead of the rest.
"It was our discipline and our hard work at camp that got us here."
Both teams had hopes of a podium finish ahead of the game, but the Baltic nation had the advantage, needing just one point to guarantee third place. Croatia required a victory in regulation and a favourable result in the Estonia – Netherlands game that would follow if it was to reach the podium.
After losing on Friday, both teams were eager to end the week on a high. Lithuania’s loss to promotion-chasing Japan followed the formbook, but Croatia’s 3-4 reverse against Estonia was an unhappy surprise for a team looking to secure its first medal since 2014. The team also lost David Brine in that game after the Cardiff Devils forward took a big hit.
Croatia made the brighter start, and was almost presented with a goal when Lithuania’s goalie produced a sloppy clearance from behind the net and set up Mislav Blagus with a look at an empty net; Kieras got back to spare his goaltender’s blushes with a vital interception on that occasion, but could do nothing as Matija Milicic opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a goal on the wraparound.
"This was a hard game for us," Haake added. "We deserved it, but the stats show each team had 26 shots on goal. Croatia certainly had its chances but our young goalie, Artur Pavliukov, saved us."
Kieras, though, is renowned as the warrior of Lithuanian hockey and he wasn’t about to allow a medal chance to slip away easily. In the 16th minute he came up with the equaliser, collecting a Darius Pliskauskis feed in the deep slot and flipping a wrist shot over Vilim Rosandic’s shoulder. A tied game, and bronze was heading to Vilnius.
The Lithuanians tightened their grip on a medal in the second period when Protcenko made it 2-1 in the 25th minute. His slap shot from the top of the circle went through traffic to beat Rosandic.
Croatia’s goalie pulled off a spectacular diving stop early in the third. Seemingly stranded behind the net, he hurled himself back on to the crease to deny Emilijus Krakauskas when a goal seemed certain.
But he had no answers seconds later when Cizas got Lithuania’s third. Arnoldas Bosas stripped Luka Jarcov of the puck on the blue line and dropped a pass onto Cizas’ stick for a close range finish. Croatia made one last push, pulling Rosandic for a late power play, but Lithuania successfully closed out the game.
Lithuania received its bronze medals right after the lunchtime game, enabling the team to make an afternoon flight back home.
And, according to Haake, the future is bright. "We know we are only looking at one more season for our veterans, they will retire after 2018, so we're looking to our young guys to step up," he said. "It's not just the goalie, we had some young defencemen who did well for us here. Now it's their turn to push Lithuanian hockey forward. It's our future, and it's a new generation emerging."
Croatia, with one win from its five games, could yet be embroiled in a three-way tie at the foot of the table if the Dutch get the better of Estonia on Saturday afternoon. However, Enio Saccilotto’s team is unlikely to be pushed into last place thanks to its convincing 6-2 victory over the Dutch earlier in the competition.
Estonia - Netherlands 4-3
Estonia sends the Dutch down
Netherlands battle in vain, finish winless
The Netherlands came close to pulling off a sensational escape from relegation, but Estonia had enough to edge its second win of the tournament and take fourth.
The Netherlands battled hard to pull off an against-all-odds escape, but Estonia did enough to secure its Division IB status.
Going into the game, the Dutch knew that it would take a three-goal victory to edge ahead of Estonia in a tie at the foot of the table. Twice, they moved two goals in front, but the men in orange were never able to generate the advantage that would have kept them in the division.
And when Robert Rooba completed his hat-trick in the 54th minute to make it 4-3 for the Estonians, his country’s survival was all but assured.
Captain Kevin Bruijsten said: "We really battled hard and we really gave it our all but in the end it just wasn't enough. With the team we have right now we did a pretty decent job. Everyone knows we're missing 14 guys, this isn't the same team we'd usually have, but we can't just dwell on the negatives.
"I'm proud of the guys for the way they battled to the end, and for a second I even thought we might pull it off."
There was plenty to give the Baltic team cause for concern early in the meeting. The Netherlands shrugged off Friday's painful 0-14 loss to GB and showed plenty of enterprise in the first period. Two quick goals late in that session breathed life into the impossible dream.
Young forward Guus van Nes got the opener when Nardo Nagtzaam’s pass sent the Junior Bruin clear of the Estonian defence. The 20-year-old showed great composure, getting up close before beating Villem-Henrik Koitmaa to make it 1-0 in the 16th minute.
Van Nes and the other Dutch youngsters got the thumbs-up from their captain for their efforts this week. "They've stepped up and it's good for them," Bruijsten said. "This is the future for Dutch hockey and it's good to get some experience and a taste of what the higher level is like."
Ninety seconds later it was 2-0, and the Netherlands was in with a real chance of salvation. Sloppy play in the corner from Estonia’s Marko Kettunen presented Raymond van der Schuit with the puck and his pass found Jeffrey Melissant on the doorstep.
But the Dutch defence has struggled throughout this competition, and when Estonia got a power play the Baltic nation took advantage to halve the deficit. Aleksandr Ossipov’s shot was padded away and Rooba showed great reactions to smash home the rebound and tighten Estonia’s grip on its status.
The second period saw Bruijsten put the Netherlands 3-1 in front after Nagtzaam went round the back and fed Steve Mason for a shot.
Koitmaa blocked the first attempt but Bruijsten claimed the rebound and, with half the game left, the Dutch were right back in contention.
Again, though, it was a tantalising vision of safety. Estonia, so sluggish in the early exchanges, awoke to the danger at last and began to step up its offence. Rooba struck again as the middle stanza came to a close, exchanging passes with captain Lauri Lahesalu before launching a wrist shot from the top of the circle.
The Dutch, visibly tiring, finally folded in the third. A last-ditch clearance from Rick van Haren took the puck off Fabian Schotel’s goal line early on before Petrov tied the game on 47 minutes. Andrei Makrov shaped to shoot, deceiving the goalie, then slipped a pass to Aleksandr Petrov in the centre. Petrov made no mistake and the Dutch dream was almost over. Fittingly, it was Rooba, probably Estonia’s liveliest player in the competition, who wrapped it up with his hat-trick goal late on.
"By the end we were running almost two lines and especially on the special teams we had a couple of guys who clocked a lot of minutes," Bruijsten added.
Estonia had something to celebrate as back-to-back 4-3 wins lifted it to fourth in the table. But before the formalities could be completed, the hooter sparked a bout of fisticuffs in front of the Dutch bench as the teams' frustration bubbled over. Four players, Ossipov and Rooba from Estonia, Joey Oosterveld and Thomas Roosendaal from the Netherlands, were handed 25-minute penalties for fighting.