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Post by Terry on May 6, 2008 14:58:39 GMT -5
Swedes dance with France Tre Kronor opens ketchup bottle, fries the French. 06-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – The 6-5 win over Belarus was supposed to scare the Swedes and unleash the hidden powers of this team. Swedes had better hope that the team can do even better than in the game against France, even if it came out with a more than comfortable 9-0 win. Both coaches had made changes to their lineups after the teams’ first games. Sweden had added defenseman Alexander Edler and center Michael Holmqvist to the roster, while Stefan Liv replaced Mikael Tellqvist in goal. France’s coach Dave Henderson had given Cristobal Huet the day off, saving him for the team’s all-important game against Belarus on Wednesday, making Fabrice Lhenry the French starting goaltender. Both goalies can be pleased with their play in the first period. Liv faced seven shots and saved them all, Lhenry turned away all 13 Swedish shots. "Our plan was to keep the game close, hopefully at 0-0 for as long as possible, maybe even steal a goal," said France's coach Dave Henderson after the game. The five penalties given in the first period made it mostly a contest in power play, giving both teams a chance to take control of the game. However, Sweden’s best chance came on a French power play when Nils Ekman fed Rickard Wallin whose shot Lhenry blocked easily. The French first line with Yorick Treille, Laurent Meunier, and Sebastien Bordelaeu created several chances but couldn’t capitalize. "We have to be better prepared for the games in the future. Tonight, we weren't and the first period was difficult for us," said Kenny Jonsson. "Also, when you always meet five defending players, it's not easy to get the scoring chances," he said. Sweden got its big chance halfway through the second period when it played a rare 4-on-3 powerplay for over a minute. Quarterbacked by Kenny Jonsson and Nicklas Backstrom, the Swedes created several good chances but Lhenry stood tall. Just as the French had killed the penalties Tony Martensson crossed the blue line and took a slapshot right after the blue line and scored 1-0. Unfortunately for France, they couldn’t stay out of the penalty box, giving Sweden another 4-on-3 power play – and the keys to the game – with 9:55 remaining in the second period. The Swedes’ seventh powerplay of the night finally clicked when Patric Hornqvist one-timed Fredrik Warg’s pass behind Lhenry. That seemed to unlock the Swedes and discourage the French who had fought bravely up until then. At 36:16, Mattias Weinhandl made it 3-0 with a quick wrist shot. With 17 seconds remaining. Niclas Wallin scored 4-0 on a one-timer from Tony Martensson from behind the net. "We knew that we would have to be patient, and stay out of the penalty box," said Nicklas Backstrom. "Fortunately, they took a few of penalties," he added. Sweden outshot France 23-4 in the second period. In the third period, Nicklas Backstrom scored 5-0 with a failed wrist shot, five minutes later Alexander Edler thanked coach Gustafsson for the ice time by scoring 6-0. Robert Nilsson made it 7-0 just a minute later, forcing Dave Henderson to pull Lhenry and send Huet in for the last ten minutes. "Lhenry was outstanding for the first thirty minutes, then he got a little tired so I decided to take him out, probably a little too late," said Henderson. Two minutes later, Huet had to pick up the puck from the net. 8-0 for Sweden by Kenny Jonsson. Nicklas Backstrom rounded it up to 9-0 with less than one minute remaining. "We were a little sloppy, and made a lot of mistakes early in the game, but France played well, too, their defensive style of play didn't make things easy for us," Backstrom said. Sweden's next game is against Switzerland for first place in Group A. France meets Belarus in a high stakes game. The loser of that matchup will end up in the relegation round. RISTO PAKARINEN www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/swedes-dance-with-france.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=f36e072e3cGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 6, 2008 15:02:38 GMT -5
Germany stuns Slovakia After jumping into an early 2-0 lead, the Germans beat an undermanned Slovakian team with surprising ease, 4-2. 06-05-08 HALIFAX – Germany scored two power-play goals in the first period en route to an impressive if not altogether dominating 4-2 victory over Slovakia tonight at the Halifax Metro Centre. The win puts the Germans in second place in Group C heading into Wednesday’s final day of play in the round robin Preliminary Round. Michael Hackert had two goals and goalie Robert Muller was outstanding in the nets for Germany stopping 36 of 38 shots. "We played with a lot of confidence today," Muller said. "The two power-play goals were important because it helped us go to the second period with a lead." "We have to stay out of the penalty box if we want to win, and we didn't do that," Slovakian goalie Jan Lasak said. "That was the big difference tonight, the power play." The game was played before a lively crowd with hundreds of Germans at one end and a smaller but equally vocal group of Slovakians at the other end. Although Slovakia had the game’s first good scoring chance, it was the Germans who lit the lamp at 6:57 on a power play. Florian Busch skated over the Slovakian blueline and feathered a pass behind the defenceman trying to check him, and Marco Sturm walked in alone and beat Jan Lasak with a great deke. Moments earlier, German goalie Robert Muller had stoned Robert Petrovicky on a breakaway. The Germans took a well earned two-goal lead later in the period on another power play. Jason Holland’s point shot hit a cluster of bodies in front of Lasak, and the puck popped fortuitously free to Stefan Ustorf who had the open net. One might think a German team that had a 2-0 lead over Slovakia after 20 minutes might line five men along centre ice the rest of the game to preserve that score, but not so this confident group of youngsters hand-picked by coach Uwe Krupp. Instead, they took play to their opponents in the second period and dominated play as goalie Muller watched idly from the other end for much of the middle period. Slovakia got on the board, though, at 9:39 on a power play when Muller kicked out a point shot onto the stick of Ivan Ciernik. He stuck it in the short side to cut the German lead in half. No worries. The Germans continued to press and impress, and late in the period they were rewarded with a beautiful goal. Philip Gogulla took a stretch pass up the middle from Michael Bakos deep in his own end. As a Slovakian defenceman chased Gogulla down, he turned and delivered a backhand pass to Michael Hackert in the slot. Hackert beat Lasak between the pads to restore the Germans’ two-goal lead before the end of the period. The Germans continued their impressive play in the final 20 minutes, and this in turn frustrated the Slovakians. Germany upped the score on another power play midway through the final period, Hackert again doing the damage by slapping home a nice pass in the slot. In fact, they had scored moments earlier but the goal was disallowed because of a player in the crease. Slovakia added a goal with 4.4 seconds left on the clock courtesy of Juraj Kolnik. It spoiled the roar of applause for Muller who seconds earlier made the save of the night with his glove off Miroslav Kovacik on a breakaway. "We've already beaten Slovakia two times this year, and that gave us confidence," Muller noted. "We kept the puck deep and didn't take any stupid penalties," Gogulla added. Germany closes out the Preliminary Round with a game against Norway on Wednesday night while Slovakia plays Finland in the afternoon game that day. The group is wide open. Only Finland has clinched a trip to the Qualification Round. Any of Germany, Slovakia, and Norway can still join the Finns or fall into the Relegation Round. ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/germany-stuns-slovakia.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=2cbfddf06cGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 6, 2008 15:06:13 GMT -5
Same Russian story Russia tops Group D with perfect record after beating Denmark 4-1 06-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – The script wasn’t anything by Lars von Trier, the drama didn’t come close to the works of Tolstoy, and yes, the plot was predictable when Russia beat Denmark 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon. With their third straight win, the Russians claimed first place in Group D and now get two days off before facing Group A’s third-place finisher on Friday. For Denmark, meeting Russia was a lesson in hockey. Coach Mike Sirant decided to let veteran goalie Peter Hirsch sit this one out, and sent 22-year-old Patrick Galbraith to meet the Russian offensive guns. The Russians used their only healthy registered goalie, Mikhail Biryukov, with the injured Alexander Eremenko sitting on the bench. San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov will come on board for the Qualifying Round. Sergei Fedorov was Russia’s offensive leader with a goal and an assist, and Ilya Kovalchuk added a pair of helpers. Russia took command of the game from the beginning, while the Danes focused on defending their own net and helping Galbraith. Russia outshot Denmark 13-3 in the first period, which in this case is a good indication of what the game looked like. Denmark had its chance halfway through the first period when it got a 4-on-3 power play. However, it couldn’t capitalize on its few chances, and just two shifts later, Afinogenov took a pass at the red line, skated into the Danish zone, took a step inside and, using the Danish defenceman as a screen, gave Russia a 1-0 lead at 10:38. At 7:07 of the second period, Alexander Ovechkin extended Russia’s lead to 2-0 when he one-timed a Fedorov pass from the slot through Galbraith’s pads. Halfway through the game, Russia took a three-goal lead on the power play when Fedorov’s shot from the line sailed into the net with Ovechkin providing the screen in front. Getting on the scoreboard was a welcome change for the former Hart and Selke Trophy winner, as Fedorov was involved in two disallowed goals in the opener versus Italy. At 2:47 of the third period, Russia took a 4-0 lead when Konstantin Gorovikov snuck a rebound under Galbraith’s right arm. The Danes gave their enthusiastic fans something to cheer about on a late power play with Vitali Proshkin in the box. Kim Staal’s quick shot from the left faceoff circle through traffic spoiled Biryukov’s shutout bid with under three minutes remaining. Final shots on goal favoured Russia 43-20. Compared to last year’s tournament in Russia, the result was an improvement for Denmark, which lost 9-1 to the hosts at Khodynka Arena. But Denmark has now lost all four of its meetings with Russia at the Worlds dating back to 2003. Russian defenceman Daniil Markov left the game after taking a questionable hit along the boards in the neutral zone in the first period. Announced attendance was 8,609. RISTO PAKARINEN & LUCAS AYKROYD www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/same-russian-story.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=4c0b45afbaGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 13:27:30 GMT -5
Heatley to the rescue The Americans had most of the chances, but Heatley scored the winner for Canada with 46.8 seconds left in the game. 06-05-08 HALIFAX – Canada and the USA battled all afternoon at the Halifax Metro Centre, and when the dust had settled, Canada had won, 5-4. Dany Heatley, on a patented one-timer, broke a 4-4 tie with just 46.8 seconds left. It was his second of the game and tournament-leading sixth of the 2008 World Championship. He also leads with ten points. The win gives Canada first place in Group B standings heading into the Qualification Round starting Thursday. USA will finish second. The Americans came out and, in the language of Stompin’ Tom Connors, "stormed the crease like bumblebees," generating two early power plays and many great scoring chances. But goalie Cam Ward held the team in there and the defence protected him well in the slot. The U.S. power play, which had scored seven times with the extra man in its first two games, could do no damage against Canada in the opening period. This is where Canada’s experience came to the fore. The team weathered the American storm, and then went on the attack and scored a lightning-bolt of a goal. They had the puck in the U.S. end for nearly a minute, and finally a Brent Burns point shot found its way through several bodies past a helpless Tim Thomas. The Americans fully deserved the lead, but it was 1-0 for Canada at 8:26 of the first period. The play of the period, though, belonged to Ward who kept the game 1-0 with a phenomenal glove grad off Adam Burish on a breakaway. "Ward played great for us," Canadian captain Shane Doan said. "He stopped a breakaway, a 2-on-1. He was outstanding." The second half of the period was a duplication of the first. The Americans continued to pour on the offense, but it was Canada that scored the only other goal. The high-scoring trio of Rick Nash-Dany Heatley-Ryan Getzlaf moved the puck around in the American end after some good forechecking, and Heatley snuck a quick shot past Thomas with just 10.8 seconds left in the period. Canada headed to the dressing room ahead 2-0 despite being outshot, 13-6. "We were getting the chances, but their goalie played well. We just continued to battle all night long," Patrick O'Sullivan said. The second saw Canada bolt into a 3-0 lead just 18 seconds into the second when Jonathan Toews jumped on a loose puck and ripped it over Thomas’s glove. Credit to the Americans, though, they saw this goal not as a nail in the coffin but as a wakeup call. "I think it was a great game, and we showed a lot of people we can play with them. We never gave up," O'Sullivan said. Just 24 seconds after Toews scored, they got back into the game with a goal from Zach Parise. Two minutes later, they capitalized on a defensive lapse by Canada and Patrick O’Sullivan went in alone to beat Ward on the deke. The Americans dominated the rest of the period except when the Nash line was on the ice. Ward played sensationally and the Americans certainly lacked finish around the Canadian net. Canada held the 3-2 lead heading into the final period, and U.S. coach John Tortorella inserted backup goalie Craig Anderson into the net. Just 3:29 into the period, though, Canada scored for the fourth time only seconds after their first power play of the night had expired. Derek Roy one-timed a sensational pass from the corner by Chris Kunitz to make it 4-2. The relentless Americans, though, struck back two minutes later, finally converting on their vaunted power play with a goal similar to the Roy-Kunitz combination. Parise made a great pass from the corner and Dustin Brown finished the play. They tied the game on their fifth power play of the night, again a quick pass leading to a one-timer by Jason Pominville that Ward had no chance on. And then, with less than a minute to play, the Americans were caught deep in Canada’s end and the Canadians broke out on a 4-on-2. Getzlaf tore down the left side and fed Heatley, who made no mistake, sending the 9,192 fans into a frenzy. "Give them credit," Doan said in praise. "They could have given up when it was 3-0, but they kept on us. We were a little sloppy and had too many giveaways, so we'll have to work on that." NOTES: Team Canada 1976 was honoured during the first intermission. Twelve members of the team came to the Team Canada bench to loud applause: Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, Jim Watson, Bobby Hull, Lanny McDonald, Bill Barber, Pete Mahovlich, Danny Gare, Darryl Sittler, Reg Leach, coach Scotty Bowman, and assistant coach Al MacNeil…the team was honoured because, in the words of Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson, “it was time. This was a great team, and we needed to honour them. We want to do a lot more of this in the future.” ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/heatley-to-the-rescue.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=2f9d75faecGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 13:30:14 GMT -5
Czechs outskill Italy NHL stars carry offence for winners as Czechs prep for next round 07-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Before the puck dropped, most figured the Italians would be like Christians fed to the lions on the retro Czech jerseys their opponents wore Tuesday night. And that’s what happened. The 7-2 final score had no effect on the Group D standings, as the Czechs had second spot sewn up and the Italians were bound for the Relegation Round regardless. Sparking the attack, Radim Vrbata scored two goals, bringing his team-leading total to four. Patrick Elias, Marek Zidlicky, and Martin Erat had a goal and an assist each, and Tomas Kaberle chipped in three assists. “It was a nothing game,” said Erat. “We just went in and tried to win the game without getting injured. It was nice to just take it easy in the third period. The Italians have a lot of Canadians. They tried their best, and I hope they can stay in the top division.” The overmatched Roman gladiators resisted valiantly in the first half of the Colisee encounter. The Czech offence clicked just 41 seconds in, as Martin Erat got to the front of Italian goalie Gunther Hell’s net to finish off a neat passing play involving Elias and Kaberle. But the Italians had an answer just 18 seconds later when Luca Ansoldi cheekily fired the puck through Czech netminder Marek Pinc’s legs on an offensive zone faceoff. It was a move you’d associate more with Mario Lemieux. And at 3:06, Nicola Fontanive barreled down left wing, cut in, and pounded a slapper over Pinc’s glove. A minute later, the Czechs evened the score again. Vrbata cut in from the right side, tried a centering pass that bounced back to him, moved into the slot and knifed a backhand past Hell to tie it 2-2. Shortly afterwards, forward Tomas Rolinek fell awkwardly next to the Czech bench and had to be helped off by the trainer and teammate Zbynek Michalek. The Czechs carried the play for the rest of the opening stanza, but the Italians hung tight. Hell made a great stick save at close range off Vrbata with under two minutes left in the opening stanza. It couldn’t last. Zidlicky put the Czechs up 3-2 at 1:29 of the second period when his power play one-timer from the left faceoff circle zipped through Hell’s five-hole. The Italians continued to play tenaciously despite being outshot, but that wouldn’t be enough. Just past the halfway point, Vrbata was left alone in the faceoff circle, and zinged a high wrister under the crossbar to give the Czechs a two-goal edge. Working a late second-period man advantage, Elias finished off a beautiful give-and-go with Kaberle to put the game out of reach. And Filip Kuba’s low, hard drive squeaked over the line to make it 6-2 at 19:03. When Jaroslav Hlinka made it 7-2 at 3:53 of the third period, Hell was replaced by Thomas Tragust for the rest of the night. This was ultimately much like other Czech-Italian encounters of the new millennium, including Czech wins of 9-2 (2000) and 11-0 (2001). “We started well, but we just couldn’t do it,” said Ansoldi. “Our World Championship begins now, just like previous tournaments.” The Czechs face the winner of the Sweden-Switzerland game to open the Qualifying Round on Thursday, and Italy’s Relegation Round struggle kicks off versus the loser of Belarus-France that day. “We were playing against a really good team with outstanding passing,” said Italian coach Mickey Goulet. “Few teams in the world can move the puck like the Czechs do. Our group with the Czechs, Russia, and Denmark was tough.” Asked about the possibility of facing France in relegation play, Goulet said: “We saw France play against Sweden, and they played outstanding hockey in the first period. We always have tight games against them.” LUCAS AYKROYD www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/czechs-outskill-italy.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=6b6af979ecGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 13:32:49 GMT -5
Latvia advances over Slovenia Slovenia has to fight against relegation while Latvia's playing for more this time after beating the Slovenes 3-0. 07-05-08 HALIFAX – Latvia beat Slovenia 3-0 at the Metro Centre to advance to the Qualification Round. The Slovenians will now play in the Relegation Round after finishing fourth in Group B while Latvia advances to the Qualification Round. The star of the game, however, was Slovenia goalie Robert Kristan who made several brilliant saves. Aleksandrs Nizivijs and Aleksejs Sirokovs (with two goals) scored for Latvia. Edgars Masalskis earned the shutout for Latvia which outshot its opponents, 38-17. Despite several power plays in the first period, there were few scoring chances. The most obvious exception was a penalty shot taken by Martins Cipulis. Latvia was awarded the freebie when Guntis Galvins was hauled down after getting in the clear. Kristan made the great save, but referee Brent Reiber called for the puck to go to centre ice. Galvins was selected by coach Olegs Znaroks to take the shot, but Galvins made a deke to his forehand and shot high and wide. The period ended without a goal, although Latvia held a wide margin in shots, 12-4, and had four of the six power-play chances. "We weren't worried," Aleksandrs Nizivijs said. "We knew after the first period that eventually we would score. If we didn't get any scoring chances, that would be bad, but we felt good even though it was 0-0." Improbably, the Latvians scored the game’s first goal on a second penalty shot in the second period, again after a tackle on a breakaway. Daugavins was hauled down at 9:55, and on the bonus shot Cipulis deked Kristan, outwaited him, and roofed the puck past the sprawled goalie. It was Latvia’s 24th shot to only five by Slovenia. "I just tried to see what the goalie was doing and then try to do the opposite," Nizivijs said of his strategy. A minute later, the Latvians converted a 2-on-1 to go ahead 2-0. Aleksejs Sirokovs nailed a pretty pass from Cipulis and made no mistake in beating the diving Kristan. Sirokovs added an empty netter in the final minute to complete the scoring. The rest of the game was dominated by the Latvians who kept Slovenia and its greatest players, Anze Kopitar and Tomaz Razingar, at bay. Indeed, the margin of play was so great the result seemed never in doubt once the Latvians scored the first goal. "We knew if we could stop Kopitar and Razingar from being good in our end that we would have a very good chance to win," Nizivijs noted. He was right. Slovenia has scored only two goals in three games, both by Kopitar. Razingar assisted on both. ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/latvia-advances-over-slovenia.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=e58bba8d12Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 20:27:11 GMT -5
Swiss slip by Swedes Sweet as chocolate, 4-2 win keeps Switzerland undefeated 07-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Sweden and Switzerland are two countries that often get confused with each other. Today, the Swiss added to the confusion by playing a mature and error-free game, much like the Swedes usually do, as they went on to win 4-2, claiming the top spot in Group A. In the process of doing that, they also showed the Swedes that it is the fast that eat the slow. Swedish coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson let Stefan Liv tend the Swedish goal again, after his shutout against France, while forward Per Ledin dressed for the first time in the tournament. Ralph Krueger, the Swiss coach, had given Martin Gerber the day off, handing over the goalkeeping duties to Jonas Hiller. Today, it was the Swedes that wore the retro sweaters. Theirs were from 1957 when the team won World Championship gold. Unfortunately, the whole Swedish play seemed to be from about the same era today. Maybe the arrival of Douglas Murray, grandson of Lasse Bjorn, one of the members of the 1957 team will wake the Swedes up. Switzerland controlled the game from the first shift on. After just 48 seconds, Thierry Paterlini shook off Alexander Edler, grabbed Paul DiPietro’s rebound, went around Stefan Liv and tipped the puck into an empty net to give the Swiss the lead. Ten minutes later, Fredrik Warg sent a wrist shot from the left circle to the net, surprising Hiller, and tying the game. After that, the game went according to coach Krueger’s plans. The Swiss were quick to return to the neutral zone, and Sweden stepped right into trap, one shift, one attack, one player at a time. And whatever shots the Swedes fired, Hiller was there to stop them. "Things went the way we wanted. I think we were better in front of the nets, just as we wanted to be. Today is a big day for Swiss hockey," Krueger said after the game. And when the Swiss stopped the Swedes, they were quick to go on the attack. With a little over four minutes remaining, Anders Ambuhl got the puck on the red line. He picked up speed, skated around Niclas Wallin who missed a step turning, and lifted the puck over Liv’s shoulder into the net. "I had good speed, and I saw that the defenseman was turning and was off balance so I drove to the net. I saw a little opening, and tried to get the puck in there," he said. After a goalless second period, many believed the Swedes would wake up again, like in its previous games, against Belarus and France. But not this time. Instead, Thibaut Monnet put an end to the Swedish struggle when he broke in from the left, and sent a backhander to the top shelf on Liv’s glove side. Any hope that the Swedes had left, were wiped away by Niclas Wallin's penalty for checking from behind, for five minutes and an automatic game misconduct. And if there still was somebody, somewhere thinking the Swedes might come back, a minute later Alexander Edler was sent off, too, for checking from behind. Patric Hornqvist got the 3-2 goal with 58 seconds remaining when Sweden was playing shorthanded. Beat Forster got an empty-netter with seven seconds remaining, to make it 4-2. "They outworked us in every aspect of the game, there was no question about who the better team was," said Swedish coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson. "We can't match the big nations player by player but we can match them as a team. We've had a longer camp than the rest which has helped us build the team. Now the fun begins for us," said Krueger. It had been 15 years since Switzerland beat Sweden in the World Championships. The last time that happened was in the Munich tournament in 1993. The score was 6-4 then. If it's any consolation to the Swedish fans, that year, Sweden finished second in the tournament and Switzerland was relegated from the top division. But this is 2008 and Switerland is still undefeated in the tournament. "I think this tells everybody in our room that we have to wake up right now and start to play hockey," said a disappointed Nicklas Backstrom after the game. RISTO PAKARINEN www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/swiss-slip-by-swedes.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=1f59e727e8Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 20:29:32 GMT -5
Finland squeaks by Slovakia The Finns continue to play hockey that is less than dominating, but they won 3-2 and await Koivu's offense 07-05-08 HALIFAX – The disappointing 2008 World Championship continued for the Slovakians today as they were beaten 3-2 by Finland. The result assures the Finns top spot in Group C. Slovakia will finish third or fourth based on the results of tonight’s Germany-Norway game. Niko Kapanen, Tuomo Ruutu, and Teemu Selanne scored for the Finns while Robert Petrovicky and Miroslav Kovacik replied for Slovakia. "I think we had a good first period, but we should have played more active hockey like that the rest of the way," Ruutu said. Kapanen opened the scoring at 2:05, taking a harmless shot from a bad angle along the left boards as he was falling. It was a shot that Budaj should have stopped with ease, but it slipped between his pads and over the line. The Finns upped the count to 2-0 on the power play, although the extra man had little to do with this beautiful play off the rush. In the end, Kapanen flew down the left wind and made a great pass to Ruutu. Ruutu accepted the puck, slid across the crease as goalie Peter Budaj committed to the shot, and slid it in the open side. But the Slovakians showed some pluck and struck back just 14 seconds later when Robert Petrovicky made a gorgeous deke in tight and slid the puck between Niklas Backstrom’s pads to make it a 2-1 game. Despite being badly outplayed, Slovakia managed to tie the game at 18:21 on a delayed penalty. Peter Fabus took the original shot on a 2-on-1, but goalie Niklas Backstrom kicked the puck onto Kovacik’s stick as he made the save. Kovacik smacked home the rebound to cap an entertaining first period. The Finns pulled ahead again at 5:17 of the second on another man advantage. Teemu Selanne blasted a hard shot from the top of the faceoff circle that beat Budaj cleanly to the stick side. Moments later Riku Hahl hit the post but the puck ricocheted behind the goalie and out the other side. The Slovaks had a great chance to tie the game later in the period. Coming out of his own zone, Olli Jokinen threw a blind pass to the centre of the ice only to have it picked off by Marcel Hossa. He walked in alone on Backstrom, but the goalie made the save. Slovakia had a great opportunity again to tie the game in the third period after Hannes Hyvonen drove Tomas Starosta into the boards, giving the Slovakians a five-minute advantage. The team could muster few decent shots. Coach Julius Supler pulled Budaj for the extra attacker only with 31 seconds left to play, but the Finns weathered this brief storm and skated off with the victory. "It's good to get the three points. Our game is going to get better, especially when Saku [Koivu] is in the lineup," Ruutu said. "We knew they were desperate because this was an important game for them," Finland's Ville Peltonen noted, "but we were ready. We still have ups and downs in a game, but we're improving and becoming more menatlly tough." ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/finland-squeaks-by-slovakia.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=08e6aa8e6aGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 20:33:12 GMT -5
Au revoir: Belarus bests France The men from Belarus move on while Les Bleus face relegation fight 08-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Belarus and France are both staying in Quebec City, but they’re on different journeys after the Belarusians sent their foes to the Relegation Round with a 3-1 win on Wednesday at the Colisée. Alexei Ugarov scored the winner midway through the second period. In the new millennium, France has failed to stay up both times (2000, 2004) it’s faced relegation play. Its quest to break the trend starts Friday versus Italy, while Belarus will battle neighbouring Russia that day. The Belarusians have now cracked the Top 12 for the fourth consecutive year. The last time they played (and lost out) in the Relegation Round was 2003. Alexei Kaluzhny and Andrei Kostitsyn also scored for Belarus. Olivier Coqueux replied for the French. The game unfolded at a cautious pace, with both teams needing the win to move on. The Belarusians’ puck possession and ability to keep their opponents on the perimeter dominated the first period. France didn’t register a shot on goal for nearly 14 minutes. At 12:57, Kaluzhny slid a shot from the sideboards that slipped through Cristobal Huet’s pads for a 1-0 Belarus lead. The Kostitsyn brothers drew assists on the play, to the delight of Montreal Canadiens fans. But that didn’t spell immediate doom for the French. They tied it up on a lucky shorthanded goal by Olivier Coqueux with seven seconds left in the period, as he backhanded the puck from behind the goal line and put it in off the back of Vitali Koval’s left leg. The Belarusian goalie looked almost as surprised as when Steve Smith pulled a similar stunt, scoring an own goal on Edmonton teammate Grant Fuhr during the 1986 Smythe Division final versus Calgary. Tension increased as the score remained 1-1 into the second period. Koval foiled Sebastien Bordeleau on a wraparound attempt, and Sergei Kostitsyn came close with a dazzling rush, forcing Huet to make the second save on Konstantin Koltsov. But at 27:48, Belarus regained the lead when Alexei Ugarov smartly tipped Oleg Leontiev’s shot through Huet’s legs. Huet battled to keep his team in the game in the final period. More than once the NHL veteran stretched out to foil Sergei Kostitsyn on a madcap dash to the net. The Belarusian pressure increased during a power play after Simon Lacroix hauled down Ugarov on a near breakaway. Huet scrambled left and right, barely keeping the puck out on several chances at the goal line. But it did not matter, since his teammates failed to get the equalizer. With under a minute left, Huet tried to get out of the net for an extra attacker, but it backfired, as he was way out of position when Andrei Kostitsyn got the puck in the neutral zone and raced in to slide it into the deserted cage. Belarus outshot France 29-20. France’s pop-gun offence has been a major detriment thus far, as the team’s total output of two goals is tied for worst with Slovenia. Defensively, only the Italians (with 20 goals against) are worse. An enthusiastic corps of French supporters sang and clapped throughout the game behind Huet’s net. But they still haven’t heard the Marseillaise played after a game, and that needs to happen soon for Les Bleus. LUCAS AYKROYD www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/au-revoir-belarus-bests-france.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=dcf02dafaaGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 21:02:22 GMT -5
No German support for Slovaks Morten Ask scored the game-winning goal for Norway against Germany. Both are in the qualification round, Slovakia plays relegation series against Slovenia! HALIFAX – After a day marred by controversy, Germany lost to Norway 3-2. After taking a 2-0 lead, Germany could not hold on against the determined Norwegians. Morten Ask’s goal with 4:17 remaining gave Norway its first tournament win. Norway and Germany join Finland to the qualification round while Slovenia has to play the relegation series against Slovenia. For Germany, the loss of Jason Holland, who was suspended for eligibility reasons, was a blow for the team. In their last game against Slovakia, Holland registered an assist in 15:51 of ice time. Germany came out with a chip on their shoulders. There were plenty of after whistle scrums, pushing and shoving to keep the referees and linesmen busy. Buoyed by a vocal contingent of fans in attendance at Halifax Metro Centre, Germany wasted little time in cashing in on a power play. Marco Sturm scored his second goal of the tournament at 6:37 into the period. Stefan Ustorf and Florian Busch, who was ruled to remain eligible to play in the tournament, assisted. Philip Gogulla made it 2-0 at 4:09 into the second period with a great second effort when his initial backhand did not beat Pal Grontes. Staying with the play, Gogulla jammed it home for his first-ever World Championship goal. Prior to this, Gogulla had seven assists since joining the national team in 2007. Michael Wolf and Michael Hackert both picked up assists. Norway got back into the game when Marius Holtet put away a chance past Robert Muller. For Holtet it was his first goal of the 2008 IIHF World Championship. It was a power play goal. For the second straight game, Norway played strong defense, allowing only 17 shots, and got timely chances but could not pull even until Mats Zuccarello Aasen scored. Aasen, making his debut for the Norwegian national team, played the third period with the most confidence since making his debut last Saturday against Slovakia. As with their last game, Norway found themselves tied 2-2 inside of ten minutes. The question now was if they had enough to find themselves on the winning side of matters unlike the game against Finland. With less than five minutes a critical two-man advantage they would Mats Trygg sent a pass cross ice to Morten Ask who fired a slapshot that beat Muller between the legs. The answer would be yes, Norway wins this time around. JOHN SANFUL www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/no-german-support-for-slovaks.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=710fa343aaGame summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 21:04:09 GMT -5
Final Prelimary Round Standings:
Group A Rank Team GP W OTW OTL L PTS GDF GF:GA 1 SUI 3 3 0 0 0 9 6 10 : 4 2 SWE 3 2 0 0 1 6 8 17 : 9 3 BLR 3 1 0 0 2 3 0 9 : 9 4 FRA 3 0 0 0 3 0 -14 2 : 16
Group B Rank Team GP W OTW OTL L PTS GDF GF:GA 1 CAN 3 3 0 0 0 9 12 17 : 5 2 USA 3 2 0 0 1 6 7 13 : 6 3 LAT 3 1 0 0 2 3 -8 3 : 11 4 SLO 3 0 0 0 3 0 -11 2 : 13
Group C Rank Team GP W OTW OTL L PTS GDF GF:GA 1 FIN 3 2 1 0 0 8 6 11 : 5 2 NOR 3 1 0 1 1 4 -4 6 : 10 3 GER 3 1 0 0 2 3 -3 7 : 10 4 SVK 3 1 0 0 2 3 1 9 : 8
Group D Rank Team GP W OTW OTL L PTS GDF GF:GA 1 RUS 3 2 1 0 0 8 10 16 : 6 2 CZE 3 2 0 1 0 7 7 16 : 9 3 DEN 3 1 0 0 2 3 -2 9 : 11 4 ITA 3 0 0 0 3 0 -15 5 : 20
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Post by Terry on May 7, 2008 21:10:00 GMT -5
Updated the schedule on start of thread to show match-ups for qualification and relegation round.
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Post by Terry on May 9, 2008 11:20:52 GMT -5
Sweden back on track Lundqvist starts first game, bolsters team confidence, as Sweden regroups. 08-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Just 23 hours after their game against Switzerland, the Swedes were back on the saddle, happy to get a chance to redeem themselves. Unfortunately for Denmark, they happened to be there to take the beating, as Swedes marched to a 8-1 win. The Swedes had been busy after their loss against Switzerland. Coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson had shuffled the lines and added Daniel Widing to the roster. Also, NHLers Douglas Murray, defenseman, and Henrik Lundqvist, goalkeeper, played their first games in the tournament. The Swedes started strong, and took control of the game from the opening faceoff on. Today, they were aggressive, passed the puck, and made sure the Danes stayed away from the slot. Captain Kenny Jonsson showed the way as he sailed in from the right, leaving one, two Danes stumbling behind him, and then went around goalie Peter Hirch as well, before tipping the puck into an empty net at 8:47 in the first period. Danes got their chance for an equalizer when Douglas Murray got a two-minute penalty for inteference after what seemed to be a clean open ice hit. The Swedes killed the penalty, and then two minutes later, Marcus Nilson got his first goal of the tournament with a slapshot from the point. "It was really important that we got off to a good start, that we showed the Danes right away that we were the better team, and in charge," said Henrik Lundqvist, who had just 17 saves in the game. The second period was simply more of the same. The Swedes were one step ahead of the Danes. The deliberation, the hesitation was gone, and when there was a scoring chance, they took it, like Tony Martensson who beat Hirsch with a wrist shot after five minutes of play. "Some of our guys who play in Sweden read the Swedish newspapers, and [we knew] they got a lot of [criticism] there. I still think they came out pretty weakly, but we just weren’t ready today, and that was our mistake," said Jesper Damgaard. "Normally we would have a chance, but we just gave them the game today. And they got better and better every minute," he said. Today, the Swedes scored even when there wasn’t a chance. Anton Stralman got his first of the tournament on a wrist shot from the blue line, bouncing to the net from Hirsch’s stick. "It was a little mental thing, because maybe their goalie wasn’t that great against the Swiss, and then one of the greatest goalies in the world comes in today. We knew it would be tough to score three or four goals on him, so maybe that had a little bit of an impact on us," Damgaard said. The Swedes got a goal in the first shift of the third period when Nicklas Backstrom got the puck to Karl Fabricius in the corner. He had no problems to step in front of the net and beat Hirsch for 5-0. A minute later, the Swedes zigzagged through the Danish defense. Per Ledin carried the puck to the Danizh zone, faked a shot and passed the puck to Martensson on the right circle. Martensson sent it right away to Mattias Weinhandl whose slapshot beat Hirsch. When Rickard Wallin scored 7-0 from a rebound five minutes into the third period, Hirsch had had enough. "We player really poorly, which is a shame because I think we had a chance against this Swedish team. The way we played in the third period was embarrassing," said Kim Staal. The Weinhandl-Martensson duo wasn't done yet. With ten minutes remaining, Weinhandl sent a pass across the Danish zone, and Martensson beat Patrick Galbraith for the first time. Kasper Degn broke Lundqvist's shutout bid when he tipped in Stefan Lassen's pass from the corner for 8-1. "It was really fun to put on the Tre Kronor sweater again," said Henrik Lundqvist, after the game, feeling the texture of the yellow jersey. "When we were standing on the blue line, listening to the national anthem, I really felt that that's the reason I decided to come and play here. It was a great feeling," he added. " Today, Stockholm is still the hockey capital of Scandinavia. RISTO PAKARINEN www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/sweden-back-on-track.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=a5b2b744b1Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 9, 2008 11:29:22 GMT -5
Dash by Nash gives Canada win Goalie Pal Grotnes and Norway's penalty killers shine, but Canada prevails 2-1 on late goal 08-05-08 HALIFAX – Pal Grotnes is a name Team Canada won’t soon forget. The Norwegian goalie played the game of his life this afternoon at the Metro Centre only 18 hours after his team surprised Germany, 3-2, but it wasn't quite enough today as Canada eked out a 2-1 win. Grotnes stopped 51 of 53 shots while his teammates fired just 16 at Pascal Leclaire. Rick Nash was the hero making an end-to-end rush and finishing with the tie-breaking goal with just 3:58 left in regulation time. The result ensures Canada stays atop Group F with nine points and Norway remains in third place with four points. It was the 13th straight win for Canada in World Championship play dating back to last year's perfect 9-0 run. The game today, however, was a scary reminder of May 1, 2000, in St. Petersburg when Norway shocked the Canadians by a 4-3 score. "We're really disappointed today," offered Norway's Mathis Olimb. "After a while, we really expected a lot from ourselves because we were playing so well." Mike Green and Nash scored for Canada and Mads Hansen for Norway before a solid but mostly quiet crowd that, no doubt, expected a much higher score. "It took a little bit longer to pick up our game and find a way," Green said, "but they made it tough on us. They played a great defensive game and made it hard to penetrate because of their system." Norway lined up along centre ice, didn’t forecheck aggressively, and protected their goalie by getting in the way of as many pucks as possible. Still, the puck was inside Norway’s blueline for much of the game until Canada ran into penalty trouble midway through the third period. Mike Green got the crowd going at 9:32 of the first on the power play. Brent Burns took a shot that went wide but caromed off the back boards onto Green’s stick. He moved the puck in front, waited for Grotnes to commit, and drilled a perfect wrist shot over the goalie's glove for a 1-0 Canada lead. The 14-3 shots totals for the first period accurately reflected Canada’s domination. Indeed, the only time the Norwegians had the puck in Canada’s end was on their two power-play chances, neither of which yielded a good scoring chance. The Norwegians had a great chance to tie the game midway through the second when Per-Age Skroder had the wide open side of the net and Pascal Leclaire sliding the other way, but he fanned on the shot. Moments later, the one-piece stick made perhaps its worst appearance in international hockey. Rick Nash had a breakaway from centre ice, and just as he was about to rip a shot, his stick snapped in half, one piece sliding into the net (no goal) and the other between his skates. The Canadians tried one cutesy pass after another, creating some exciting plays, maybe, but no goals. All the while, Norway was one shot away from tying the game. In the middle part of the period Canada had four consecutive power plays, but still they couldn’t beat Grotnes a second time. Full credit also goes to the Norway penalty killers who kept Canada at bay. And then the incredible happened. Defenceman Duncan Keith was pokechecked at the Norwegian blueline by Mads Hansen, and he skated in alone, deked Leclaire, and swept the puck into the net to tie the score before Keith could chase him down. The short-handed goal was a stunning turn of events given the domination by Canada to that point. Shots after two periods were 34-10, but the score was 1-1. Canada had a 5-on-3 for 51 seconds early in the third but could do nothing with the glorious chance, and then it was the Canadians who were whistled for a string of five straight penalties that had the fans howling with protest, followed by enthusiastic chants of “Let’s go Canada, let’s go!” It was their liveliest outburst of the game. "The penalty kill really took the momentum away from them," said Chris Kunitz. "Getting into penalty trouble really doesn't get your best players involved, but we found a way." "We really should have gotten at least one goal," Olimb agreed, "but they played really well in front and took away our chances. That's what happens when you play really good teams." Finally, at 16:02, Rick Nash made an end-to-end dash on the power play. He drove down the left wing, cut hard in on goal, and squeezed the puck inside the far post to give Canada a 2-1 lead it richly deserved but hadn't yet achieved. It was Canada's 50th shot on goal to just 16 by Norway. "It all comes down to desperation," Green suggested. "We really needed a goal badly. It was a great play by Nash--he always seems to find a way. That's the great player he is." Canada’s next game is against Germany on Saturday afternoon while Norway meets Latvia on Sunday afternoon. ANDREW PODNIEKS www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/canada-struggles-in-2-1-win.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=17e969ff29Game summaryRosters
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Post by Terry on May 9, 2008 11:32:26 GMT -5
Czech finesse stops Swiss Erat scores winner and Hnilicka gets shutout as Swiss finally lose 09-05-08 QUEBEC CITY – Earlier in the tournament, Swiss coach Ralph Krueger said: “My guys don’t have NHL offensive skills, but they do have NHL defensive skills.” Predictably, Switzerland kept it close for half the game before falling 5-0 to the Czechs in Qualifying Round action Thursday night. With the win in front of an announced crowd of 9.603, the Czechs moved into first place in Group D with seven points, ahead of Sweden and Switzerland, which have six apiece. Martin Erat scored the game-winner and had an assist. Patrik Elias and Tomas Kaberle also paced the Czech attack with a goal and an assist apiece, and Tomas Fleischmann and Jiri Novotny had the other Czech tallies. “We wanted to hold on to the puck and control the game,” said Kaberle. “They didn't have that many shots on our goal, and our goalie had a clear view on all the shots, which was good.” Czech starter Milan Hnilicka got his first shutout in Switzerland’s first loss of the 2008 IIHF World Championship. From the start, the Swiss sat back and bided their time like judicious clockmakers. Checking tenaciously and clogging up the ice, they gave the skilled Czech passers and shooters as little room to execute as possible. Switzerland’s Thomas Deruns generated two turnovers and came close to scoring on a partial break and a wraparound attempt. But overall, the Swiss barely generated any shots. “Our plan was to shut down the neutral zone, we played the same way we play against everybody,” said Switzerland’s Paul DiPietro. “We don't think about the opponent, we worry only about how we play.” Shortly past the halfway point of the period, Jaroslav Hlinka took a smart headman pass from Zbynek Michalek, whipped past the Swiss defence at the blueline, and deked but couldn’t beat Swiss netminder Martin Gerber. With 54 seconds left in the first period, the favourites finally broke through. Switzerland’s Goran Bezina lost the puck in the neutral zone to Tomas Rolinek, and Martin Erat took his pass and sprinted in on goal to lift a wrister over Gerber’s glove. Five minutes into the second period, Gerber smartly slid across to foil Radim Vrbata on a 2-on-1 rush. Midway through the game, he held his ground when Vrbata deked his way out of the corner and tried to stuff it in on a Czech power play. The Czechs had the territorial edge but were struggling to put this game away. That is, until the 14:44 mark of the second, when Patrik Elias set up Tomas Kaberle for a power play one-timer from above the hash marks, which blew past Gerber for a 2-0 lead. “We knew they have a great power play, great hands there in Elias and Kaberle, and you can't give them the opportunity to use it,” said DiPietro. With 4:10 left before the buzzer, Elias stickhandled out of the corner and roofed one over Gerber’s blocker on yet another power play. And at 19:34, Tomas Fleischmann made it 4-0 when he zoomed in on Gerber and was stopped, but Swiss D-man Julien Vauclair inadvertently gloved the puck out of mid-air into his own net. The last Czech goal came from Jiri Novotny with 1:50 left in the game, as he shoved a loose puck through Gerber’s pads. The Czech Republic extended its shots-on-goal advantage in the third period, finishing with a 33-12 edge. There were to be no upsets this day. Backstopped by David Aebischer, the Swiss shocked the Czechs 3-2 at the 2006 Olympics. The last time Switzerland beat Czechs at World Championships was April 29, 1991, by a 4-3 count against the forerunner Czechoslovakia. The Czechs got some reinforcements, inserting forward Tomas Plekanec of the Montreal Canadiens and defenceman Michal Rozsival of the New York Rangers into their lineup. LUCAS AYKROYD www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/czech-finesse-stops-swiss.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1595&cHash=7c78ba4c05Game summaryRosters
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