With the lower U20 tournaments wrapping up this weekend, it's time to take a quick look at who's getting bumped up, and who is going to say goodbye.
U20 Division 1 Group A - Belarus (host), Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Ukraine
Current Standings:
1 (Promotion)- Latvia 3W-0L- +15GD
2- Belarus 3W-0L- +10GD
3- Great Britain 2W-1L- +1GD
4- Italy 1W-2L- +2GD
5- Japan 0W-3L- -10GD
6 (Relegation)- Ukraine 0W-4L- -18GD
While Latvia currently has the lead because of Goal Differential, Belarus still has a chance to be promoted. They play on Sunday to determine who will move up. Great Britain has surprised me, and now they have an outside shot at placing first (although there lost against Latvia more than likely nullifies that). If Belarus and Latvia start collapsing, then a win against Belarus will give Great Britain the push up. Italy's lone win will probably keep them in the division. I'm almost ashamed of Ukraine, I thought they had a chance to play in the top division next year, now they are fighting just to stay in Division 1. Their game against Japan later today will decide who gets relegated.
U20 Division 1 Group B - Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Slovenia (host)
Current Standings:
1 (Promotion)- Denmark 3W-0L- +16GD
2- Austria 2W-0L-1OTW- +9GD
3- Slovenia 2W-1L- +14GD
4- Kazakhstan 2W-2L- -3GD
5- Croatia 0W-3L-1OTL- -22GD
6 (Relegation)- Lithuania 0W-3L- -14GD
Pretty much a clear-cut group here. Slovenia, Denmark, and Austria are still much alive. Austria and Denmark will meet Saturday to determine who gets promoted. Slovenia is in an interesting spot. Provided that they win their last 2 games (one against Austria) while Denmark would have to lose there two in order for Slovenia to advance (due to there surprising overtime win over Croatia - more on that latter - Austria only gets 2 points instead of 3). Kazakhstan's win last night puts them solidly in 4th, so they survive another year. The biggest surprise of the group (uh...score-wise) is that Croatia was able to force overtime (with a shorthanded tying goal no less) against a highly-regarded team like Austria. The single point they got from the game has them ahead of Lithuania with the two facing off on Saturday.
U20 Division 2 Group A- Belgium, Estonia (host), France, Iceland, Netherlands, Spain
Current Standings:
1 (Promotion)- France 3W-0L- +33GD
2- Netherlands 3W-0L- +6GD
3- Spain 1W-2L- -6GD
4- Iceland 1W-2L- -6GD
5- Estonia 1W-2L- -8GD
6 (Relegation)- Belgium 0W-3L- -22GD
Well my predictions are shot to hell. France was expected to finish top 2 and will, most likely, be promoted. The Netherlands (again score-wise, it would be nice to find a feed to some of these games) haven't looked overly dominant and have relied on third period rallies to beat opponents. Out of the three, Spain has put up the most fight against the the top two. Iceland lost 5-1 against Netherlands, they have yet to face France. Estonia put up a fight against Netherlands, but were demolished by France. Belgium has a slim-to-none chance staying up.
U20 Division 2 Group B- Australia, China, Hungary, South Korea, Poland, Romania (host)
Current Standings:
1 (Promotion)- Poland 3W-0L- +34GD
2- Hungary 3W-0L- +32GD
3- South Korea 2W-1L- -4GD
4- Australia 1W-2L- 0GD
5- Romania 0W-3L- -15GD
6 (Relegation)- China 0W-3L- -47GD
Poland and Hungary have shown no mercy, making their match-up Sunday very interesting. South Korea and Australia have been middle of the pack. Romania kept last night's game against Korea close, while China has been completely dominated during the tournament. It's safe to say that Romania win their game against China later, and keep playing in Division 2.
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