Showing Some International Love: Olympic Preliminary Qualification Review

Well that was...totally expected. Croatia easily won the group and qualified for the next round. What else happened? Look below.

Note: all data from the IIHF website

Standings

1 (Qualify) - Croatia      3W - 0L - 9PTS - +24GD
2 - Mexico                      2W - 1L - 6PTS - 0GD
3 - Serbia                      1W - 2L - 3PTS - 0GD
4 - Israel                        0W - 3L - 0PTS - -24GD

Results

September 17
Serbia 7 - Israel 1
Mexico 2 - Croatia 9

September 18
Serbia 3 - Mexico 5
Croatia 15 - Israel 2

September 19
Israel 2 - Mexico 7
Serbia 2 - Croatia 6

Notes

• I originally screwed up the World Rankings in the preview. It has since been fixed.
• No surprise #1: Croatia won.
• No surprise #2: Rosters played a significant part in this tournament.
• Even though the competition was (relatively) weak, there is something to be said about the depth and experience Croatia has.
• Have to kind of feel sorry for Israel, only having 16 skaters can wear a team down quick, especially when playing against higher-skilled players.
• What was surprising about Israel is all there goals came in the third period. Would have thought they score in the first, when their legs are fresher.
• With their lost to Mexico earlier, Serbia needed to win by at least 5 goals against Croatia to advance. They had no chance.
• Speaking of Mexico beating Serbia, it should give Mexico a huge confidence boost heading into their next World Championship tournament.
• Goals Leader: Brian Arroyo (Mexico) - 5
• Points Leader: Marko Lovrencic (Croatia) - 8
• GAA Leader: Mate Tomljenovic (Croatia) - 1.57
• Save % Leader: Mate Tomljenovic (Croatia) - 0.939
• The "No Surprise" Game: Croatia over Israel 15-2
• The "Upset" Game: Mexico getting by Serbia 5-3

What Now?

Croatia: They now qualify for the "Olympic Pre-Qualification" round, facing Hungary, Netherlands, and Lithuania. By the looks of the group, it might be a struggle to keep advancing (especially since Hungary could bring a - relatively - strong team to this).

Serbia: Will have to regroup after finishing a disappointing third. Will probably end up finishing in the bottom of Division II Group A.

Mexico: As mentioned above, the Serbia win should be a huge boost for Mexico. Combined with having the leading goal scorer, they should challenge for a promotion in Division II Group B.

Israel: After not having some of their top guys play for them, it will be time to regroup. Even though tis experience will help, they might still struggle staying afloat in Division II Group B.