Showing Some International Love: World Championship Division III Qualification Review

Well, damn if that didn't (almost) end up like I predicted. There were a few surpising things though. What you ask? Well just look below.

(All data courtesy of the IIHF website)

Standings

United Arab Emirates    3W - 0L - 9PTS - +11GD
Greece                         2W - 1L - 6 PTS - +14GD
Mongolia                      1W - 2L - 3PTS - +2GD
Georgia                        0W - 3L - 0PTS - -27GD

Results

October 14
Mongolia 6 - Georgia 0
United Arab Emirates 2 - Greece 0

October 15
Greece 13 - Georgia 0
Mongolia 2 - United Arab Emirates 3

October 17
Greece 5 - Mongolia 2
Georgia 1 - United Arab Emirates 9

Team Analysis

United Arab Emirates: Congrats to UAE for winning the group. They pulled off what I would consider the "biggest upset" of the tournament and shutting out Greece 2-0. UAE was then almost  upset themselves, having to fend off a Mongolian team attempting to come back. If they can carry this momentum (and roster size) into Division III then they could be a dark horse.

Greece: Congrats to Greece for qualifying for Division. It is a little weird to see them finish second though. While the wins against Georgia and Mongolia were predictable, the shutout loss against UAE seemed unusual for them. Greece has been a Division III punching bag (when Mongolia isn't around) in the last few years, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for them to regain some confidence heading into the actual Division III group. At least the lost was game one and they build off their last two games heading into April.

Mongolia: My helmet is off to Mongolia. Not only did they finally get a win in Divison III-ish competition (albeit against a put-together Georgian team), they were able to hang around with the two teams. They attempted to comeback against UAE and kept Greece tied going into the third (were they eventually lost the game). Progress for Mongolian hockey is still very slow, but this tournament showed they are heading in the right direction.

Georgia: Congrats to Gocha Jeiranashvili for scoring Georgia's only goal in this tournament, and first for the national team in two years. Other than that, the tournament went pretty much as expected for a Georgian squad that really doesn't have international experience.The good news is now they should be in the IIHF's world ranking.