Note: Most information from the IIHF website.
Group A
Team
|
Wins
|
OT/SOW
|
OT/SOL
|
Losses
|
Points
|
Goal Diff.
|
Canada
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
10
|
+7
|
USA
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
9
|
+14
|
Czech
Republic
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
-3
|
Slovakia
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
-1
|
Germany
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
-17
|
If anyone wants to see a nation's bi-polarism, just follow a Canadian on twitter during the round robin. Canada did start off with a win against Germany, but it took almost a whole period to get it going, and Germany was able to keep it close for the first little bit. Canada had a tougher time against the Czech Republic, having to match them goal-for-goal. They would eventually lose in the shootout. Canada continued to struggle, as Slovakia made them pay for their mistakes. Canada did keep the game close, and some late game heroics by Nic Petan gave Canada the 5-3 win. Against the USA, Canada was on edge, as once again they gave up the first goal of the game. But this time, Canada were able to fight back and build a lead. Zach Fucale would stand on his head at times, as Canada won the game 3-2, finishing first in the group.
USA were on fire for most of the round robin. They took advantage of penalties by the Czechs early on and just cruised from there in a 5-1 win. It was much of the same against Slovakia, as the American powerplay help them take the lead. A 3-goal third period just helped the US extend the lead and win the game 6-3. Against Germany, the US didn't give them much of a chance, shutting them out 8-0. They went in as the favourites against Canada, and while they did get the first goal, the Canadians ended up as the winners, as the US would finish second after the 3-2 loss.
The Czech Republic didn't start off well against the US. Two early penalties killed them and they failed to come back, opening the tournament with a 5-1 loss. Against Canada, the Czechs would get into a shootout, as everytime they scored, Canada would answer back. This game (funny enough) needed a shootout to determine a winner. Dominik Simon would score the deciding goal, as the Czechs would win the game 5-4. In that game, Michal Plutnar would push over a ref while trying to get at Connor McDavid. While it was considered unintentional, he did get suspend for one game. In what is probably the Czechs low point of the tournament, they were shutout by Germany in their next game. That 3-0 loss put the Czechs in last place and would set them up for the relegation round. Fortunately, the Czechs were able to bounce back and win 4-1 against Slovakia to avoid the relegation round and finish in third.
Slovakia started their tournament dominating Germany 9-2, and that ended up being all they needed. The Slovaks would get a couple powerplay goals back after giving up some against the US, but couldn't get closer than one goal, losing to the Americans 6-3. Against Canada, Slovakia's powerplay was working, getting them the opening goal over a minute into the game and eventually the lead in the second period. They couldn't hold on though, as the Canadians came back in the third. Slovakia would lose 5-3. In their last game, the Slovaks could only get one pass the Czechs, as they would lose to their neighbours 4-1. Slovakia would end up finishing fourth, moving onto the quarter finals.
To Germany's credit, they kept Canada close in there first game for the first period. They did eventually lose 7-2. It didn't get better from there, as the Germans lost 9-2 to Slovakia before getting shutout to the US 8-0. Germany went out and shutout the Czech Republic 3-0 in their last group game. The shutout gave them a chance to avoid the relegation round, but it wasn't meant to be. They ended up fifth in the group and would be headed to the relegation round.
Group B
Team
|
Wins
|
OT/SOW
|
OT/SOL
|
Losses
|
Points
|
Goal Diff.
|
Sweden
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
12
|
+15
|
Finland
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
7
|
+4
|
Russia
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
6
|
+13
|
Switzerland
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
-6
|
Norway
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
-26
|
Sweden owned the group from start to finish. They struggled a bit early on against the Swiss, but were able to pull it out in the third period for a 5-3 win. Against Finland, Sweden gave up an early goal, but were able to comeback soon afterwards and took over, winning the game 4-2. Sweden didn't give Norway much of a chance, holding them to a total of 13 shots while winning the game 10-0. Sweden ended their round robin with a 3-2 win over Russia, with Jacob de la Rose playing late-game hero for the Swedes. Sweden finished the round robin in first place, going undefeated in the group.
The Fins would start this tournament with an easy 5-1 win against Norway. From there things got harder. They did score first against Sweden, but would end up on the losing side of the 4-2 game. Against Russia, it was Finland giving up the first goal. But the Fins bounced back, winning the game 4-1. Finishing the round robin against Switzerland, Finland would be the ones who would claw back and tie the game. In the end they lost in a shootout, losing the game 4-3. The point Finland got in that game bumped them up in the group, where they finished second.
Russia began the tournament with not much of a challenge, beating Norway to the tune of 11-0. They continued their dominance against Switzerland, beating them 7-1. Russia was finally humbled, as Finland would beat them 4-1. Against Sweden, Russia would claw back thanks to two powerplay goals, but would fall victim to a late game winning goal in the 3-2 loss. Russia ended up in third place in the group.
Switzerland started out against Sweden, and to their credit they were able to keep it close despite losing 5-3. The Swiss were able to open the scoring against the Russians, then that was it for them. They couldn't hold off the Russian attack as they lost 7-1. Switzerland finally got one in the win column, but it was more of a struggle than they would like it to have been, as they beat Norway 3-2. The Swiss ended the round robin taking Finland to a shootout and winning in the sixth round. They finished in a comfortable fourth place in the group.
This was a tournament that Norway would like to forget. They started off with a 11-0 loss against Russia. It got a bit better against Finland, as Norway was able to score a goal in in garbage time. They would lose 5-1. Just like when they faced Russia, Norway would give up double digits against Sweden, getting shutout 10-0. Against Switzerland, Norway was finally able to get a lead, scoring halfway through the first. Penalty trouble would kill Norway's chance as Switzerland would tie it up. Norway would fall behind then tie it up, but they would give up one more powerplay goal, which would give them the 3-2 loss. Norway would finish fifth in the group and would head to the relegation round.
Relegation Round
Germany 0
Norway 3
Norway 3
Germany 4
Germany 3
Norway 1
Playoffs
Quarter Finals
USA 3
Russia 5
Finland 5
Czech Republic 3
Canada 4
Switzerland 1
Sweden 6
Slovakia 0
Semi-Finals
Sweden 2
Russia 1
Canada 1
Finland 5
Bronze Medal Game
Canada 1
Russia 2
Gold Medal Game
Sweden 2
Finland 3 (OT)
Final Ranking
1 (Gold) - Finland
2 (Silver) - Sweden
3 (Bronze) - Russia
4 - Canada
5 - United States
6 - Czech Republic
7 - Switzerland
8 - Slovakia
9 - Germany
10 (Relegated) - Norway
No comments:
Post a Comment