2014 IIHF World Championship Update - Group A

Standings

Team	Wins	OT/SOW	OT/SOL	Losses	Points	Goal Diff.
Canada	5	1	1	0	18	+15
Sweden	5	1	1	0	18	+11
Czech Republic	2	2	2	1	12	+2
France	2	2	1	2	11	+5
Slovakia	3	0	1	3	10	-1
Norway	2	0	1	4	7	-3
Denmark	1	1	0	5	5	-10
Italy	1	0	0	6	3	-19

Canada

Results

Loss vs. France (2-3 SO)
Win vs. Slovakia (4-1)
Win vs. Czech Republic (4-3)
Win vs. Denmark (6-1)
Win vs. Italy (6-1)
Win vs. Sweden (3-2 OT)
Win vs. Norway (3-2)

Round Robin Summary

It started off scary for Canada, as they were pushed to a shootout by France (which they would ultimately lose). It seemed like much of the same against Slovakia, as Canada would tie the game up after giving up the first goal. This time though, Canada would find the back of the net more often in the third, winning the first game of their winning streak. For the third straight game, Canada would give up the opening goal before tying it soon after. With the help of a couple powerplay goals in the second, they were able to stay ahead of the comeback the Czech attempted (and it helps having a goalie who considers facing 18 shots in a period as "normal"). A Cody Hodgson hat trick would highlight Canada's 6-1 win over Denmark. It was much of the same against Italy (expect Canada did most of their scoring in the second and Italy's lone goal was in the third) as Canada once again would win 6-1. Canada would fall behind against Sweden, as they gave up the opening goal midway though the first and another goal early in the second. It didn't take long for Canada to make up those 2 goals, as they tied the game within 6 minutes. It took until overtime, when Ryan Ellis would put one past Anders Nilsson to give Canada the 3-2 win. Canada ended the Round Robin with another scare (this time against Norway). Canada would have to tie the game twice before finally taking the lead in the third and keeping it. Canada would finish the round robin first in the group and advance to the quarter finals.

Best Power Ranking

Whatever happens...we're the best! (May 8)

Sweden

Results

Win vs. Denmark (3-0)
Win vs. Czech Republic (4-3 SO)
Win vs. Norway (2-1)
Win vs. France (2-1)
Win vs. Slovakia (3-1)
Loss vs. Canada (2-3 OT)
Win vs. Italy (6-1)

Round Robin Summary

Sweden would start off round robin play with a 3-0 win over Denmark. Sweden would fall behind the Czech Republic early in the first and would finish the period down by one. While they gave up another goal in the second, Sweden's powerplay would help them eventually tie the game. This game needed a shootout, where Sweden would outscore the Czechs to earn the win. While Sweden would dominate Norway, they would end up tied 1-1 after 2 periods. Sweden would score in the third, and it would stand as the winning goal. Against France, it would take until the second period, but Sweden would finally find the back of the net. Their 2-goal second period was enough for them to hold on and win the game 2-1. Sweden's powerplay helped against Slovakia, as they would score twice in the first. While Slovakia would score in the second to cut the lead to 1, Sweden would get their 2-goal lead back in the third. The Swedes would win that game 3-1. Sweden would take the lead against Canada in the first and would add to it early in the second. That lead would evaporate quickly, as both teams would stay at 2 goals a piece for the rest of regulation. Sweden would lose the game minutes into overtime. Sweden would finish the round robin against Italy, with their powerplay contributing 4 goals in their 5-1 win. Sweden would end up second in the group, and advance to the quarter finals.

Best Power Ranking

On the bright side, Chris Kunitz didn't score (May 18)

Czech Republic

Results

Win vs. Slovakia (3-2 OT)
Loss vs. Sweden (3-4 SO)
Loss vs. Canada (3-4)
Win vs. Italy (2-0)
Loss vs. Denmark (3-4 SO)
Win vs. Norway (1-0)
Win vs. France (5-4 OT)

Round Robin Summary

The Czechs would start off with an overtime win over their rival Slovaks. Against Sweden, the Czech Republic would score 8 seconds in (thanks to Tomas Hertl). While Sweden tied it up later on, the Czechs would escape the first with a 1-goal lead. The Czechs would add to the lead halfway through the second, then got in penalty trouble. The Czechs gave up a powerplay goal in the second and third, as the Swedes would tie the game. In the end, the Czech Republic would lose in the shootout. The Czech Republic would score first against Canada, but would finish the first period tied. They would surrender the go-ahead goal early in the second before Jan Kovar would be ejected for slashing. Canada would score twice on that powerplay. In the third, the Czechs did manage to score twice, but could not get any closer, as they would lose 4-3. The Czech Republic would rebound against Italy, as they would shut them out while scoring the second and third periods. Against Denmark, the Czechs would score twice early on. Denmark would score soon after to cut the lead to one. The Czech Republic would add to their lead in the third, then things turned against them. The Czechs would give up 2 goals late in the third, and would be forced to a shootout (where they would lose). Once again, the Czechs would rebound from a loss with a shutout. This time they beat Norway 1-0. Against France, the Czechs fell behind 3-0 in the first before finally getting a goal at the end of the period. The Czechs would come back in the second with 3 goals of their own. The Czechs would give up a goal in the third, but would score in overtime to have the last laugh. The Czech Republic finish in third place, earning a spot in the quarter finals.

Best Power Ranking

Sobotka never sleeps (May 18)

France

Results

Win vs. Canada (3-2 SO)
Loss vs. Italy (1-2)
Win vs. Slovakia (5-3)
Loss vs. Sweden (1-2)
Win vs. Norway (5-4 SO)
Win vs. Denmark (6-2)
Loss vs. Czech Republic (5-4 OT)

Round Robin Summary

Was it Ole or Huet the crowd was chanting early in this tournament? France once again started off with an upset, as they beat Canada in a shootout. They didn't have such luck against Italy, as France would get scored on in the last minute to suffer a 2-1 loss. France would fall behind against Slovakia, as they would head into the third down 3-1. Thanks to 2 consecutive Slovak penalties, France's powerplay would tie the game. Damien Fleury would score the winner with 4 minutes left, as France would add another one to the win column. Against Sweden, France could not pull off another upset, as they would lose 2-1. In a goal-filled game against Norway, France would go form being down 2-0 early in the second to scoring 3 goals within a minute late in the period. Norway would eventually tie the game in the third, but France would end up the victors in the shootout. France would go goal-for-goal against Denmark for the first 2 periods before blowing the game out in the third, eventually winning 6-2. Against the Czech Republic, France would score 3 times in the first to open the scoring. They could not hold on, and by the end of the second France was down a goal. Antoine Roussel would score on the powerplay to tie the game in the third. France would eventually lose the game in overtime. With the point, France finished in solo possession of fourth place, and earn a spot in the quarter finals.

Best Power Ranking

The Slovaks went through a Baptiste of fire (May 13)

Slovakia

Results

Loss vs. Czech Republic (2-3 OT)
Loss vs. Canada (1-4)
Loss vs. France (3-5)
Win vs. Norway (5-2)
Loss vs. Sweden (1-3)
Win vs. Italy (4-1)
Win vs. Denmark (4-3)

Round Robin Summary

Slovakia would start off giving up a goal to the Czech Republic. They did manage to score twice in the second to take the lead. The Slovaks would hold on until late in the third, when the Czechs would tie the game. Slovakia would lose the game minutes into overtime. Slovakia would keep it close against Canada, as they finished the second period tied at 2. The third period was a different story, as Slovaks would give up 3 goals, and would lose the game 4-1. Slovakia looked to have turned it around against France, leading 3-1 after the second. But once again Slovakia would implode in the third, as they gave up 4 goals to France. Slovakia lost the game 5-3. Against Norway, Slovakia would go goal-for-goal in the first. Slovakia would pull away, scoring once in the second and twice in the third to give them the 5-2 win. Penalty trouble in the first would cost Slovakia, as they gave up 2 powerplay goals to Sweden. While the Slovaks would add one in the second, it was as close as they got. Slovakia would lose 3-1 to Sweden. Against Italy, Slovakia was dominated. Slovakia would win 4-1 while registering 53 shots against Italy. In their last game, Slovakia would score in the first before Denmark tied it up in the second. Slovakia would score on the powerplay early in the third to take the lead. In a minute-and-a-half span, Denmark and Slovakia would score 2 goals each. In the end, Slovakia had the extra goal, which gave them the 4-3 win. Slovakia would finish fifth in the group, just outside of a playoff spot.

Best Power Ranking

Join the EU, they said...win IIHF medals, they said... (May 15)

Norway

Results

Win vs. Italy (3-0)
Win vs. Denmark (5-4)
Loss vs. Sweden (1-2)
Loss vs. Slovakia (2-5)
Loss vs. France (4-5 SO)
Loss vs. Czech Republic (0-1)
Loss vs. Canada (2-3)

Round Robin Summary

Norway would start the tournament off well, as Lars Haugen would stop 15 shots in their 3-0 win against Italy. Special teams were paramount in their game against Denmark. In the end, Norway's would outdo Denmark's, as the Norwegians would win 5-4. Despite struggling against Sweden early on, Norway would open the scoring in the second. In the end they could not hold on, as Sweden would score in the second and third to give Norway their first loss. Against Slovakia, Norway would need to tie the game twice in the first. This was the end of Norway's scoring, as they would give up 3 more over the next 2 periods to suffer their second straight loss. Norway looked to have ended their losing ways against France, scoring a goal in both the first and second periods. That lead would evaporate quickly, as France scored 3 times in a minute to take the lead. Norway would tie the game in the third (twice!) to force overtime. This game went to a shootout, where Norway would suffer another loss. Norway would give up an early goal to the Czech Republic, and that was it. The best chance Norway had to tie the game was on a penalty shot, but Ken-Andre Olimb failed to convert. In their last game, Norway would put a bit of a scare into Canada, as they would take the lead twice in the game. In the end, Norway would give up a powerplay goal in the third to finish with another loss. Norway ends up sixth in the group.

Best Power Ranking

Sondre Olden would have been cheaper than David Clarkson (May 13)

Denmark

Results

Loss vs. Sweden (0-3)
Loss vs. Norway (3-4)
Win vs. Italy (4-1)
Loss vs. Canada (1-6)
Win vs. Czech Republic (4-3 SO)
Loss vs. France (2-6)
Loss vs. Slovakia (3-4)

Round Robin Summary

Denmark had a rough start to the tournament, getting shut out by Sweden 3-0. While they scored 2 early goals against Norway, Denmark would see that go away during the course of the game. Denmark would score once more in the third to pull within one, but that was as close as they got to tying that game. Denmark would finally find the win column against Italy, as a 2-goal second period gave them the lead in their 4-1. Against Canada, it was Denmark who would only find the back of the net once, as they would be blown out 6-1. Penalty trouble would cost Denmark early against the Czech Republic, as they would go down 2-0 early. Denmark would score minutes later to cut the lead to one. While the Czechs added one more early in the third, Denmark was resilient, and would eventually tie the game late in the third. Denmark would eventually win in the shootout. Denmark would end their tournament with 2 losses, getting blown out by France and losing a close game to Slovakia. Denmark would finish seventh in the group.

Best Power Ranking

Despite our liberal nudity laws, Jagr couldn't undress Nielsen (May 18)

Italy

Results

Loss vs. Norway (0-3)
Win vs. France (2-1)
Loss vs. Denmark (1-4)
Loss vs. Czech Republic (0-2)
Loss vs. Canada (1-6)
Loss vs. Slovakia (1-4)
Loss vs. Sweden (1-5)

Round Robin Summary

Italy's tournament started out poorly, as they were shut out by Norway. Against France, Italy was able to response when France opened the score. With just under a minute left, Markus Grander would score to give the Italians the win. Against Denmark, Italy would leave the first period tied. That was all the Italians could do though, as they would give up 3 more during the game to suffer another loss. Italy couldn't do much against the Czech Republic, as they suffered getting shut out for the second time this tournament. While Italy managed to keep the shots even between them and Canada for 2 periods, the score during that time wasn't close. Italy would eventually score against Canada in the third, but it was already over, as Italy lost 6-1. The Italians would get peppered with shots by Slovakia and couldn't keep up, suffering a 4-1 loss in the end. Italy would pay for taking penalties against Sweden, as they would lose their last game of the tournament 5-1. Italy finishes last in Group A, and will be relegated to Division I for next year.

Best Power Ranking

Our PK is perfect, and our Milan guy hasn't threaten anyone (May 15)