Note: most information from the IIHF website.
Standings
Team
|
Wins
|
OTW/SOW
|
OTL/SOL
|
Losses
|
Points
|
Goal Diff.
|
Croatia
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
15
|
+13
|
Spain
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
12
|
+17
|
Australia
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
7
|
0
|
Belgium
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
6
|
-2
|
Serbia
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
5
|
-10
|
Iceland
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
-18
|
Results
December 13
Belgium 3 - Australia 2 (OT)
Serbia 0 - Croatia 4
Spain 8 - Iceland 3
December 14
Croatia 4 - Australia 2
Iceland 2 - Belgium 6
Spain 7 - Serbia 0
December 16
Croatia 6 - Iceland 3
Serbia 2 - Australia 4
Spain 5 - Belgium 2
December 18
Iceland 2 - Serbia 4
Belgium 2 - Croatia 5
Australia 2 - Spain 5
December 20
Serbia 3 - Belgium 2 (OT)
Australia 5 - Iceland 1
Croatia 3 - Spain 2
Team Recaps
Croatia: Croatia started the tournament facing their rival Serbia. It didn't take long for them to strike, as Luka Jarcov scored 32 seconds in to give Croatia the lead. From there, Vilim Rosandic would stop 27 shots, as Croatia would shutout Serbia 4-0. Against Australia, Croatia would eventually open the scoring in the second, with two goals with the first couple minutes of the second period. Croatia would add one more before Australia would strike back. Both tames added a goal a piece in the third period. Croatia won the game 4-2. Facing Iceland, Croatia would score in pairs, as they scored two goals in each period, with the longest time between goals being just over four minutes (4:02). In the middle, they did get a scare as Iceland tied it up in the second. That was as close as they would get though, as Croatia ended up winning the game. Against Belgium, Croatia would give up the first goal of the game, but did score to end the period tied 1-1. Croatia scored once in the second before opening up with a 3-goal third period. Croatia won the game 5-2. In the promotion-deciding game against Spain, Croatia would come out flying. They only found the net once in the first period, despite putting up 21 shots. Croatia's lead out be extended in the second, Matija Milicic (on the powerplay) and Ivan Jankovic scored to put Croatia up 3-0. Spain would come back in the third with two goals of their own. In the end, Croatia would hold on, winning 3-2. With the win, Croatia finished first in the tournament and will be playing in Group A next year.
Spain: The host came as close as possible to moving on, but could not pull through. Spain started the tournament on fire, beating Iceland (8-3) and Serbia (7-0) in a pair of blowouts. Against Belgium, Spain got a bit of a scare as the Belgium's scored first and kept it at 1-0 though the first period. Spain's special teams would come alive and help them take the lead in the second. Spain would add three more in the third, taking the game 5-2. While Spain would beat Australia by the same score (5-2), they were more dominant in possession. They limited the Aussies to 16 shots while registering 51 of their own. Oriol Rubio would score once in the second and twice in the third to complete the hat trick. In the final game of the tournament, Spain had to hang tight against Croatia. They managed to keep Croatia within one after the first, but gave up a pair in the second. With time not on their side, Rubio and Ignacio Vicente would put Spain on the board and put them within one goal. That was all Spain could muster though, as they fall to the eventual champs 3-2. Spain finishes second, and will look to break though next year.
Australia: Overall, Australia did not have an offensive tournament. The most shots on goal they recorded in a game was 21 (twice, against Croatia and Iceland). Opening against Belgium, the Aussies would strike in the first before Belgium tied it up in the second. Australia took the lead lead late in the third, but it wasn't late enough. Belgium would tie the game with under a minute left and then score seconds into overtime. The Aussies lost 3-2 in overtime. Against Croatia, Australia would hang with the Croats in the first period, but could not contain their barrage in the second. The Aussies would give up three goals unanswered before breaking through with one of their own. They could not do much in the third, and ended up losing the game 4-2. Australia would be on the good side of the 4-2 score line in their next game, as they beat Serbia. Aussie goalie Charlie Smart stopped 65 of 67 shots in the win. Australia would once again find itself heavily outplayed against Spain. They did manage to keep the game tied after the first, but it was as close as Australia would get. They gave up a pair of goals in the second and third en route to a 5-2 loss. Australia looked to end their tournament on a high not against Iceland, and did just that. The Aussies would score minutes into the game and add two more in the second. Their shutout was broken in the third, but it didn't matter, as they scored two powerplay goals to win the game 5-1. Australia did just enough to take third place in the group.
Belgium: Opening the tournament against Australia, Belgium gave up a goal in the first, but would score in the second to tie it up. While Australia scored late in the third to take the lead, Belgium would find a hero in Brent van Rooy. van Rooy would score with 37 seconds left in regulation to tie the game. He went on to score the game winner 29 seconds into overtime. Belgium kept their momentum going against Iceland, as they scored two minutes into the game. Iceland would tie the game up (twice) in the second. Belgium would go off in the third, as a 4-goal period gave them the 6-2 win. Belgium would have pretty similar games against Spain and Croatia. In both games, Belgium would score first, fall behind in the second, and get outscored 3-1 in the third period. Belgium last both games by a score of 5-2. Belgium finished off their tournament facing Serbia. Belgium would go down 2-0 in the second thanks to Serbia's powerplay. Belgium fought back in the third, with Bryan Henry (shorthanded) and Kevin Glassee scoring to tie the game. Unlike their first game, overtime was not kind to Belgium. They gave up the winning goal 2:31 into the extra frame. Belgium finished the tournament in fourth place.
Serbia: Things didn't start out well for Serbia. Facing Croatia in their opening game, Serbia would give up a goal 32 seconds into the game. While they kept the game close for the most part, a 3-goal third period by Croatia would squash any hope Serbia had in coming back. Serbia would lose the game 4-0. Things got worst for Serbia, as they were blown out 7-0 by Spain in their next game. It looked like the trend would continue against Australia, as Serbia gave up two goals before Lazar Lestaric scored midway through the second to give Serbia their first goal of the tournament. Serbia would go on to lose the game 4-2 despite outshooting Australia 67-17. Facing Iceland, Serbia managed to score first. They continued into the second, scoring three more times. Serbia finally found the win column with a 4-2 win over Iceland. Capping off their tournament against Belgium, Serbia once again open the scoring, this time thanks to two powerplay goals in the second period. The lead didn't last too long, as Belgium scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the third period. The game needed overtime, where Andrej Zwick found the back of the net, and give Serbia the win. Serbia ended the tournament comfortably in fifth place.
Iceland: It was a horrible start of Iceland. Facing the host Spain, Iceland managed to keep Spain to one goal in the first. Iceland gave up one more goal in the second before scoring twice to tie the game up (both goals by the way, were the only shots Iceland recorded in that period). Unfortunately for Iceland, Spain would response with two goals of their own. A 4-goal third period by Spain was the end for Iceland, as they fall 8-3 in their opening game. Against Belgium, Iceland fell behind early. They managed to tie the game up in the second before swapping goals with Belgium. Iceland would collapse in the third, as they were scored on four times. Iceland lost the game 6-2. Iceland went down 2-0 against Croatia in the first. The second period saw a crazy four minutes, with Iceland scoring twice to tie it up before Croatia came back with a pair of goals to regain a 2-goal lead. Iceland would find the back of the net one more time before the period ended. That was all for Iceland's offense though, as they gave up two more goals in the third to lose the game 6-3. Iceland's woes continued against Serbia, as they allowed three unanswered goals before finally finding the back of the net midway though the second. That was as close of they would get, as Iceland eventually lost the game 4-2. With relegation a given, Iceland looked to find any positive result against Australia. Unfortunately that didn't happen, as Iceland went down early. Despite putting up 50 shots, Iceland only had one go into the net. Iceland capped off their tournament with a 5-1 loss. Iceland finished in sixth place, failing to get a point and will now play in Division III next year.
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