Note: Most information from the IIHF website.
Standings
Team
|
Wins
|
OTW/SOW
|
OTL/SOL
|
Losses
|
Points
|
Goal Diff.
|
China
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
14
|
+18
|
New
Zealand
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
9
|
+4
|
Mexico
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
9
|
+9
|
Bulgaria
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
-13
|
Israel
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
-9
|
South
Africa
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
3
|
-9
|
Results
April 13
New Zealand 6 - Israel 3
Bulgaria 3 - China 10
Mexico 4 - South Africa 1
April 14
Israel 3 - China 4 (SO)
Mexico 3 - New Zealand 5
South Africa 1 - Bulgaria 2
April 16
Mexico 9 - Bulgaria 1
New Zealand 4 - China 7
Israel 6 - South Africa 3
April 17
China 5 - Mexico 2
Bulgaria 10 - Israel 5
South Africa 3 - New Zealand 1
April 19
New Zealand 5 - Bulgaria 1
Israel 3 - Mexico 6
China 7 - South Africa 3
Team Recap
China: China started off their tournament with a bang against Bulgaria. They scored 3 goals in the first 5 minutes of the game, ending the first period up 3-1. It was the reverse in the second, as China's 3-goal burst came near the end of the period. China added 4 more in the final frame to open their tournament with a 10-3 win. China looked to continue rolling against Israel. They outshot Israel 19-3 in the first but only found the back of the net once. China would give up a goal in the second, making it a 1-1 game heading into the third period. China opened the frame with a shorthanded goal, but their lead didn't last long as Israel scored minutes later to tie the game. China fell behind late in the period, but thanks to an Israeli penalty soon after, they managed to tie the game and force overtime. The game eventually needed a shootout. Both teams scored in round 1 and stopped in round 2. Cheng Zhang scored in the third round, while Israel's shooter hit the post. Zhang's goal stood as the winner, as China won the game 4-3. Things didn't get much easier for China in their game against New Zealand. They would let up the first goal of the game, but did finish the first period up 2-1. A powerplay goal early in the second help extend China's lead. That all evaporated later in the period though, as Ziyang Zhu was penalized twice, and New Zealand capitalized on both man advantages. China fell behind 4-3 before the period ended. China's offense came alive in the third, as they potted 4 goals. It got chippy near the end though, as China's Qing Liu and New Zealand's Andrew Cox were giving a 2 and a 10 for roughing. China won the game 7-4. China would find themselves being the one outplayed against Mexico. Despite losing the shooting battle in the first 16-8, a pair of goals by Xijun Cui gave them a 2-0 lead. Mexico would tie the game in the second, but China were able to score twice to regain their 2-goal lead. China added a quick goal in the third to cap the scoring. Zhiwei Liu stopped 50 of 52 shots in the 5-2 China win. China faced the host South Africa in the final game of the tournament. Their powerplay was working in the first, as China scored 3 times on the man advantage. China kept pressuring in the second, scoring 3 times in the first 4 minutes. China added 1 more in the third, as they won the game 7-3. China wins the tournament and earns a promotion to Group B for next year.
New Zealand: The Ice Blacks started the tournament against Israel. They outplayed the Israelis in the first, but finished the period tied 1-1. Both teams swapped powerplay goals early in the second. Before the period ended, New Zealand would score twice to take a 4-2 lead. They added a few more in the third, as the Kiwis beat Israel 6-3. New Zealand would provide answers against Mexico. The first and second period saw Mexico score first, but New Zealand come back with 2 goals of their own. Both teams only scored once in the third, as New Zealand won their second game 5-3. The Ice Blacks would be a battle against China. They scored the opening goal, but were behind 2-1 after the first. The second was the reverse, as China scored first but New Zealand went on to score 3 unanswered. Heading into the third up by 1, New Zealand looked to close out the game. Unfortunately, it was China who closed the game, scoring 4 times in the final frame. New Zealand lost their first game of the tournament by a score of 7-4. A couple of countries more known for rugby took their rivalry to the ice, as New Zealand faced South Africa. Both teams had no problem shooting the puck, but it wasn't until late in the second period when the deadlock was broken, with South Africa scoring twice. The Ice Blacks pulled within 1 in the third, but could not find the tying goal. An empty netter by South Africa gave New Zealand their second straight loss. New Zealand had a better time against Bulgaria. New Zealand had a better time facing Bulgaria. It took until the second period, but New Zealand would open the scoring and extend their lead later in the period. Bulgaria got one back before the period ended. The third period was all New Zealand, as they scored 3 times en route to the 5-1 win. New Zealand earned the silver medal with their second place finish.
Mexico: Mexico faced off against South Africa in their first game. The Mexicans would get an early goal thanks to Hector Majul. Mexico added two more goals in the second before South Africa answered back with 1. Adrian Cervantes was the lone goalscorer in the third, as Mexico won their first game 4-1. Mexico had a rough go against New Zealand. Mexico opened the scoring early in the first, but were down 2-1 by the end of the period. The second was similar, as Mexico scored early but once again gave up 2 goals in the period. It was a little better in the third, as Mexico scored early and only let up 1 goal. Mexico lost the game 5-3. Against Bulgaria, Mexico was relentless. A 3-goal first period was only the start. While they were scoreless in the second, Mexico exploded for 6 in the third, taking the game by a score of 9-1. Mexico would run into a hot goalie against China. While they put up 52 shots, only 2 of them found their way to the back of the net (both of them early in the second period). Their goalie was not as hot, as China put 5 of their 20 shots past him. Mexico lost 5-2. Mexico finished their tournament against Israel. Despite outshooting Israel 15-6 in the first, Mexico ended the period tied 1-1. A pair of Mexican goals in the second put them in the lead. Israel would score first in the third period, but Mexico answered with 2 quick goals. Both teams swapped goals late in the third, as Mexico finished off their tournament with a 6-3 win. Mexico ends the tournament in third place, taking home the bronze medal in the process.
Bulgaria: The Bulgarians did not have a good start to their tournament. Facing China, Bulgaria would suffer a quick 3-0 deficit. They did score on the powerplay later in the period to pull within 2. Bulgaria managed to score late in the second period, but that was as close as they would get. China scored 3 quick goals before the period ended. Bulgaria would give up 4 more goals in the third, while only scoring one of their own, en route to a 10-3 loss. Against South Africa, Bulgaria looked completely mismatched. They did managed to get the first goal of the game, thanks to Martin Nikolov's second period tally. South Africa tied the game late in the period. The 1-1 deadlock was finally broken late in the third, as Nikolov scored on a 2-man advantage. Dimitar Dimitrov made 52 saves, as Bulgaria upset the host 2-1. It looked like much of the same against Mexico, as Bulgaria was heavily outshot. Dimitrov could only do so much though, an while he managed 45 saves, Bulgaria would lose the game 9-1. Facing Israel, Bulgaria managed to go shot-for-shot in the first. Bulgaria also managed to score 6 unanswered before Israel scored. Both teams scored twice in the second and third periods. Dimitrov put in another spectacular performance, stopping 63 shots in the 10-5 Bulgarian win. Finishing off against New Zealand, it was Bulgaria who looked like the more controlled team in the first, as they outshot the Kiwis 15-10. That turned soon afterwards, as New Zealand put up 21 shots (scoring twice) compared to Bulgaria's 8 (scoring once) in the second. The third wasn't better for Bulgaria, as they gave up 3 more en route to the 5-1 loss. Bulgaria finished fourth in the tournament. Dimitrov, who saved 227 shots for a 89.37SV%, earned the top goaltender award in the tournament
Israel: Israel had a rough start even before the tournament began, as Daniel Spivak (passport issues) and Itzhak Levy (delayed arrival of equipment) missed the first 2 games. The rest of the team would face New Zealand in the opening game of the tournament. They opened the scoring thanks to a Sergei Frenkel powerplay goal. Their lead was short-lived, as New Zealand tied the game just over a minute later. The second period saw both teams get powerplay goals before New Zealand pulled away from Israel. The third period was not much kinder, as Israel gave up 2 more goals while only scoring 1 of their own. Israel lost their first game 6-3. Things did not start well against China. Israel managed to escaped the first period 1-0 while being outshot 19-3. Roey Aharonovich got the lone goal in the second to tie the game. Both teams scored early in the third before Israel pulled ahead with under 4 minutes left in regulation. A bad penalty by Israel moments later dashed their hopes of winning in regulation, as China scored the tying goal on the powerplay. A shootout was need. It came down to the third round, and while China's shooter hit the back of the net, Israeli shooter Ilya Spektor hit iron. Israel lost the game 4-3. Spivak and Levy were ready for Israel's game against South Africa, and it really helped. Spivak would score on the powerplay in the first to tie the game before scoring in the second to give Israel the lead. Israel scored 3 more in the second and twice in the third en route to a 6-3 win. Israel and Bulgaria produced an eventful first, as both teams combined for 36 shots in the first. Unfortunately for Israel, they only managed to find the back of the net once, while Bulgaria found it 6 times. Both teams scored twice in the second and third, as Israel was on the losing end of the 10-5 scoreline. Israel would strike quickly against Mexico, as Levy opened the scoring under 3 minutes into the game. Mexico would pour it on after, and tied the game before the period ended. Israel were scored on twice in the second. While Daniel Mazour scored a pair of goals in the third, Mexico did enough between those goals to keep their lead. Israel lost there final game of the tournament 6-3. Israel finished the tournament in fifth place, and will stay in Division II for next year.
South Africa: The host opened their tournament against Mexico. Try as they might, they had a hard time solving Mexico's goalie. They fell behind 3-0 before finally breaking the shutout, as Wesley Krotz scored on a 2-man advantage. That was it for South Africa, as they gave up one more in the third en route to a 4-1 loss. Looking to turn it around against Bulgaria, South Africa came out firing. Despite outshooting them 22-11 in the first and 19-8 in the second, South Africa could only score once, as they headed into the third tied 1-1. A couple of penalties late in the final frame sealed South Africa's fate, as Bulgaria scored to take the lead once more. South Africa lost the game 2-1. Facing Israel, South Africa would open the scoring with a powerplay goal before Israel answered with 1 of their own. The second period doomed South Africa, as Israel scored 4 times. South Africa gave up 1 more in the third before scoring twice. The 6-3 loss extend South Africa's losing streak to 3 games. Against New Zealand, it was South Africa who got outshot yet found the back of the net. A pair of Uthman Samaai goals in the second gave South Africa a 2-0 lead heading into the third. New Zealand managed to score 1, but that was it, as Samaai added an empty netter to seal the game and his hat-trick. The final score was Samaai 3 - New Zealand 1. South Africa gave it an effort against China, but in the end it wasn't enough. China scored 3 times in the first and second compared to South Africa's combined 3 in that time span. China added another in the third, as South Africa suffered a 7-3 loss. South Africa finished the tournament in sixth place, and is relegated to Division III for next year.
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