Showing Some International Love: 2018 Olympic Qualification Round 1 - Group L Review

It was a tight group, as it came down to the last game to decided a winner. Serbia, in the end, found a way to comeback against Spain and hold on for the win. Serbia managed to go undefeated in this group, and move on to Round 2 of Olympic Qualifying. The last day loss ended Spain's Olympic bid, as they now go from hosting this tournament to the World Championship Division II Group A one in April. Iceland played close games against Serbia and Spain, but could not get a crucial win against either of them. Iceland did managed to go out on a high note, beating China. As for China, they were a non-threat from the start. The Chinese lost all three games by a combined score of 26-5.

Note: Most information from the IIHF website.

Standings

Team	Win	OT/SO Win	OT/SO Loss	Loss	Points	Goal Diff.
Serbia	2	1	0	0	8	+7
Spain	2	0	0	1	6	+9
Iceland	1	0	1	1	4	+5
China	0	0	0	3	0	-21

Results

November 6
Iceland 4 - Serbia 5 (OT)
Spain 10 - China 1

November 7
Serbia 5 - China 1
Spain 5 - Iceland 3

November 8
China 3 - Iceland 11
Serbia 5 - Spain 3

Notes

• Goals Leader: Robin Hedstrom (Iceland) - 5
• Points Leader: Johann Leifsson (Iceland) - 9
• GAA Leader: Arsenije Rankovic (Serbia) - 2.62
• Save % Leader: Arsenije Rankovic (Serbia) - 0.927
• The "No Surprise" Game: Any team facing China
• The "Upset" Game: Serbia beats Spain 5-2 (two reasons: Spain was the host, and had a 2-0 lead after the first period)

What Now?

Serbia: After a surprising comeback in the last game, Serbia will only have to wait until February 2016 to play again. They will face Italy, Great Britain, and the Netherlands in Round 2 of Olympic Qualifying. While Serbia is not expected to be competitive against those three teams, the victory in this round does give hope for the future of Serbian hockey.

Spain: Spain saw victory slip from them in this tournament, and it won't get much better in April when they host the Division II Group A tournament. While they will have the chance to get revenge on Serbia (and play Iceland and China again), the top of that group will be hard to crack. While a first place finish might not be reasonable, a top three finish would be for the Spaniards.

Iceland: Despite having the goals and points leaders, Iceland could not get higher than third. The next time they play will be in April, when they travel back to Spain for the World Championships. Iceland is in the mixed with Serbia in Spain, in that they'll finish in any spot that isn't first or last.

China: China will reconvene back in Spain in April for the World Championships. The bright side of this tournament for China is that they got to face the level of competition they will be expecting in April. The bad news is that they fared badly in this tournament (they were the only team with a negative goal differential). China will have a difficult time again in Spain, as relegation looks likely for them.

Showing Some International Love: 2018 Olympic Qualification Round 1 - Group K Review

This group was over before it started. The host Estonians had little problem getting by the competition, as they outscored their opponents a combined 58-4. Outside of Estonia, Mexico had a good tournament. The Mexicans managed to win two games and managed a positive goal differential. Israel, who were more focussed on having young players gain international experienced, managed to escape this tournament with a win. For Bulgaria, it was a struggle, as they only managed 4 goals in the whole tournament and ended up in last.

Note: Most information from the IIHF website.

Standings

Team	Win	OT/SO Win	OT/SO Loss	Loss	Points	Goal Diff.
Estonia	3	0	0	0	9	+54
Mexico	2	0	0	1	6	+1
Israel	1	0	0	2	3	-20
Bulgaria	0	0	0	3	0	-35

Results

November 5
Mexico 8 - Bulgaria 2
Israel 1 - Estonia 19

November 7
Mexico 5 - Israel 0
Estonia 26 - Bulgaria 0

November 8
Bulgaria 2 - Israel 5
Estonia 13 - Mexico 3

Notes

• Goals Leader: Robert Rooba (Estonia) - 11
• Points Leader: Robert Rooba (Estonia) - 24
• GAA Leader: (Estonia) - 2.00
• Save % Leader: Alfonso da Alba (Mexico) - 0.866
• The "No Surprise" Game: Estonia facing any team
• The "Upset" Game: None

What Now?

Estonia: With the win, the host now move on to Round 2 of Olympic Qualifying, which takes place in February 2016. It won't be a cake walk for the Estonians this time, as they'll have to face Hungary, Poland, and Lithuania. While winning that tournament looks to be unlikely for Estonia, this is a team that could get away with pulling off an upset.

Mexico: Internationally, Mexico gets to relax until April, when they get to host the Division II Group B tournament. A bright spot is that the two opponents they beat here (Israel and Bulgaria) they also see in April. Mexico should be a competitive team in that tournament and challenge for a promotion.

Israel: Much like Mexico, Israel isn't scheduled to play again until April. Since they brought a young group with them to this tournament, it will be interesting to see if they stay on this path for April or if they will try and add more senior team veterans to make a push in that tournament. As it stands now, they are a team that will finish in the bottom half of that group.

Bulgaria: With no EIHC games scheduled (for now), Bulgaria will regroup in April in Mexico. Bulgaria also bought a young team to this tournament, and could go that way in April as well. 18 year-old Dimitar Dimitrov will likely be relied on again to backstop the Bulgarians. Right now it would be considered a success if Bulgaria manages to not get relegated in April.

Showing Some International Love: 2018 Olympic Qualification Round 1 - Group L Preview

Round 1 of Olympic Qualification continues tomorrow, as Spain host Group L. This tournament was moved to Spain after originally being scheduled to take place in Serbia. Nonetheless, Serbia is still taking part in this tournament. China and Iceland round out the group.

Note: Most information from the IIHF website.

World Rankings

30. Serbia
31. Spain
35. Iceland
38. China

Rosters

China

Goalies:

Name	Team
Zhiwei Liu	Harbin
Shengrong Xia	Harbin

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Tengyi Fu	Harbin
Tianyi Guan	Harbin
Tianyu Hu	Qiqihar
Longtan Liu	Qiqihar
Qing Liu	Qiqihar
Yungang Na	Harbin
Chao Wen	Harbin
Mingxi Yang	Qiqihar

Forwards:

Name	Team
Jaichang Bao	Harbin
Xijun Cui	Qiqihar
Peng Ji	Harbin
Hang Li	Qiqihar
Xinlei Li	Harbin
Zhengyu Li	Qiqihar
Yidong Qu	Harbin
Tainxiang Xia	Harbin
Xudong Xiang	Harbin
Cheng Zhang	Qiqihar
Hao Zhang	Harbin
Ziyang Zhu	Harbin

Iceland

Goalies:

Name	Team
Snorri Sigurbergsson	Krakene Moss
Omar Skulason	Bjorninn Reykjavik

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Birkir Arnason	Bjorninn Reykjavik
Ingthor Arnason	Motala AIF
Bergur Einarsson	Bjorninn Reykjavik
Andri Helgason	Bjorninn Reykjavik
Steindor Ingason	Almaguin Spartans
Ingvar Jonsson	Skautafelag Akureyrar
Robert Palsson	UMFK Esja

Forwards:

Name	Team
Emil Alengaard	Haninge Anchors
Ulfar Andresson	Bjorninn Reykjavik
Brynjar Bergmann	UMFK Esja
Arnthor Bjarnason	Skautafelag Reyjavikur
Olafur Bjornsson	UMFK Esja
Jon Gislason	Skautafelag Akureyrar
Falur Gudnason	Bjorninn Reykjavik
Robin Hedstrom	HC Backen
Johann Leifsson	Motala AIF
Petur Maack	UMFK Esja
Andri Mikaelsson	Skautafelag Akureyrar
Bjorn Sigurdarson	Imatran Kettera
Egill Thormodsson	UMFK Esja

Serbia

Goalies:

Name	Team
Aleksandar Fat	Vitez Belgrade
Arsenije Rankovic	HASC Jurmala
Petar Stepanovic	Crvena Zvezda Belgrade

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Uros Bjelogrlic	Crvena Zvezda Belgrade
Marko Brkusanin	Partizan Belgrade
Stefan Ilic	HC Valpellice
Dragan Komazec	Partizan Belgrade
Aleksa Lukovic	Partizan Belgrade
Ugljesa Novakovic	Crvena Zvezda Belgrade
Robert Sabados	Crvena Zvezda Belgrade

Forwards:

Name	Team
Dimitrije Filipovic	Partizan Belgrade
Ivan Glavonjic	HASC Jurmala
Nemanja Jankovic	Partizan Belgrade
Nikola Kerezovic	Beostar Belgrade
Marko Milovanovic	Partizan Belgrade
Petar Novakovic	Crvena Zvezda Belgrade
Pavel Popravka	Crvena Zvezda Belgrade
Nenad Rakovic	Partizan Belgrade
Srdjan Ristic	Partizan Belgrade
Dordije Terzic	Partizan Belgrade
Nemanja Vucurevic	Eispiraten Crimmitschau
Andrej Zwick	Crvena Zvezda Belgrade

Spain

Goalies:

Name	Team
Ander Alcaine	CH Jaca
Ignacio Garcia	SAD Majadahonda
Jhon Sebastian Varela	FC Barcelona

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Guillermo Betran	CH Jaca
Alfonso Garcia	SAD Majadahonda
Adrian Ubieto	CH Jaca
Alejandro Vea	CHH Txuri-Urdin
Jorge Vea	CHH Txuri-Urdin

Forwards:

Name	Team
Alejandro Carbonell	CH Jaca
Patricio Fuentes	CHH Txuri-Urdin
Gaston Gonzalez	CH Jaca
Pol Gonzalez	Concordia University
Juan Munoz	CHH Txuri-Urdin
Pablo Munoz	FC Barcelona
Juan Jose Palacin	CH Jaca
Alejandro Pedraz	SAD Majadahonda
Pablo Puyuelo	FC Barcelona
Ignacio Solorzano	CHH Txuri-Urdin

Schedule

November 6
Iceland - Serbia
Spain - China

November 7
Serbia - China
Spain - Iceland

November 8
China - Iceland
Serbia - Spain

Last 5 International Matches

China: 10-3 Win (Bulgaria), 4-3 SO Win (Israel), 7-4 Win (New Zealand), 5-2 Win (Mexico), 7-3 Win (South Africa)

Iceland: 3-0 Win (Belgium), 5-4 Loss (Serbia), 4-2 Loss (Spain), 6-1 Win (Australia), 3-2 OT Loss (Romania)

Serbia: 8-4 Loss (Romania), 5-4 Win (Iceland), 4-3 SO Loss (Australia), 3-2 OT Loss (Belgium), 4-3 SO Win (Spain)

Spain: 6-1 Win (Australia), 6-2 Loss (Belgium), 4-2 Win (Iceland), 7-1 Loss (Romania), 4-3 SO Loss (Serbia)

Predictions

1 (Qualify for Round 2) - Iceland
2 - Serbia
3 - Spain
4 - China

This is the harder of the two groups to predict. Last World Championship, Serbia, Iceland, and Spain all tied in their group (China won Division II Group B and will be facing those three teams in April). Just looking at the rosters, I have to give the edge to Iceland, as they are taking much of their World Championship roster to Spain. Serbia is missing a couple of top guys, which will hurt them in such a short tournament like this. Spain is also playing with a lesser roster. China, while keeping much of the same players, still played at a lower level. While they may keep it competitive, it's hard to overlook how tight the other three teams are.