Showing Some International Love: 2018 Olympic Final Qualification - Group E Review

Germany dominated throughout the tournament, shutting out their opponents for almost 155 minutes. They were in tough against the host Latvians, and needed a late powerplay goal to propel their way back into the Olympic tournament. For Latvia, the loss ended a streak of playing in the Olympic Games going back to 2002 in Salt Lake. Austria had a rough time, ending in third after winning their last game. Japan finishes in fourth after managing just one goal in the tournament.

Note: Most information from the fancy IIHF website.

Standings

Team	Wins	OTW/SOW	OTL/SOL	Losses	Points	Goal Diff.
Germany	3	0	0	0	9	+12
Latvia	2	0	0	1	6	+8
Austria	1	0	0	2	3	-10
Japan	0	0	0	3	0	-10

Results

September 1
Germany 5 - Japan 0
Austria 1 - Latvia 8

September 2
Germany 6 - Austria 0
Latvia 3 - Japan 1

September 4
Japan 0 - Austria 3
Latvia 2 - Germany 3

Notes

• Goals Leader: Felix Schultz (Germany) - 4
• Points Leader: Felix Schultz (Germany), Leon Draisaitl (Germany), Kaspar Daugavins (Latvia), Miks Indrasis (Latvia) - 5
• GAA Leader: Philipp Grubauer (Germany) - 0.67
• Save % Leader: Philipp Grubauer (Germany) - 0.970
• The "No Surprise" Game: Germany shutting out Japan 5-0
• The "Upset" Game: None

What Now?

Germany: After missing out on Sochi, the Germans are back in the Olympics thanks to a last-day win over Latvia. Germany will face a trio of Nordic teams in PyeongChang, as Group C includes Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The next time Germany plays internationally is in November, when they host the Deutschland Cup.

Latvia: A late powerplay goal by Germany sunk the Latvians hopes of getting into the Olympics for a fifth straight time. They will now shift their focus to an ECHI tournament in October.

Austria:  It wasn't a pretty tournament for the Austrians, but they managed to escape with one win under their belts. They will be back at it in October, as they travel to Hungary for an EHIC tournament.

Japan: It was tough enough for a Japanese teams that needed to qualify to get this far, but they probably expected to do better than scoring just one goal. The next time they'll likely regroup is in February for an EHIC tournament.