IHWC Group F: Sweden shutouts Switzerland while the Czechs surprise Canada

It was a bit of a minor surprise, the Czechs were looking to get their offense going on what has been a luck luster tournament scoring wise. But 2 goals in the 2nd period allowed the Czechs to hold on and overtake Canada for 3rd and giving Canada a tough road to the IHWC Gold Medal by finishing 4th in the Qualifying Round and having to face Sweden who looked very strong against Switzerland.



From the International Ice Hockey Federation: http://www.iihf.com/





Canada 2 Czech Republic 3 (1-1, 0-2, 1-0)



Canada VS. Czech Republic Game Photos: www.iihf.com/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/pictures/page/0/game/CAN%20-%20CZE.html



By Andrew Podnieks



From Mannheim, Germany: The Czech Republic got two goals in the 2nd period to break a 1-1 tie and skated to a 3-2 win over Canada. As a result, they finish at least in 3rd place in Group F and advance, with Canada, to the Quarterfinals. It was a bitter and tense battle that showed signs of being one more punch or check away from getting out of hand.



Canada finishes fourth and will play the winner of the Russia-Finland Game tonight as the Czechs will play the loser of that game. All the Quarterfinals will be played on Thursday.



"We're going to have to go through the tough teams eventually," said Canadian forward John Tavares. "In whatever order it is, it doesn't matter. It's a new slate for everybody, and it's do or die now."



Today's loss was a historic one in the worst way for Canada. It marked the first time since the playoff system was adopted in 1992 that the motherland of the game has lost three games prior to the Quarterfinals.



It made for a strange afternoon as these teams met for an important game - and it was only the Qualifying Round. A loss by the Czechs meant a trip back to Prague, and a loss by Canada meant a likely quarterfinal date with Russia, the heavy favorites this year. The result was a very orney Czech Team that took two boarding penalties and started a fight. (That went into the books as a double minor for Tomas Rolinek and Steve Ott) in the first period alone.



As well, the Czechs came out flying, the more desperate team playing more aggressively. They had a couple of good chances early, but goalie Chris Mason, playing his best game of the tournament, stood his ground and made a couple of important saves.



However, it was Ray Whitney who drew first blood, for Canada, on a great play. He took a pass from Marc Giordano while coming down the right wing on a power play and cut in on goal as players from both teams converged on goalie Tomas Vokoun. With so many options, it seemed certain that Ray Whitney would pass, but the right-hand shot cut in on goal and slipped a backhand between the goalie's pads. Goalie Mason drew the 2nd assist on the play.



Canada was in control for most of the first period and was certainly the more disciplined team. The Czechs took three straight penalties, but Canada could not extend the lead. With less then two minutes to play, however, the inexperience of the 19 year old Jordan Eberle cost the team a goal.



He was too casual taking a pass in center during a power play and was checked off the puck by Jiri Novotny who fed Lukas Kaspar on the fly. Kaspar skated alone and deked Mason, sliding the puck between the goalie's pads at 18:20 to tie the game, 1-1. Eberle, meanwhile, sat on the bench for most of the rest of the game.



"I was a bit nervous when I was going in there," Kaspar said. "Because i'd missed an open net a couple of minutes before. I got the puck from Jiri and I was going in on the goalie. At first I thought shot, but it instead I deked him a little bit and put it through the legs."



Both teams continued to play on the edge in the 2nd period, with plenty of pushing and shoving and face-washes after the whistle, and both sides had some fine scoring chances. Mason and Vokoun were rock solid when tested, and an open period soon became more defensive, the next goal becoming more and more important.



Much of the 2nd half of the period was played between the blue-lines, but the Czechs got the go-ahead goal at 12:19 off a faceoff circle in the Canadian end. Jakub Klepis won the faceoff back to Ondrej Nemec sensational, one handed deflection of the puck while being checked, and the puck bounced past a helpless Mason (although it looked like Petr Vampola was the player who deflected the puck.)



They made it 3-1 near the end of the period on the power play when Michal Rozsival hit Kelpis with a pass between the defensemen, and Kelpis beat Mason with a stick-side deke to make it a 3-1 lead. This time, Vokoun had the assist.



Canada came within one on a wild play. Vokoun played the puck behind his own goal but was checked hard by Corey Perry, who knocked him hard into the ice. As Kelpis came into punch Perry in retaliation, the puck came out in front and Matt Duchene put it into the open net with 1:11 left in the 3rd period.



Canada couldn't tie the game with Mason on the bench in the final minute, but a wild melee broke out at the final horn and threatened to turn into a bench clearing brawl. Players from both benches remained disciplined they watch the players all over the ice pair off.



"There were scrums everywhere at the end and guys falling all over the place," said captain Whitney. "Unfortunately for Canada, there is no fighting, because were pretty decent at that."



And so, it's on to the Quarterfinals for both teams on Thursday, and then the real fun begins. Win 0r go home. The question for Canada is simple: where is the team speed and scoring? For the Czechs, it's about momentum. Can they build on their last two wins in a do-or-die game on Thursday?

Switzerland 0 Sweden 5 (0-1, 0-2, 0-2)

Switzerland VS. Sweden Game Photos: www.iihf.com/en/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/pictures/page/0/game/SUI%20-%20SWE.html

From Lukas Aykroyd

From Mannheim, Germany: Forget about neutrality. Sweden convincingly beat Switzerland 5-0 in their final Qualification Round game to clinch the top spot in Group F. The Swedes will take on Denmark in Thursday's Quarterfinals, while the Swiss will play the host Germans.

This anticipated showdown simply turned into an exhibition of Swedish Puck Control, discipline and patience. The tone was the polar opposite of the chippy victory over Canada earlier. Apart from the maintaining of good civil order (Both teams took two minor penalties apiece.) There was also little to cheer about for Swiss fans among the 5757 on hand at the SAP Arena.

"The score might have looked easy, but it was a tough game for us," said Sweden's Victor Hedman. "We played well, and knew we had to come out strong. The Swiss have had a good tournament, but Markstrom was unbelievable game in net, too. We scored on our chances, and that was the difference."

Sweden Tony Martensson set the tone with a goal and two assists, while team scoring leader Magnus-Paajarvi Svensson added a goal and an assist.

The Swedes are fixtures in the final 8, never having missed out on the IIHF instituted the playoff system in 1992. In fact, Sweden had never finished lower then seventh (2000) in its modern history. Switzerland gradually emerging as a hockey power, will make its sixth straight appearance in the Quarterfinals.

Both teams dressed their backup goalies, and Swedes Jacob Markstrom recorded his first ever World Championships shutout over Switzerland's Tobais Stephen. Switzerland out-shot Sweden 28-25.

"We had the chance to finish first for the first time in our history, but the Swedes came out really hard and pressured us." said Swiss Defensemen Goran Bezina. "And it seemed like after that, we didn't have the juice to battle in the corners."

Sweden has historically dominated Switzerland. The Swedes earned the playoff wins over Switzerland en route to World Championships gold in 1992 and 1998, and beat them in the Quarterfinals prior to claiming the 2006 Olympic Title.

The Swiss who posted surprising wins over the Czechs and Canada, need to rediscover their game quickly after dropping two straight, including a 3-2 loss to underdog Norway.

At 3:02, the Swedes drew first blood as Paajarvi-Svensson finished off a sweet give-and-go play with Martensson, taping the puck into a wide-open net. It was the highlight of a conservatively played first period, in which Sweden out-shot Switzerland 8-4.

Just 48 seconds into the middle frame, Tre Kronor went up 2-0 when Johan Harju blasted a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle over Stephan's glove.

"The first period was 1-0, and we felt like we had a chance, but after the 2nd goal they played really solid defense and it was very tough to come back," said Bezina. "We didn't have the energy to attack the net, and they got all the bounces."

The confident Swedes started to relax at this point. Controlling the puck, Linus Omark twice gestured with his stick behind the Swiss net as if he was about to attempt the "lacrosse goal" pioneered by University of Michigan forward Mike Legg. However he simply elected to make a centering pass.

At 3:40 of the 2nd, Victor Hedman made it 3-0, deftly converting a cross-ice pass from Martensson over Stephan's glove. It was the 19 Year Old Tampa Bay blue-liner's first career World Championship Goal.

The Swiss called a timeout to regroup, but the game had already slipped away from them. Seconds later, Sweden's Niklas Persson got a breakaway and backhanded the puck high off the post.

In the third period, the Swedes continued their dominance. Jonathan Eriksson hammered a shot off the end boards and Fredrick Petterson smartly snared the rebound, tucking it home for a 4-0 lead. Less then a minute later, Martensson's centering pass deflected in off Swiss defenders for the fifth Swedish goal.

With under 10 minutes left to play, Markstrom made some of his best saves of the game during a Swiss power play with Mikael Backlund off for slashing.

"We knew they would never give up, even when it was 3-0, so we had to keep the forecheck high and make simple plays all the time," observed Hedman. "And now, we look forward to the Danish Game."

Sweden is hoping to win this tournament for the first time since 2006, while Switzerland is gunning for its first world Championship Medal since 1953 when they won Bronze.

Final Group F Standings

1. Sweden 4-0-0-1 12 PTS 18-7

2. Switzerland 3-0-0-2 9 PTS 12-11

3. Czech Rep. 3-0-0-2 9 PTS 10-11

4. Canada 2-0-0-3 6 PTS 22-12

5. Norway 2-0-0-3 6 PTS 9-26

6. Latvia 1-0-0-4 3 PTS 12-16

Advanced to the Quarterfinals

Eliminated from the IHWC

Final Rankings for teams ranked 9-16. Plus the 2 Teams that have won Promotion from Division 1.

9. Norway

10. Slovakia

11. Belarus

12. Latvia

13. U.S.A.

14. France

15. Italy

16. Kazakhstan

Austria and Slovenia won promotion from the IHWC Division 1 Tournaments and will compete in the 2011 IHWC in Slovakia.

Quafilying Round Group E: Host through to QFS, Russia finishes 1st

The Qualifying Round wrapped up today with 4 games that helped determined the Quarterfinal matchups which will be headed by Russia and Sweden having the top seeds for the Quarterfinals. Also Denmark are through to the last 8 for the first time ever while the hosts Germany are through the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2003.

Every inch was battled for in the Germany Slovakia game as the hosts felt the pressure of getting back to the Quarterfinals, while Slovakia had missed out on the IHWC Playoffs for the 3rd straight year. 2008 saw the worst year when a German win sent them down to the relegation round.

It took a two game sweep of Slovenia in the Relegation Round that year to keep their spot, while in 2009 3 straight losses in the 2nd round against Finland and the Czech Republic. Only a 3-2 OT Win was the only saving grace for the Slovaks, as they finished 2 points back of Belarus for the 4th and final spot in the Quarterfinals.

Regardless of the Quarterfinal result, Germany will hope to use this a springboard after two very bad performances in the last year.

After a 15th place finish in the IHWC last year and finishing 11th in the Olympics. Germany is hoping to use thier upcoming Quarterfinal Matchup against Switzerland as a successful end to a great event and maybe pull off a great upset after Switzerland had been slipping a bit after losing 5-0 to Sweden earlier today.


Slovakia 1 Germany 2 (0-1, 1-1, 0-0)

Slovakia VS. Germany Game Photos: www.iihf.com/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/pictures/page/0/game/SVK%20-%20GER.html

By Risto Pakarinen

In Colonge, Germany: Every inch of the ice was a battlefield as Germany and Slovakia went head-to-head for a spot in the Quarterfinal. Backed by their home crowd, the Germans pushed through with a 2-1 win. Alexander Barta and Daniel Kreutzer scored a goal each, Dennis Endras made 20 saves in route to the win.

"Sure, they was pressure to get back after what happened in Switzerland. We got a lot of pressure after that tournament and I think we deserved it," said German Defensemen Christian Ehrhoff.

It's the first time since 2003 under then coach Hans Zach that the Germans reached the Quarterfinals.Seven years ago the Germans lost eventual gold medal winners Canada 3-2 in OT. Third period goals by Lasse Kopitz and Daniel Kreutzer tied up the score before Eric Brewer scored the game-winner 37 seconds into OT.

After twenty something games this season, and a few days of frenetic computing about different matchups to see who'd advance and who would not, the game between Germany and Slovakia came down to an easy set up. The team that got more points out of the game would advance to the playoff stage. This time it was the Germans while Slovakia missed out on the Quarterfinals for the 3rd straight year.

"We knew it was going to be a big fight, and a low-scoring game. We knew we'd be fighting for every inch of the ice. Maybe we didn't have hockey luck or hockey sense, but we couldn't score a second goal," said Slovakia's captain Richard Linter.

Germany got a perfect start to the game when Alexander Barta scored the first goal of the game at 7:19. Barta came flying down the right wing, and found Daniel Kreutzer waiting for the puck at the far post. Barta got the puck him, but Kreutzer's shot missed the net. Fortunately for Germany, it bounced from the backboard to Barta, who had half the net to choose where to place his backhander.

Slovakia had only five shots on Germany's goal in the first period.

Germany took command of the game early in the 2nd period again. At 4:42, Barta and Kreutzer made it a two goal game, this time Kreutzer getting the goal. Barta and Sven Felski put pressure on the Slovak defense behind the net, Barta grabbed a loose puck and found Kreutzer alone in the slot and this time, he didn't miss, and beat Peter Budaj high on the stick side.

Felix Schultz 4 minute high sticking penalty gave Slovakia its chance to get back in the game. With 20 seconds remaining in Schutz's latter penalty, Marek Savtos got the puck at the hash marks, he cut to the middle, went around the German defensemen, and fired a hard and accurate wrist shot to top shelf, beating Endras on the glove side, at 19:17.

Slovakia made a final push with one minute remaining, but the game ended in Germany's victory dance in front of Endras's net.

"You just want to get your body in front of the shots and guys out in front of the net. Once you hear the siren you are relieved," Ehrhoff said.

"We're just going to enjoy the night and see what happens tomorrow," he added.

Slovak Captain Richard Linter said the teams was "disappointed, but not upset."

"I know for sure that all our guys left 100% on the ice," he said.

On another note for the Germans, the org. committee announced during the game that with tonight's attendance, 15,100, they also met the attendance goal for the tournament, 400,000 fans.

Germany was the fourth team to qualify for the Quarterfinals, and with the win. The Germans overtook Denmark for 3rd and will face Switzerland, who finished 2nd in Group F.

Russia 5 Finland 0 (1-0, 2-0, 2-0)

By Risto Pakarinen

From Colonge, Germany: Russia rolled over Finland 5-0, getting goals by five different players and a shutout by Semyon Varlamov, Ilya Kovalchuk got two assists and Maxim Afinogenov got a goal and assist as well.

"With the new rules its all about the special teams and I think our penalty killing was great and the power play worked tonight. It is important for the Quarterfinals," Kovalchuk said.

The last time Russia left a World Championship rink as a loser was in 2007 when they lost to the Finns 2-1 in OT. Since then, the team has raked in 23 wins. Before their game against Finland. Now the win count is at 24.

Finland started the game very strong, they came out of the gate like they meant business. And they did. Finland Pressured the Russian defensemen, and created several good scoring chances. Unfortunately for the Finns, when it was time to put the puck to the back of the net, they hit the posts instead, three times.

"They played very well in the beginning," Kovalchuk admitted.

Russia got into some penalty trouble halfway through the period, with Alexi Emelin and Demitri Kulikov taking penalties with a minute from each other. But the Russian defense, and goaltender Semyon Varlamov kept the Finns off the scoreboard.

Then it was Finland who ran into penalty trouble. The Russian power-play showed why it needs to be feared. Finland's defensemen Topi Jaakola injured itself, turning the situation into a 5-on-3 play. Alexander Ovechkin one-timer failed but the puck found its way to Sergei Federov, who was waiting for it at Petri Vehanen's doorstep, and tapped in the puck at 16:42.

"We are pretty good. We have almost all the guys who played in the Olympics and we have some great atmosphere in the room," said Kovalchuk said.

In the 2nd period, Finland lost players when Defensemen Jusso Hietanen and Pusi Puistola were injured and Jukka Jalonen to shuffle the lines - and - having already decided to rest defensemen Lasse Kukkonen and Petteri Nummelin - moved team captain Sami Kapanen down to defense.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him, but I play in front of the on our power play, and have to make sure I make some room for our guys," Kovalchuk said about the situation where Hietanen was injured.

Maybe that's why Finland also ran into major penalty trouble in the 2nd period, taking six minors, and Jussi Jokinen's ten minute penalty for hitting to the head.

"Kapanen was excellent tonight. We hang five defensemen for half of the game, and he was our top-two defensemen," coach Jalonen said.

Given multiple chances, Russia finally scored at 13:52 when Ilya Kovalchuk got the puck in the slot, and waited until a Finnish defensemen hit the ice to block a shot, then stepped around him and fed the puck to Evgeni Malkin, who shot the puck through Vehanen's five hole to make it 2-0.

Right after the faceoff Maxim Afinogenov got the puck deep into the Finnish zone, and took the shot that Vehanen's was able to stop with his leg pad. The rebound escaped the Finnish defense but not from Nikolai Kulemin who gave Russia a three goal lead at 14:02.

"We started well, but didn't stick to our system tonight," and didn't have the speed we need in our game," said Kapanen.

Russia put the game to bed, for good, early in the 3rd period. Frist Kovalchuk sent a pass from the hash marks to the point and Emelin one-timed it high on Vehanen's stick-side to make it 4-0 2:15 into the 3rd period.

But Russia wasn't done yet, a mere 40 seconds after the fourth goal Afinogenov grabbed a loose puck on the Finnish blueline, took a step into the slot, and banged the puck past Vehanen for the fifth time in the game.

Russia won Group E and meets Canada in the Quarterfinals. In the other Olympic Quarterfinal rematch, Finland will take on the Czech Republic.

Final Group E Standings

1. Russia 5-0-0-0 15 PTS 20-6

2. Finland 3-0-0-2 9 PTS 11-11

3. Germany 2-0-1-2 7 PTS 8-8

4. Denmark 2-0-0-3 6 PTS 12-10

5. Belarus 1-1-0-3 4 PTS 5-10

6. Slovakia 1-0-0-4 3 PTS 8-18


Clinched Quarterfinal Berth

Elinamted from the IHWC


Final Group E Schedule

5/14: Slovakia 0 Denmark 6 (0-6, 0-0, 0-0)

5/14: Finland 2 Belarus 0 (0-0, 2-0, 0-0)

5/15: Russia 3 Germany 2 (1-0, 1-1, 1-1)

5/16: Denmark 1 Russia 6 (0-2, 1-1, 0-3)

5/16: Germany 1 Belarus 2 (OT) (0-1, 0-0, 1-0, 0-1)

5/17: Finland 5 Slovakia 2 (0-0, 3-0, 2-2)

5/17: Belarus 2 Denmark 1 (0-1, 1-0, 1-0)

5/18: Slovakia 1 Germany 2 (0-1, 1-1, 0-0)

5/18: Russia 5 Finland 0 (1-0, 2-0, 2-0)


Quarterfinal Matchups on 5/20

Colonge

#1E Russia VS. #4F Canada

#2E Finland VS. #3F Czech Republic


Mannheim

#1F Sweden VS. #4E Denmark

#2F Switzerland VS. #3E Germany

IHWC Qualfiying Round Group F: Canada crushes Norway, Sweden Controls Latvia

Canada used a 7 goal 2nd period turned what was a decent effort by Norway and into an absolute blowout as Canada used that to springboard them to a 12-1 win. Bettering Denmark's 6 goal 1st period earlier in the day.

Meanwhile between Sweden and Latvia had little issues to deal with Latvia with 3 first period goals by 3 different players gave them a 4-2 win over Latvia who's still looking for their first points of the 2nd Round. So far, their only win came against Kazakhstan which got them to the 2nd Round.

From the International Ice Hockey Federation Website: www.iihf.com

From Andrew Pondieks

Sweden 4 Latvia 2 (3-1, 0-0, 1-1)

Sweden VS. Latvia Game Photos: www.iihf.com/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/pictures/page/0/game/SWE%20-%20LAT.html

From Mannheim, Germany: Sweden had little trouble defeating Latvia, 4-2, tonight at SAP Arena. Four different goalscorers contributed to the victory while Martins Karsums had both Latvian Goals.

The win gives Sweden six points and a place in top spot of Group F with Switzerland and Canada, although the Swiss have a game in hand. Latvia remains in 6th and last place with no points in three games.

"We let the game slip away," Latvian defensemen Janis Sprukts said. "We made it easy for them. They have a lot of speed from their forwards, and we couldn't shut them down."

"It was a pretty good game for us," Henrik Peterson suggested. "We got the three points and have time to work on a few things now."

The game started out with a feverish pace, the first minutes packing more action into it then most of the rest of the game. It began with Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson picking up a rebound in his own end to open the scoring. He simply blew by defensemen Georgijs Pujacs and slid the puck along the ice to Edgars Masalskis fell sideways to give Sweden a 1-0 lead just 37 seconds into the game.

On the ensuing faceoff, the Latvian's replied. This time Sprukts made a nice pass from the side of the net of to net to Karsums, and his quick shot to the far side surprised Markstrom. Only 56 seconds from the opening faceoff the game was tied, 1-1.

Four minutes later, the Swedes took the lead again when Olivier Ekman Larsson's harmless-looking wrist shot from the point made its way through traffic in front past a screened Masalskis.

Tre Kronor upped its lead to 3-1 at 14:30 on a beautiful three-way passing play off the rush. The attack ended with a great pass by Rickard Wallin bring to the trailer on the play, Mikael Nylander, who walked in and drilled a great shot to the side of Masalskis. The play started with a pass coming over the blue-line from Christian Backman.

The Swedes dominated the 2nd period and Markstrom had previous few difficult saves to make in the middle 20 minutes. At one point, Tre Kronor had the puck in the Latvian end for about four minutes straight.

During this time, Fredrik Pettersson enlivened the proceedings when he had the puck behind the net and tried to score a lacrosse style goal. That is, he flipped the puck onto the blade of his stick and tried to stuff the puck in the short side. Masalskis got his shoulder and head over to the near post in time to keep the puck out, but full marks to Pettersson for originality and entertainment.

"It's something I've tried before, but tonight the goalie saw me I think and was able to get over. But I was in a good position to do it, and if I see the chance I'll try again."

The Swedes were on a constant to puck-possession hockey, and the Latvian's had no seeming answer to cut into the lead. But five minutes into the third period, Markstrom muffed a routine play allowed Latvia back in the game. Karsums came off the left side and barged in on goal, jamming the puck between Markstorm's pads.

The puck trickled down behind the goalie who then knocked the puck over the goal line in trying to squeeze his pads. This made for a move interesting finish then what Sweden had hoped for given their significant territorial and shots advantage in the game.

Tony Martensson finished the scoring late in the game with a bullet slapshot just inside the blueline that caught Masalskis napping.

Both teams play on Sunday. Latvia plays Norway in the afternoon followed by Sweden-Canada.

"We played a pretty good game tonight," Pettersson said, "but we still have a lot of little things we have to work on. We're much better as a team today then we were a week ago, but we can still improve."

Canada 12 Norway 1 (1-1, 7-0, 4-0)

Canada VS. Norway Game Photos: www.iihf.com/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/pictures/page/0/game/CAN%20-%20NOR.html

From Andrew Podnieks

In Mannheim, Germany: Canada scored an easy 12-1 win victory over Norway this afternoon at the SAP Arena. Jordan Eberle, the 19 year old activated to the roster because of injuries, had a goal and 3 assists. Evander Kane had two goals and an assist, and the third member of the line, Rich Peverley, chipped in with a goal and two assists. It was Eberle's international debut at the senior level. He had played at the 2009 and 2010 World Junior Championships.

John Tavares had a hat trick for the winners in the tournament's leading total to six. Canada wore retro jerseys to honor the 2009 U20 U20 team, a fitting tribute that four of the players in today's game wore a year and half ago.

"The game almost gets a little easier when you're playing with such good players, Eberle observed. "Passes are always right on the tape, and you can do things you can't do in juniors. The guys are always talking to you."

The win puts Canada into first place tie with Switzerland in Group F of the qualifying round although the Swiss have a game in hand. Norway remains in 5th place with three points.

Canada's defensive trouble's cost the team the opening goal. Chris Mason made a save off a harmless shot, but the clearing in front of him was poor and the puck ended up on the stick of Jonas Holos at the top of the circle. His quick shot went under the blocker arm of Mason just 1:35 into the game for an early and surprising 1-0 lead for Norway.

"It's not the start that we wanted," Marc Staal said, "and it happened to us in the last game as well. It wasn't a good thing for our confidence, but we knew there was a lot of time left and we could score."

The period was mostly an unmitigated disaster for Canada and team was as flat as the crowd was small and quiet. The low point came midway through when defensemen Kris Russel and got the puck and at the same moment Corey Perry broke out of his end.

All Russell had to do was put the puck on his stick and Perry had a 40 meter breakaway. Instead, he drilled a too-hard pass easily three to four meters wide of his teammate, and instead of a breakaway, it was an icing call.

Canada tied the game at 13:09 off the rush. Marc Staal's original shot was stopped by Ruben Smith, but Evander Kane backhanded the rebound between the goalie's pads to tie the game. Smith was playing because number one goalie Pal Grotnes was serving an automatic one game suspension for a match penalty in the team's last game.

Later in the period, on a power play, Mac Zuccarello Aasen hit the post, but the period ended 1-1.

Canada found a bit of its mojo at 3:51 of the 2nd period on the power play. Ray Whitney's point shot was nicely tipped by Perry in front past Smith to give Canada a 2-1 lead.

"We didn't control the game in the first period," Marc Staal admitted, "but we were patient and then got some shots some time on the power play and got some goals."

Jordan Eberle made a fine little play to key Canada's third goal later in the third period. He made a nice back pass off the boards at the Norway blue-line to Matt Duchene. Duchene took the puck to the net and passed off the trailing defensemen, Marc Giordano made no mistake with his shot from the slot.

The 19 year old Eberle was called into action with injures to Ryan Smyth and Steve Stamkos and was a solid if unspectacular player. He didn't dominate the game by any means, but he also played smart, shifted well, and gave the team some valuable minutes.

And then the roof fell in for Norway. Canada scored three late goals in the period to make it 6-1. That last goal, by Steve Downie, resulted in two penalties for Norway. Ole-Kristian took a roughing minor and Captain Tommy Jakobsen took a five minute major and match penalty for bumping a ref. during discussions.

On the ensuring 5-on-3, Ray Whitney made it 7-1 and with the major penalty still in effect, Kane got his second of the game standing to back side and drilling a delicate and perfect pass from Eberle past the beleguered Smith.

In all, Canada scored 5 goals in a span of 3:06 at the end of the 2nd period. It had 7 goals in the period, four of which were on the power plays.

"We had a good first period, but then we took some stupid penalties and let them play their game," Mathis Olimb said. "We didn't follow our game plan, and then we got a couple of goals and then it just fell apart."

Eberle got his first goal of senior play early in the third period on a nice shot from in close. Tavares added two goals later to finish his hat trick performance and Duchene got the 12th goal on a pretty shot from in tight.

"I knew before the game i'd be on the power play with the second unit, but our line played very well early on and he (Coach Mactavish) kept playing us. It's nice to earn your playing time like that."

Canada's next game is Sunday Night against Sweden while Norway plays Latvia earlier in the day.

Group F Schedule

5/14: Canada 12 Norway 1 (1-1, 7-0, 4-0)

5/14: Sweden 4 Latvia 2 (3-1, 0-0, 1-1)

5/15: Switzerland VS. Czech Republic

5/16: Latvia VS. Norway

5/16: Sweden VS. Canada

5/17: Norway VS. Switzerland

5/17: Czech Republic VS. Latvia

5/18: Canada VS. Czech Republic

5/18: Sweden VS. Switzerland


Group F Standings as of 5/14

1. Canada 2-0-0-1 6 PTS 19-3

2. Switzerland 2-0-0-0 6 PTS 7-2

3. Sweden 2-0-0-1 6 PTS 10-5

4. Czech Republic 1-0-0-1 3 PTS 4-4

5. Norway 1-0-0-2 3 PTS 6-19

6. Latvia 0-0-0-3 0 PTS 4-13

IHWC Qualfiying Round Group E, Denmark Stuns Slovakia, Finland edges Belarus

The IHWC 2nd Round saw a couple of blowouts. One expected, one with one of the bigger shocks as Denmark continues to be this year's tournament darlings as Denmark gets his 3rd win of this year's tournament with a 6-0 win over Slovakia.

You heard that right, 6-0, this one of Denmark's best goal scoring performances ever. The Danes matched their best from 2008 when they beat Italy 6-0. Denmark is hoping to finish off what has been a bit of a disappointing season.

After failing to make the Olympic Tournament, and not promoting at either the WJC or the U18 World Championships for the 2010-2011 season. This year's Denmark team is making up for that. They did scoring on their first 3 shots on goal to basically stun and destroy the Slovak Confidence in the 3rd period. Slovakia couldn't find it as they lost 6-0.

Later in the day in Group E, it was 2nd period goals by Jarkko Immonen and Juha-Pekka Hytonen scored. While the Finnish defense was able to stop what was a very tired Belarus team as they look to regroup for the last 2 games of the 2nd Round.


From the International Ice Hockey Federation Website: www.iihf.com

Slovakia 0 Denmark 6 (0-6, 0-0, 0-0)

Slovakia VS. Denmark Photos: www.iihf.com/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/pictures/page/0/game/SVK%20-%20DEN.html

From Alan Adams

In Colonge, Germany: Peter Regin scored on Denmark's first shot of the game and the Danes had three goals on their first 3 shots en route to a 6-0 triumph over Slovakia in a Qualification Round Game on Friday at the IIHF World Championship on Friday.

The offensive splurge marked only the 2nd time ever at the IIHF's showcase Event that Denmark scored six goals in a game. The previous time was at the 2008 Worlds when Denmark beat Italy 6-2.

The six goals in the first period also briefly tied a record for most goals in a period by the same team at the IIHF's elite level. But Canada scored seven times in the 2nd period against Norway in a game being played in Mannheim at the same-time to set the IIHF's benchmark.

"We killed them right away," said Denmark Captain Jesper Dammgard. "We came out flying and it seemed like everything went in."

"They changed goalies but we just kept coming at them. We were all over them and they could not get a shot on our net."

The surprising Danes now have 6 points in Group E and their next game is against Russia on Sunday. Slovakia has three points and it has a must-win game versus Finland on Monday to keep getting their hope of going to the Quarterfinals on track.

What made that result surprising is how Denmark, a team that has usually fought for survival against relegation, handled a team that is always mentioned as a medal contender with ease.

It was one of those games were nothing went right from the opening faceoff for the Slovaks, who were back on the ice less then 24 hours after a 5-1 loss against Kazakhstan, while everything went right for the Danes.

Regin opened the scoring at 1:05 of the first on a shot from close in and the floodgates were opened.

The Slovaks then found themselves in penalty trouble and took minor penalties at 2:23 and 3:27, and Denmark made them play with consecutive power-play goals.

Philip Larsen doubled the score at 4:20, negating the first penalty, and forwards Mads Christensen followed with his first goal at the world tournament at 4:40.

That made it three shots, three goals for the Danes and Slovakia coach Glen Hanlon had seen enough. He summoned goaltender Peter Budaj to the bench and sent Rastislav Stana in as relief.

The Danes hit the post behind Stana on the first shot he faced and then goalie settled in and held ground for six minutes before he was victimized for three goals in less then 3 minutes.

Morten Madsen scored on a scramble at 10:52 for a 4-0 lead while the Danes had a power play. Morten Green's point shot made it 5-0 at 12:21 and Stefan Lassen's goal at 13:42 on a slap shot then equaled Denmark's record for most goals in a game and tied, albert briefly, the IIHF's mark of the most goals in a period in the Elite Division of international hockey.

"It was amazing. We are big underdogs before the game but we came out strong," said defensemen Alexander Sundberg. "It is a nice feeling right now, a nice feeling."

Denmark goalie Patrick Galbraith faced only three shots in the opening period, and his best save in the game came early in the 3rd period. Andrej Podkonicky got behind Denmark's defense and he ripped a crisp wrist shot that Galbraith got his trapper on to knock the puck out of harm's way just before the five minute mark.

The Slovaks were better defensively in the 2nd and 3rd periods and much better on offence, but it was to late for heroics because the damage had already been done. Denmark played well and we didn't. We gave them easy power plays in the beginning and they scored their goals. We've got two more games to go, and we have to recover.

"It's not over, this is a tournament and that's a good thing for us." said Slovakia's Ivan Majesky. "We'll have to play better defensively in our next game against Finland, and we hope we can score some goals."


From Risto Pakarinen

Finland 2 Belarus 0 (0-0, 2-0, 0-0)

Finland VS. Belarus Game Photos: www.iihf.com/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/pictures/page/0/game/FIN%20-%20BLR.html

From Colonge, Germany: They was always a chance that Belarus' tight defense and their goalie Andrei Mezin were going to make things difficult for Finland. Second period goals by Jarkko Immonen and Juha-Pekka Hytonen got Finland the win it wanted.

"Today was our 2nd game in less then 24 hours, we were tired, and it showed," Mezin said.

Pekka Rinne recorded the shutout for Finland, making 18 saves.

"The game went as expected and Pekka Rinne made a great comeback, and showed everybody why he is considered one of the best goalies in the NHL. It was an OK Game, not great, but not bad either." said Jussi Jokinen.

Sometimes, games go by exactly according to the manuscript, include some of the hardships that the favorites has to endure along the way to victory.

The fact that Belarus got out-shot 13-6, and created half-a-dozen good scoring chances and hit the post twice in the first period, wasn't a surprise to the Belarusian Players, or their goalie, Andrei Mezin. The game went according to plan, as far as they were considered. No need to panic.

The Finns on the other hand, didn't have to worry about not scoring any goals in the first period either. They knew that Belarus would try to defend their goal with all five skaters, and try to score the necessary goals either with a quick transition game on the power play. Finland would just have to focus on their own play, hold onto the puck, and pepper Mezin with shots.

"We knew how they play, that they're strong in the transition game. We put pressure on their defensemen and got turnovers in the zone," said Sami Vatanen, the 18 year old defensemen, playing in his first world Championship.

At 5:57 into the 2nd period, Finland got their power play opportunity when Belarus got a "too many men on the ice" penalty. The Finns cycled the puck around the Belarus zone quickly, and then Antti Miettinen sent the puck to Jarkko Immonen received the puck on his forehand, and then it sent it past Mezin with a quick wraparound shot, next to the left post.

"I've had chances there before, there's a little space, so I can press the puck to the middle, or try to do something myself," said Immonen, who leads his team in goal scoring, with three.

"That just shows the sorry state our offense if i'm the leading goal scorer, we have to come up with something," he joked.

Belarus had a few chances in the 2nd period, but the game seemed to be over when Juha-Pekka Hytonen, Immonen's Jyvaskyla teammate from last year, beat Mezin low on the gloveside with a slapshot from the point at 12:19.

In the third, Finland made sure the game didn't slip away. And it didn't.

"They have great speed and hard to compete. We didn't have a great second period," Mezin said.

His teammates Kirill Gotovets was carried off on a stretcher in the 2nd period, after he was checked to the boards by Finland's Oskar Osala. No penalty was called in the situation, but Gotovets was taken to a hospital with concussion symptoms.

Finland's next game is on Monday against Slovakia. While Belarus will play host Germany on Sunday Night.


Group E Standings after 5/14

Qualifying Round Format: You take the combo of games from both the Prelim and Qualifying Rounds. You drop the game against the Team that is playing in the Relegation Round. After the 2nd Round ends, the top 4 in both groups advance to the Quarterfinals where they will cross over.

1. Denmark 2-0-0-1 6 PTS 11-4

2. Russia 2-0-0-0 6 PTS 6-2

3. Finland 2-0-0-1 6 PTS 6-4

4. Germany 1-0-0-1 3 PTS 3-2

5. Slovakia 1-0-0-2 3 PTS 5-11

6. Belarus 0-0-0-3 0 PTS 3-9


Group E Schedule

5/14: Slovakia 0 Denmark 6 (0-6, 0-0, 0-0)

5/14: Finland 2 Belarus 0 (0-0, 2-0, 0-0)

5/15: Russia VS. Germany

5/16: Denmark VS. Russia

5/16: Germany VS. Belarus

5/17: Finland VS. Slovakia

5/17: Belarus VS. Denmark

5/18: Slovakia VS. Germany

5/18: Russia VS. Finland