Day 2 is in the books and we are almost halfway through this Round Robin already. Some teams have already finished 6/12 games, everyone has played at least 5. This is a very tight race right now as the international point scoring system along with the parity in teams is really keeping this close. Yesterday I highlighted a few of this mornings match-ups that I was looking forward to and in this article we will see how they played out and look forward to a few of tomorrows big games. For the second day in a row 4/5 of the games I have highlighted ended up being 1 goal games. It shows how close these teams really all are!
Coming into the day Norway rolling and that just continued today as they won this game and 2 others to extend their win streak to 4 and they lead the whole tournament right now with 16 points in 6 games. This game was a real defensive battle as both teams struggled all game to find any real offense. Norway outshot Czechia 23-16 at the end of the night. Norway won thanks to goals by Cant Eykhil in the 1st followed up by the eventually game winner off the stick of Anders Christiansen in the 2nd. Czechia did manage to make it close in the 3rd when David Kastrba scored at 2:09 in but they took a couple penalties and only managed 5 total shots in the period. Norway was really solid in front of freshly rested superstar goalie Tommy Tuck. On a special teams note both teams went 0 for 4 on the PP for the game.
Well I wanted to highlight this rematch specifically because these were the two top teams last year in the Round Robin and Latvia beat Austria 4-1 yesterday pretty easily. I was surprised as I expected a closer game and wanted to see how Austria would rebound. This game was much closer as it went all the way to a shootout and Austrian stars Mike Izzy and Tigole Bitties came up huge as they always do and won the rematch with Latvia. In the first period we saw Latvia score two goals just 37 seconds apart at the end of the period to make it 2-0. Bang bang just like that and it looked like it was going to be another tough night for Austria. But they kept fighting and crawled their way back. Down 2-1 in the third period Austria came out on fire and fire 26 shots on net in just the third alone! Mikhail Lokitonov and Yannick Berger scored to help Austria go up 3-2. The goals were just 55 seconds apart and Latvia was reeling. Star defenseman Maui took a double minor for high sticking but that when Latvian Kristaps Ball came up huge with a short handed goal to tie it up and send this game to OT and the eventual shootout. Again Latvian goalie Billy Sorokin played very well in this game even though he took an OTL.
Well this is an interesting game as it was the second half of a back-to-back these two teams played. Switzerland actually won the first game 3-1 and that marked their first ever IIHF win so a big congratulations to them on that! This game was the opposite score as Sweden really took it to Switzerland outshooting them 40-27 in the game. Switzerland actually started the game very strong with confidence from their previous win they stormed out with 15 shots in the 1st and the only goal thanks to Jurij Kovačič. Sweden really turned it around after that though as the Swiss only managed 12 shots the final 40 minutes and no more goals. Sweden had goals from Enqvist, Forsberg and Fantobens added a PP marker in the final period to put the nail in the coffin. Sweden was perfect on the PK for the game going 3/3 and it should also be noted the 3rd star of the game was Swedish goalie Sebastien Primeau. Primeau had been vocal about wanted to see some action in the crease this season and he got it.
The UK came in undefeated at 4-0 into this game and Germany was the first team to hand them an L. This game was another close one as it went to overtime but the coaching strategy of German Simon Tims prevailed here. Both goalies had nights to forget as the final shots were only 26-22 in favor of Germany but both teams lit the lamp a lot. Germany started it off with goals by Kruger and Kocsis in the first but the UK wasn't going away that easy and came back with 2 quick goals of their own thanks to King and Kirkby. Ray Bork made it 3-2 UK in the second but only 12 seconds later GOD McZehrl was there to tie this game right back up. He is the first line center for Germany this year which is a strange site to see but it seems to be working out for them. Each team scored 1 more and we were headed to OT where "the big meat" Tony Pepperoni put the biscuit in the basket for his first goal of the tournament to win the game.
This was a big game for the Russian squad who came in after a back to back with the 5 time defending champion Irish. They gave up 12 goals total in those 2 games and were handed two losses. They needed to rebound against a less star-studded team like Japan. The Japanese had different plans though and they won this game thanks in big part to their special teams and of course their goalie Patrice Nadeau. Russia came out with 2 goals early from Evans and Artemi Berezin but Japan answered with their first just 36 seconds later from Lighting Jones. Russia then got into some really bad penalty trouble and Japan made them pay the price scoring two power play goals in just 29 seconds! Jones added another that went on to be the eventual game winner as Berezin did score his 2nd of the night for Russia midway through the 3rd period. It was too little too late and Japan now has two wins this season.
Day 11 Highlighted Game: Finland at Austria - Finland won 3 straight to start the tournament but lost two in a row and are hanging on to the last Medal Round spot right now in Group B. Austria is just 2 points ahead of them though in a very close group that only Norway has really pulled away from.
Day 12 Highlighted Game: USA at Canada USA right now is sitting in 5th spot so they need some wins fast. This might be what they need as they beat up on Canada today 7-1. Another regulation win against Canada would be massive in the standings to tie the teams. Canada won two in a row after that so we will see if they figured anything out.
Day 13 Highlighted Game: Ireland at Germany These two teams are neck and neck in Group A. Both have played 5 games and have 9 points and are holding the 3rd and 4th spots right now. Germany has only managed 13 goals total compared to the Irish who have 21 so we will see how this one plays out.
Day 14 Highlighted Game: United Kingdom at Russia This UK team who won a silver medal last year are playing very well and look to be a big threat again this year to medal. They are 4-0-1 and Russia is sitting in last in Group A right now. They have given up the most goals in the tournament and with 3 losses in a row they need some big wins tomorrow.
Day 15 Highlighted Game: Czechia at Switzerland Czechia is a pretty big disappointment this year sitting at 0-5-1 they are the only team without a single win. With half of their games done it might be tough for them but if they can win out in regulation they would finish with 19 points. Last year they claimed the the final Medal round spot with 20 points and 19 would have got the job done. They are not dead yet.
First SHL goal on first SHL shot in first SHL game.
06-07-2019, 05:08 PM(This post was last modified: 06-07-2019, 05:11 PM by Mack.)
Day 3 is done and we have most teams sitting at 8 of 12 games done now. Some are still at 7 games but with only 2 sim days left in the Round Robin things are very tight and it will come right down to the last sim for sure to see who makes it. Yesterday I highlighted a few games from today's sims that were of prime importance in the standings so let's take a look at how they played out. We had one first place team drop right down to 5th and out of the Medal Round! We will also highlight 5 big games coming up tomorrow.
Matthew Auston scored 4 goals in this game as Austria really beat up Finland. Auston got the scoring started just 2:30 into the 1st period, he added another on the PP in the 2nd period and in the 3rd he scored two more, the first capped his hat-trick on an even strength tally and then he added his second PP goal of the night at 9:24 of the 3rd to really cap this thing off. Finland did manage to get 34 shots on goal but unfortunately for them Austria managed 56! This was not a defensive battle to say the least as these two teams were really run and gun out there. Austria went 2/4 on the PP but Finland wasn't able to cash in on their 2 chances.
Only 2 points separated these two coming into action today in Group B. At the end of the day Austria now holds a 4 points lead on Finland but they are still very close as we look to the end of Round Robin play in a couple days.
Well here was have yet another dominating win by the Americans over Canada. They won the first match 7-1 and this time they shut the Canadians out completely 3-0. Canada had some solid goaltending from Hobbs but it wasn't enough as they were outshot badly 47-18. Canada took 6 minor penalties in the game and just couldn't get any momentum going. USA kicked off their scoring in the first when Joe Kurczewski scored a beauty from Louie Garrett and Geoff Moore. Canada took a penalty in the second for Hooking and USA made them pay as Logan Jensen scored. Max Mauldin of America also added one more goal late in the 2nd. In the 3rd period Canada just didn't have anything in the tank and got badly outplayed and outshot 15-4. Aleister Cain stopped the 18 shots again to earn the big shutout as USA moves up in the rankings and Canada plummets to 5th.
This was a game to forget on the German side. Ireland won the game 4-1 and Germany just looked sluggish for most of the game, they only managed 10 shots through the first 2 periods total. They took a lot of penalties and couldn't cash in on the 4 PP chances they had of their own. I mentioned yesterday in looking towards this game that Germany was scoring at a much lower rate than Ireland and that showed here as well. Paddy O'Sullivan opened it up with his first of the tournament in the 1st period. Dman Jack Tanner scored what ended up being the game winning goal early in the 2nd for Ireland but Germany answered back quickly on a goal by Andrew Martin about 10 minutes later to make it 2-1. Oisin Fletcher scored to make it 3-1 and Jack Tanner added his second of the game on the PP late in the 3rd to close the game out. Irish goalie Beaujeaux Biscuit was very solid stopping 19 of 20 on the night.
I was looking forward to this game as the UK was rolling and playing great but Russia had the least goals of the tournament. Well Russia now is scoring at a higher rate and this was a huge 3-2 win for them over the defending Silver Medalist United Kingdom. Russia scored first as they managed to get a goal from Singh just 0:47 into the start of the 1st. The UK did tie it up thanks to Bob Bergen and then take the lead on a goal from Harvey Danger. Russia was far from done and added 2 more goals of their own in under 5 minutes. Konstantin and Ralchankinov scored. Ralchankinov's goal ended up being the game winner. In the second period the UK managed only 2 shots on goal which is just never going to get the job done.The final shots in the game were 33-25. Russia did make a goaltender change for today's sims and Aleksi O'Koivu-Volkova came in and played really well in this game finishing with a 0.920 SV%.
Somehow coming into this game Czechia was without a single win. Well that changed here and they got their first W in regulation by outshooting Switzerland 46-22. Special teams were a big part of this 5-3 win as Czechia went 2/5 on the PP and the Swiss were 1/2. In the first period Switzerland took a double minor for Slashing that Sean Stevenson JR scored on and they took 3 more penalties in the period as they were just really sloppy. The Swiss did score to tie it up 1-1 by Gilfred Alfredsson but Czechia had 2 more in the 1st to make it 3-1. First Tokek Takshak and then on another PP Troy McClure III blasted one home. Switzerland showed some real strength though and battled back in this one to tie it up 3-3! First Nico Gross had a PP goal in the 2nd and then Sulak O'Hritea had his 3rd of the tournament in the 3rd period. Czechia was determined to put an end to their ugly L streak though and they fired 16 shots in the period. The game winner was scored next by Jakub Novak for his first of the tournament, big goal! McClure III added his 2nd of the game just 18 seconds later to ice it.
Day 16 Highlighted Game: UK at Canada - Huge game right here as both teams are tied in the standings with 7 games played but UK has the tiebreaker so they are 4th and Canada is sitting out of the Medal Round spot right now in 5th. Both teams lost their last game in regulation and this could be a game one of them look back to if they don't make the medal round.
Day 17 Highlighted Game: USA at Ireland - Two more tied teams right here as USA sits in 2nd after 8 games played with 14 points and Ireland also at 14 points sits right behind them in 3rd. This thing is far from over and these teams are not clinched in a spot yet. This game should be amazing.
Day 18 Highlighted Game: Norway at Latvia - Norway is the class of the tournament sitting at 7-0-1 and 21 points. They look like the only team that has a hold on a Medal Round spot so far. That being said who knows what can happen still. Latvia is coming off back to back SO losses and they need a little puck luck to go their way to make it into the next round.
Day 19 Highlighted Game: Sweden at Finland - It's always a great game when Sweden and Finland battle it out. These two teams are sitting in the final Medal Round slots in Group B right now and are neck and neck. With the Swiss and Latvians breathing down their neck these guys aren't safe and need some points.
Day 20 Highlighted Game: Austria at Switzerland - Austria looks really strong as most expected and sit in 2nd in Group B with a 6-1-0 record. The Swiss are young but they really are trying to make a run at the Medal Round this year and if they can upset Austria here that would really help their chances. They are only 1 point back of Sweden right now but have played 1 more game.
First SHL goal on first SHL shot in first SHL game.
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Finland at Austria 
USA at Canada 
USA right now is sitting in 5th spot so they need some wins fast. This might be what they need as they beat up on Canada today 7-1. Another regulation win against Canada would be massive in the standings to tie the teams. Canada won two in a row after that so we will see if they figured anything out.![[Image: dVy6XWn.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/dVy6XWn.jpg)
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