2007 IIHF World Championship

[JNK]

Those are the 4 best ice hockey countries hehe

[mickey]

Alexander Ovechkin scored once and had two assists as Russia produced a devastating third-period burst to crush Ukraine 6-0 on Thursday. The Washington Capitals prodigy was an influential figure as Russia eventually ground down a dogged Ukrainian side in the opening qualification round game.

The result mirrored pre-match predictions, but inspired by facing their neighbours, Ukraine made Russia battle for every puck.

With Igor Karpenko solid between the pipes, Oleksandr Seukand's men crumbled just once in the opening two periods as Maxim Sushinsky craftily sneaked a wraparound goal with 16:06 on the clock after fine work from Ovechkin and Denis Kulyash.

But for all their stubborness, Ukraine rarely threatened Sergei Zvyagin's goal - being outshot 50 to 25 - and were unable to stem the red tide when fatigue set in.

With Andriy Sryubko in the box for a boarding penalty held over from late in the second period, the game tipped decisively in Russia's favour as Ovechkin again manufactured a goal for Sushinsky on 41:03.

Five minutes later Sushinsky returned the favour, providing Andrei Kruchinin with the chance to wind up a slap shot that was cleverly tipped past Karpenko by the alert Ovechkin.

Kulyash smashed a fourth from the blue line with Sergey Mozyakin adding a fifth after Karpenko had spilled Georgy Misharin's wrist shot, before Igor Grigorenko completed the win with three minutes left on the clock.

The only black spot for Russia coach Vladimir Krikunov was the first-period loss of Alexander Kharitonov, who was crudely kneed by Olexandr Bobkin.

Kharitonov had to be helped from the ice with a knee injury which may have ended his championships, while Bobkin was given a game misconduct penalty for the incident.



I have found a great picture, which i call "The flying Russian"

[81507]

mickey said:

I have found a great picture, which i call "The flying Russian"

The guy looks like he's from a chinese fantasy/action movie ;D
Reminds me of the movie "Crouching tiger, hidden dragon"

[mickey]

Johan Holmqvist made 23 saves as Olympic champions Sweden roared to an early lead and then coasted to a 4-1 win over Belarus on Friday at the ice hockey world championships to gain another small measure of revenge.


Meeting for the just the second time since an upset quarter-final loss to Belarus at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Sweden scored four times in the opening period ensuring there would be no repeat of one of the most embarrassing losses in the country's hockey history.

Michael Nylander, Jonas Nordquist, Magnus Johansson and Perr Hallberg each had a goal as the Swedes kept their bid for an unprecedented golden double on track.

No nation has ever claimed Olympic and world titles in the same year.

Sergei Zadelenov scored the lone Belarus goal midway through the final period to spoil Holmqvist's shutout bid.

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Philadelphia Flyers rookie Antero Niittymaki played a flawless game to lead unbeaten Finland to a 4-0 rout of the United States on Friday. The Finnish were a class apart as they dominated throughout the entire duration of the game.


Niittymaki, who helped Finland to the silver medal at the Turin Olympics, made 24 saves including an early penalty shot from Boston Bruins centre Yan Stastny to post his second shutout of the tournament.

Mikko Koivu, younger brother of Montreal Canadiens captain Saku, opened the scoring at 11:13 of the first period when he fired into an empty net after U.S. goaltender Craig Anderson lost sight of the puck when it hit the post.

Sean Bergenheim and Petteri Nummelin added second-period goals before Lasse Kukkonen's late tally completed the scoring for the Finns, second in Group E one point behind Canada.


GOOD GAME

"We played a good game," Finland coach Erkka Westerlund told reporters. We had some difficulty in the beginning but then we started to skate better and this was the key to our game and of course Niittymaki was very good when we were in trouble."

U.S. coach Mike Eaves said: "I would like to complement the Finnish team. They played a very strong game, they were very strong in the corners and controlled the puck and Niittymaki was there when they needed him."


Switzerland also remained undefeated as Sandy Jeannin scored with less than two minutes remaining against the Slovaks to salvage a point.

Marc Reichert sparked the Swiss rally with a powerplay goal midway through the final period. Martin Cibak and Dusan Milo scored for 2002 champions Slovakia, who earned their first point of the preliminary round.


FIVE TITLES

The Czechs, who have won five world titles in the last decade, have also been struggling in this tournament.

They had to fight to see off Norway, ranked a lowly 18th by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

Norway goaltender Mathias Gundersen played a strong game, making 40 saves.

Morten Ask gave Norway a surprise 1-0 lead midway through the first period when he deflected Mads Hansen's shot from a sharp angle, catching Czech goalie Milan Hnilicka off guard.

Jan Hlavac finally beat Gundersen with a wrist shot from the point at 7:21 of the second period.

Jaroslav Balastik and Petr Tenkrat also tallied for the Czechs, who now have four points in the round.

"We always have tough games against Norway," said Czech coach Alois Hadamczik. "We didn't skate well in the first period and their goalie played excellently."

The tournament hosts escaped sanction after home fans threw debris on the ice during Latvia's 11-0 thrashing by Canada on Thursday.

The game was stopped twice, forcing the teams off the ice while workers tried to clear the surface.

American referee Rick Looker, who infuriated Latvian fans by calling 16 penalties against their team, had to be escorted off at the end.

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Pts P GF GA
1 Canada 2 1 11 0
2 Finland 2 1 4 0
3 Czech Republic 2 1 3 1
4 Norway 0 1 1 3
5 USA 0 1 0 4
6 Latvia 0 1 0 11


Pts P GF GA
1 Russia 2 1 6 0
2 Sweden 2 1 4 1
3 Switzerland 1 1 2 2
- Slovakia 1 1 2 2
5 Belarus 0 1 1 4
6 Ukraine 0 1 0 6


Today's matches:

19.15 : Usa - Latvia
19.15 : Belarus - Ukraine

[mickey]

Patrick O'Sullivan arrived just in time to score the game-winning goal as the U.S. battled to a 4-2 victory over Latvia on Saturday, taking the air out of the ice hockey world championship party.

The U.S. moves into fourth place in the Group E standings securing a quarter-final appearance, while the Latvians world championship run will come to an end in the second round bringing an early finish to the party in this hockey-mad Baltic republic.

At Skonto Arena, Mikhail Grabovsky had a hat-trick as Belarus kept their hopes of advancing alive with a 9-1 win over Ukraine.

Belarus remain fourth in Group F standings with four points from four games.

Also scoring for Belarus in the rout were Dmitry Dudik, with two goals, Viktor Kostyuchenok, Oleg Antonenko, Andrei Skabelka and Vladimir Kopat. Yuri Gunko had the lone Ukraine goal.

After being shown the yellow card for their unruly display during an 11-0 thrashing by Canada, Latvian supporters were on their best behaviour.

Championship spokesperson Janis Stepitis confirmed security had been increased inside Riga Arena to ensure there would be no repeat of Thursday's ugly scenes when fans littered the ice with debris, twice halting action and forcing players to the locker rooms.

The sellout crowd, that included Latvian President Vaira Vike-Frieberga wearing her hockey sweater, greeted the team with a standing ovation and focused their energy on cheering as the contest unfolded without incident.

With the score tied 2-2, O'Sullivan, who had stepped off a plane from the U.S. eight hours earlier, came to the rescue when he one-timed a feed from Mark Cullen from the right faceoff circle past Sergejs Naumovs silencing the crowd.

Latvia gave their fans plenty of reason to cheer, rebounding from their embarrassing loss to Canada with a gritty, energetic effort but despite the urging of a seething sea of maroon-clad supporters could not pull off the upset.

"It was a big win for us the atmosphere was crazy," O'Sullivan said. "It's hard to play hockey when you can't hear anything you don't know what's going on.

"That's the loudest crowed I've ever seen, it's something we don't get in North America.

"To get an important goal in my first game after a really tough day of travel, I'm really happy I could help the boys out.

"I've been here eight hours, it's been a tough day," he added

Ryan Malone, Ryan Suter and Los Angeles Kings Dustin Brown, who had a hat-trick against Norway in the tournament opener, also scored for the U.S. while Lauris Darzins and Aleksandrs Semjonovs answered for Latvia.

"We had some fight but it wasn't enough for the win," said Latvian coach Pjotrs Vorobjovs.

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Belarus hammered Ukraine 9-1 on Saturday to move closer to a quarter-final spot at the ice hockey world championship. Mikhail Grabovsky notched a hat-trick to lead Belarus, who remained in fourth place in Group F with four points from four games after shocking Slovakia 2-1 in their opener.

The Dynamo Moscow centre, the Montreal Canadiens' fifth choice in the 2004 NHL draft, is the tournament's joint top goalscorer with Canada's Sidney Crosby with five goals each.

The top four teams from each of the two qualifying groups advance to the medal round.

Dmitry Dudik added a pair of goals and Viktor Kostyuchenok, Oleg Antonenko, Andrei Skabelka and Vladimir Kopat also scored for Belarus while Yuri Gunko replied for the winless Ukrainians, who were eliminated.

Both teams were missing players. Ukraine had Olexander Bobkin serving a one-game suspension for kneeing Russia's Alexander Kharitonov on Thursday, while fellow defenseman Denys Isayenko was nursing a neck injury after being slammed into the boards during Wednesday's game against Italy.

Ukraine blueliner Sergei Klymentiev was allowed to play after the International Ice Hockey Federation on Saturday overturned its own decision and cut his two-game ban in half.

On Thursday, Klymentiev was handed the suspension for his part in a brawl following the Italy game. He sat out Thursday's game against Russia.

Belarus had their D-man Alexander Zhurik out with a shoulder injury.

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Slovakia cruised to a 5-2 victory over Olympic champions Sweden on Sunday at the ice hockey world championship. The Slovaks, who carried just one point from their three preliminary-round games, had to beat Sweden to have any hopes of advancing from Group F.

Slovakia captain Marian Hossa, playing in his first game since injuring his knee against Kazakhstan a week ago, opened the scoring less than two minutes into the contest and Martin Cibak made it 2-0 seven minutes later.

The 2002 champions scored twice more in the second period through Rene Vydareny and Marian Hossa's brother Marcel, with the Swedes replying through Magnus Johansson and Andreas Karlsson.

Andrej Kollar rounded out the scoring midway through the final period for Slovakia, who now must beat winless Ukraine in their final qualifier on Tuesday to sneak into the last eight.

The top four teams from each of the two qualifying groups advance to the medal round.

Sunday's match brought memories of their infamous contest at the Turin Olympics in February when the Swedes were accused of not trying hard enough to win.

Sweden lost that game 3-0 to set up an easier quarter-final against Switzerland on their way to winning the gold medal.

Sweden coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson later said that his team "were not trying to lose to Slovakia on purpose but rather were saving their energy for their next games".

On Sunday, Gustafsson dismissed the suggestions of his team preserving their energy this time.

"Yes, sure we were saving ourselves for the final," he joked.

"When you lose people always accuse you of not trying hard enough," Gustafsson told Reuters.

"What can I say? They just played a really good game, scored two powerplay goals to go up 3-0 and it was very hard for us to come back.

"As far as saving ourselves for the final, we must first get there," he added.

Sweden's first defeat in the Riga tournament also assured Russia of top spot in the group after they beat Switzerland 6-3 in the earlier game to improve their win-loss record to 5-0.

The Russians face the Swedes on Monday.

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Russia scored two powerplay goals early in the final period to beat Switzerland 6-3 on Sunday at the ice hockey world championships. Two powerful blasts by defensmen Dmitry Bykov and Ilya Nikulin less than two minutes apart beat Montreal Canadiens goaltender David Aebischer to break a 2-2 deadlock.

Goran Bezina brought the Swiss within one three minutes later, using advantage of a 5-3 powerplay opportunity, but late strikes by Nikolai Kulemin and Evgeni Malkin sealed Russia's fifth successive victory since the start of the tournament.

Russia could clinch top spot in Group F if unbeaten Sweden lose to Slovakia in the second game later on Sunday.

Denis Zaripov and Denis Arkhipov scored the first two goals for Russia while Thierry Paterlini and Beat Forster replied for the previously undefeated Switzerland, who remained in fourth place with four points from four games.

The top four teams from each of the two qualifying groups advance to the medal round.

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Fredrik Norrena made 18 saves as Olympic silver medallists Finland blanked Norway 3-0 at the world ice hockey championship on Sunday. The win allowed the Finns to take over first place in the Group E standings with seven points ahead of Canada, who player the Czechs later in the day.

Finland, Canada, Czech Republic and the United States have all secured quarter-final spots.

Following the U.S. victory over Latvia on Saturday, the Norwegians entered the game against Finland knowing they had no chance of advancing out of the qualifications round but they still tested the Olympic runners-up.

The Finns scored once in each period, Jukka Hentunen, Jussi Jokinen and Esa Pirnes all finding the net.

Having already clinched a spot in the final eight, the Finns started Norrena in net ahead of Philadelphia Flyers netminder Antero Niittymaki, who will no doubt get the call for a key clash against Canada on Monday that is likely to decide top spot in the Group E standings.

Niittymaki, who was named most valuable player at the Olympic tournament after posting three shutouts, is also making a bid for world championship MVP honours have registered shutouts in two of his three starts.

Mathias Gundersen also turned in a sparkling effort in the Norway net, facing 40 shots.

[JNK]

Nice to see Norway come so far, but they will crash down fast if they got to quater finals

I would of never think that Finland could of won USA so much

[mickey]

Denmark edged Kazakhstan 3-2 and Italy rallied to earn a 3-3 draw with Slovenia at the world championships on Monday, securing their places in the A Pool for another season.

Kazakhstan and Slovenia are relegated to the B Pool while Germany and Austria are promoted for next year's championships in Russia.

Denmark finished the relegation round on five points, followed by Italy with three and Kazakhstan and Slovenia both with two.

Italy trailed 3-0 in the second period, but a pair of goals by Luca Ansoldi brought them back to 3-2 before Michele Strazzabosco completed the comeback with 1:29 left of the game

His blast from the right faceoff circle clanged off the far post into the net past Robert Kristan to earn the Italians a draw.

The Danes were also left to fend off a late challenge by the Kazakhs when Artyom Agrokov scored with 20 seconds to reduce the Danish lead to one goal.

Kazakhstan then pulled their netminder in favour of an extra attacker but could not complete the comeback and get the tie they needed to stay in the A Pool.



I have only 1 thing to say : OMFG!!
We were a better team, then we made few noobish mistakes and that cost us our victory...
Our best player was Anze Kopitar, who is only 18-years old, and he is on the 2nd place overall, judging by points, i think he has 9 of them (3+6). Too bad that he has no more matches, otherwise he would place top 3 of this World Cup for sure...

[mickey]

The USA overtook the Czech Republic for third place of Group E in the World Championships after beating the defending champions, 3-1, on Tuesday. Ryan Malone had a goal and an assist to lead the way for the Americans. The Czechs missed out on a chance to beat out Canada for first place in the group.

Ryan Malone snatched the opener on 13 minutes after a Czech give away in their own end. Jan Hejda gift wrapped a pass for Malone to skate on to. The American made a swift move to slip the puck under the pad of Czech goalie Milan Hnililcka.

Another Czech miscue led to Mark Cullen's goal in the 19th minute.

Although the Czech Republic could have overtaken Canada for first place in Group E, the defending World Champions came out flat in the first period. The Americans established a physical edge following through with their hits and winning loose pucks.

Good American back checking and a Czech defensive error lead to the Malone goal. Just when it looked like the Czechs were finding their form the US snatched a second goal just before the end of the period.

The Czechs found their stride in the second period and established their dominance. The Americans held on until the 27th minute when Zbynek Michalek pulled one back for the Czechs to make the score 2-1.

The Americans killed off a dangerous one man advantage in the last minutes of the second period. The Czech Republic set up the power play and managed to test Bacashihua numerous times however they failed to make the vital breakthrough and the score remains 2-1.

The Czech insurgence was shut down for good in the third period by a swarming US defence. The Americans formed what seemed to be a blue wall in front of Bacashihua's net, disallowing the skillful Czechs to get any closer than 2-1.

Another Czech mistake in the defensive end led to the third and final American goal. Malone took the puck off the stick of Tomas Kaberle at the blue line and skated untouched towards Hnilicka's net. He whipped a perfect pass across the slot to L.A. Kings forward Dustin Brown who smashed home his fifth goal of the tournament.

The Czech Republic's hopes were officially dashed in the 59th minute when Lukas Krajicek was sent to the box for cross-checking.

The loss sees the Czechs fall to fourth place in the tightly contested group. Instead of facing the winner of the Switzerland in the first round of the knockout faze, the Czechs will have the high octane Russian offense to deal with. The Americans avoid the Russians but have a whole new set of problems in the Swedes.

[mickey]

Canada beat Finland 4-2 to top Group E of the World Championships in Latvia while Russia scored a late equaliser to draw 3-3 with Sweden in Group F.


After a sloppy loss to the Czech Republic a day earlier, Canada promised a better effort against the Finns and made good on their word by retaking top spot in Group E.

The Czech Republic could yet top the group with a win over the U.S. in their last preliminary round clash on Tuesday.

"The last couple of nights we played medal contenders, we played teams we believe we will be seeing down the road," said Marc Denis, who turned a solid performance in the net as Finland out shot Canada 40-25.

"It's just the way it's supposed to be... from this moment on you have to get on a three game winning streak to leave Latvia with a gold medal around our necks which is our main goal."

Canada got the game off to a rousing start jumping out to a 2-0 lead on a powerplay goal from Boston Bruins' Patrice Bergeron and a shorthanded tally from Carter.

TAKING CHANCES

With just 1:45 remaining in the period, Mikko Koivu put Finland on the scoreboard firing a shot between Denis' pads.

Carter restored Canada's two-goal cushion early in the second when he stole the puck at the blue line and broke in alone on Antero Niittymaki.

"It (the win) was huge," said Carter. "We all know we didn't come out how we wanted to last night.

"I was brought here to produce offense and the first few games I was sluggish.

"Tonight it was nice to bury my chances."

Finland's Petteri Nummelin and Canada's Brad Boyes traded goals in the third period.

Niittymaki, named most valuable player at the Olympic tournament after posting three shutouts, was forced from the game with an apparent groin injury and replaced by Fredrik Norrena.

MIKHNOV AT THE DOUBLE

In Group F, Alexei Mikhnov also scored twice, his second coming with just over four minutes remaining to give Russia a 3-3 draw against Olympic champions Sweden as they finished the group play undefeated.

The game had little meaning for the Russians, who had already clinched first place in their group after Sweden lost 5-2 to Slovakia on Sunday.

Detroit Red Wings right wing Mikael Samuelsson notched two powerplay goals to lead the Swedes, who gave a fine effort after a lacklastre showing against the Slovaks.

"It was a good game for us confidence-wise," Sweden captain Kenny Jonsson told Reuters.

"Russia was the best team we've faced so far and we gave a good effort because we wanted to finish group play on a good note."

Sweden coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson said: "I am very pleased with this game. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold on for a win but we're now looking forward to the quarter-finals."

The top four teams from each of the two qualifying groups advance to the medal round.

Russia goaltender Maxim Sokolov, who was making his world championship debut after recovering from a knee injury, had a solid game, stopping 26 shots.

TOP SCORER

Washington Capitals rookie Alexander Ovechkin scored just 1:22 into the game for his fifth goal of the tournament by sliding the puck under Swedish goalie Johan Holmqvist after great individual work by line mate Nikolai Kulemin.

Ovechkin now has five goals, one shy of fellow rookie Canada's Sidney Crosby, who is the tournament's top scorer with 12 points after adding an assist on Boyes' third-period goal.

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Canada came from a goal down to beat Slovakia 4-1 in the second quarter final of the World Ice Hockey championships in Latvia on Wednesday. Canada join Sweden in the semis after they beat the USA 6-0 earlier in the day.

Slovakia took a first period lead against the run of play when Dusan Milo poached on the line after Hossa's long-shot was deflected into his path.

Until then Canada had seen all of the puck and made more of the chances, Slovakia 'keeper Krizan in inspired form to keep his side in the match.

Camalleri levelled things in a tight second period with a close-range finish after Shanahan's shot from the right was parried by Krizan.

It was 2-1 to Canada after a bombardment of pressure saw Hamhuis swivel and play a long shot against Krizan, the Slovakia defence again static as Bergeron pounced on 52 minutes.

Slovakia then collapsed, conceding twice in quick succession to Carter and Crosby after more poor defending as Canada booked their place in the semis.

Russia face the Czech Republic followed by Belarus v Finland in Thursday's final two semi finals.

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Sweden destroyed the USA in a one-way quarter-final on Wednesday 6-0. Mika Hannula grabbed a hat-trick in a game dominated by the Swedes. The Olympic champions were the first team into the semi-finals, keeping their bid for an unprecedented Olympic/world double on track - CANADA V SLOVAKIA LIVE NOW!


Hannula scored twice in the opening period for a 2-0 lead, supported by Johan Holmqvist's shutout netminding.

Detroit Red Wings' Mikael Samuelsson, one of the eight players who also played at the Olympics in Turin, opened the scoring in the second while Kenny Jonsson added a powerplay marker to push the Tre Kronor in front 4-0.

Hannula collected his hat-trick midway through the third when he broke in alone and snapped up a low shot past Jason Bacashihua, who had replaced Craig Anderson in the U.S. net. Andreas Karlsson completed the rout, scoring his fifth of the championship.

Sweden play the winner of the game between Canada and Slovakia later on Wednesday.

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Zbynek Irgl's overtime goal gave the Czech Republic a dramatic 4-3 victory over Russia on Thursday, sending the title holders into the world championship semi-finals. Finland v Belarus LIVE NOW!

Irgl scored at 7:58 of the 10-minute extra period after evading two defensemen and beating Russia goalie Maxim Sokolov with a neat stickhandling move to knock previously unbeaten Russia out of the tournament.

The Czechs looked on their way to victory in regulation time until Alexei Mikhnov levelled the score for Russia with just 65 seconds left to send the game into extra time.

Mikhnov slipped in a rebound from close range following Vitaly Atyushov's shot from the point.

In Saturday's semi-finals the Czechs will meet the winner of the quarter-final between Finland and Belarus to be played later on Thursday.

Canada and Olympic champions Sweden booked their places in the last four on Wednesday.

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1/4 finals :

Canada
Slovakia 4 - 1

Sweden
USA 6 - 0

Czech Republic
Russia 4 - 3

Finland
Belarus 3 - 0




1/2 finals :

Canada vs. Sweden

Czech Republic vs. Finland

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Sweden kept their hopes of a gold medal double alive by outlasting Canada 5-4 on Saturday night to advance the World Championship finals. Sweden will face the Czech Republic tomorrow at 8:15 LIVE on eurosport.com.

The first goal came when Canadian defenseman, Brad Stuart, gave the puck away in his own zone. Niklas Kronwall one-timed a laser that Canadian Goalie Marc Denis could only wave at with his glove.

Stuart was again the culprit on the second Swedish goal three minutes later when he kicked the puck past a sprawling Denis into his own net. Jorgen Jonsson whipped a wrist shot on Denis net and the rebound bounced to Stuart who initially controlled the puck with his skate. As he tried to backhand a clearance the puck bounced over his stick. Denis lunged into the path of the puck but was also unsuccessful in making contact as it jumped over his stick as well.

The Canadians looked like they might have been up late watching the first game of the NHL Conference finals Friday night as they began the game in a slump. Sweden had their dream start and a two goal lead.

Just when it looked like Canada's play could not get any worse, Kyle Calder got the North Americans on the board.

The Swedes built the lead to 5-2 before the Canadians came roaring back scoring through the sensational youngster, Sidney Crosby.