Team USA, Swiss Capture First Ivan Hlinka Wins
The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament continued on Tuesday with the Canadian and Czech Republic teams both capturing their second wins of the round-robin portion. The United States and Switzerland also came out victorious on Tuesday, each winning their first games of the tournament, with additional round-robin play set to continue on Wednesday.
CANADA STAYS PERFECT AT IVAN HLINKA
Team Canada is looking to capture its seventh consecutive Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament championship, and they paved the way with another round-robin victory on Tuesday, this time over Sweden.
A hard-fought game saw no scoring until the second period, when Ottawa 67s forward Travis Konecny broke the drought with a goal to make it 1-0 Canada. Fellow OHLer Lawson Crouse (Kingston) made it 2-0, but Philip Magnusson (Rögle BK) cut the lead in half with a goal just two minutes later.
Canada took a lead into the third period and defended it with an additional trio of goals and outshooting the Swedes by a margin of 24 to seven.
Saginaw Spirit forward Mitchell Stephens had a pair of goals, with Prince George Cougars forward Jansen Harkins adding the final tally with three minutes remaining in regulation. Canada outshot Sweden 41-28, including that large margin in the final frame.
Next up for Canada is a game against Slovakia, while Sweden faces Switzerland.
USA VICTORIOUS TO KEEP HOPE IN IVAN HLINKA
Team USA needed a win on Tuesday in order to stay alive for a chance at a semifinal berth at the Ivan Hlinka, and stay alive they did, with a 7-4 victory over Russia. Team USA outshot Russia 46-25 and had a three-goal third period to help push them to victory, a crucial one in the Ivan Hlinka Tournament.
Seventeen-year-old forward Dennis Yan had a four-point game for the United States, as he scored two goals and added a pair of assists. Brock Boeser had a hat trick, with the other USA goals coming from Tabor Academy’s Erik Foley and the U.S. National Under-1 team’s defenseman Grant Gabriele.
Kirill Kaprizov (Metallurg Novokuzněck) and Arťjom Ivanjuzenkov (Viťjaz Podolsk) each had a pair of goals for Russia.
The United States will now face Finland on Wednesday, with Russia facing the undefeated Czech Republic squad.
SWITZERLAND CAPTURES FIRST IVAN HLINKA WIN
Meanwhile, the Swiss captured a win on Tuesday to even their record at 1-1 and keep hope alive as well.
Dominik Schmid (17, EV Zug), Lee Roberts (16, Lausanne HC) and Roger Karrer (17, ZSC Lions) all scored for the Swiss in Tuesday’s victory.
Shots were close, just a 25-20 margin in Switzerland’s favor, but penalties are what really killed Slovakia. The Slovaks took eight penalties during the game and the Swiss were able to capitalize twice. Combined with a strong performance by Tim Guggisberg in net, it was the recipe for success for Switzerland.
Peter Valent (HC 05 Banská Bystrica) scored for the lone goal for the Slovaks, who are now officially eliminated from semi-final contention at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
For Slovakia, Tuesday’s loss means that they’ll finish last in Group A and will not move on to the semi-finals. Slovakia will face Canada tomorrow, but that will be it for them at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka. Switzerland will face Sweden on Wednesday, with the winner moving on to the semi-finals.
STRONG THIRD LEADS TO CZECH REPUBLIC VICTORY
The Czech Republic had a two-goal third period performance and, despite being largely outshot, pulled off another win at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Tournament on Tuesday. The Czechs are undefeated and now sit atop the Group A standings after a 4-3 victory over Finland.
Despite being outshot 37-17, the Czechs managed to pull off another win. Both teams got a pair of power play goals each, with eleven different players notching at least a point.
Jakub Zboril (HC Kometa Brno) led the Czechs with a goal and an assist in Tuesday’s win. Jan Dufek and Radek Koblizek (Kärpät Oulu) also had goals, with HC Oceláři Třinec forward Lukáš Jasek adding a goal and assist as well.
Filip Chlapik had a pair of assists.
For the Finns, Owen Sound Attack forward Petrus Palmu had a pair of goals and Kärpät Oulu forward Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and assist, but it simply wasn’t enough to pull off a victory.
Next up, the Finns will take on Team USA and the Czech Republic faces Russia, with both games scheduled for Wednesday.