Yesterday the quarterfinals of the IIHF World Junior Championships were played and here are the results:
Russia 3 – 2 USA
Russia came out strong in this game and were up by two goals to none after the first period. USA looked tired and took many stupid penalties. Perhaps they were still sore after the beating they got by Canada the other day, we expected much more from team USA this tournament. The game ended 3-2 to Russia who will now face Sweden in the semifinal.
Sweden 6 – 3 Finland
Sweden were favourites in this game after winning their group. Finland hasn’t impressed anyone in the group stage. Yet it was Finland who took the lead in the second period. While the first period was goalless we got to see six goals in the second. After a couple of penalties Sweden got a 5-against-3 Powerplay and made no mistake. They’ve had a great Powerplay during the tournament and today special teams would be the difference between the teams. Two quick goals and then another in 5vs5 meant a 3-1 lead for the swedes. However, after mistakes from swedish players Finland could score both 3-2 and 3-3. At the end of the period two more finnish players got penalties. Sweden got to start the third period with another 2-man advantage and could take the lead with 4-3. After that Finland failed to convert at a 4 minute Powerplay and Sweden could instead, shortly after, make it 5-3. The last goal came in open net, which meant 6-3 for Sweden who now will face Russia in the semifinal this Sunday.
Czech Republic 0 – 3 Slovakia
Goliath versus David, and David won, much thanks to Slovakian goaltender Denis Godla. It was a fast paced hockey game with two teams trading chances. Slovakia was the more effective team though and managed to win with 3-0.
Canada 8 – 0 Denmark
Denmark’s journey through the tournament has been interesting to follow and it’s a great success for Danish hockey making it to the playoffs. However, team Canada was a size or two to big for the Danish team who lost with 8 goals. It will be fun to follow team Denmark in the future, both in the junior and senior hockey series. Canada will meet Slovakia in the semifinal.
