In Riga, Latvia this time around. Starts today and ends June 6. A really good game today between Russia and Czechia, 4-3. Russia managed to win with just 19 seconds left of the game.
Host nation Latvia beat Team Canada with 2-0. The only surprise so far. Team Sweden? 19 WC rookies and not any big NHL players in the team. I would say they look pretty average.
Russia looked good but it's hard to predict any favorites so far. Maybe reigning champion Finland? Anyway, looking forward to some good games in this tournament.

Latvian goalie is one of my Blue Jackets!

Good to see at least one of them makin' a positive splash this year...

Can't believe Canada got shutout by Latvia! I don't think we've ever lost to them before. A very young team this year, a number of non NHL players.

As Stoneage already mentioned, many of the great NHL stars are not there because they are still fighting for the Stanley Cup.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-05-22 15:51 by Phil Good.

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Phil Good
As Stoneage already mentioned, many of the great NHL stars are not there because they are still fighting for the Stanley Cup.

That's always the case, but this time we could say that none of the great NHL stars are there, due to a special season affected by corona virus. Play offs for Stanley Cup just started, and even the players out by now are not seemingly interested in taking part the worldchampion games under these cirmustances (this also holds on many KHL players). Only a couple of NHL players in the whole games.

But that's the nature and a certain charm of Ice Hockey World Champion Games always - the teams pick up the players available and see what happens... Finland won last time with a team of total nobodies... That's the 'secret' winning receipt also this time...

It is only Olympic Games and World Cup one could really see who is who in ice hockey, when all the best players are available.

- Doxa

From one debacle to another - Tre Kronor (Team Sweden) managed to lose to Denmark with 4-3. There is a first time for everything I guess. I like the new Swedish head coach, Johan Garpenlöv,
a very nice guy. But if he can't do better that this his time as a head coach will be very short-lived. Anyway, many good games so far. Look out for the Swiss team, they are looking as good as always.

Latvia beats Canada but loses to Khazakstan for the first time.

Looking at Team Canada and Team USA, a lot of NHL stars that could have been chosen either weren't invited or declined. Most times younger players are chosen. Team USA alone could have had Patrick Kane and Alex Debrincat from the Blackhawks as well as Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko from the Canucks.

Well, Team Sweden is, more or less, out of the tournament after another poor effort against Belarus today, 0-1. It has never happened before that Team Sweden has failed to make it into the play off games.
But as I said, there is a first for everything. I hope they sack the coach at least (they probably won't though). Any way, Team Canada versus USA coming up now...

Sweden isn't eliminated yet though. Right?

Shout out to the Kazakhstan goalie, he played his heart out and they beat the Finns in the shootout. Great to see so many round-robin upsets!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-05-23 21:25 by Topi.

USA currently putting on a clinic against Canada. 4-0 after two periods.

So, not a great start to the tourney for Canada either.

Oh well, I think I'll watch Nashville-Carolina instead...

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Topi
Sweden isn't eliminated yet though. Right?

No, but now they stand a slim chance qualifying. You can sort out one mishap, two is usually one too much. Especially with this team which isn't much better than this.
I think the times when you could throw together any team and expect to ease through the qualification stage is over. Which is a good thing really. I guess...

First time ever Canada is 0-2! Very disappointing but good experience for all the young players, most of whom are playing their first international hockey.
I guess one good thing is that most in Canada aren't following the tournament since the Stanley Cup playoffs is on right now!

Some unexpected results today too: Slovakia won against ROC* (Team Russia), 3-1, and Canada managed to lose against Germany (1-3) despite 28 minutes in powerplay including, I think, three 5-3 advantages.
Some one-sided referee. Germany had only 6 minutes of powerplay. I think Canada will make it to the play off anyway. The B group is weaker than the A group.

* Pursuant to a December 2020 ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on doping sanctions, Russian athletes and teams are prohibited from competing under the Russian flag or using the Russian national anthem at any Olympic Games or world championships through 16 December 2022, and must compete as "neutral athlete."For IIHF tournaments, the Russian team will play under the name "ROC".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-05-25 00:22 by Stoneage.

I root for Canada, but I still love this! Crazy.

Sorry, is this a World Championship? I am from Germany and I am happy about the results of the German team. But you have to classify the results correctly. Many teams are probably third- and fourth-class lineups. This is a farce!

The COVID-19 pandemic obviously played a huge role in NHL players declining to participate.

It is what it is, I guess.


Heia Norge tonight for yet another giant killer! Right, BV and DandelionPowderMan?

Are Sweden playing?

They haven't been the same without Jan Remmelg in goal, that guy had more penalty minutes than i've ever seen for goalie.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-05-26 06:51 by SKILLS.

Jan Remmlg?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-05-25 13:51 by Topi.

I wonder if Draisaitl is coming to support the very engaged German team.

I guess the Swedish players were given a hairdryer before the game against Switzerland. They actually played well and won with 7-0. Still uphill for Sweden though after the dreadful start.
Tomorrow Norway has a chance to beat Team Canada. Why not? Ask Latvia, it's not that difficult...

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Topi
Jan Remmelg?

Amateur Champs, in the early 90's, the man is a bear...still


[www.eliteprospects.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-05-26 06:52 by SKILLS.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-05-26 15:21 by Stoneage.

I would get it if it was Jan Boklöv in ski jumping!

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CousinC
I wonder if Draisaitl is coming to support the very engaged German team.

No, Draisaitl will not come, but Dominik Kahun, also from Edmonton.

Two firsts yesterday: Great Britain's first victory (in the A group) since 1962, 4-3 against Belarus and Team Canadas first win in this year's tournament, 4-2 against Norway. Congrats!
Looking forward to a good game between two classical rivals, Sweden and Czechia (in the old days Czechoslovakia), this evening. Both team has to win in order to make it for the quarterfinals.

And win it in regulation (3 pts), right?

Right, Topi.

Sorry to bother this thread with a slightly off topic explanation, but I will try to tell why I do not pay much attention to this thread, even if we sure do have a team in the championship, and also I love ice hockey just as much as The Stones ...

I don't bother much about the Ice Hockey World Championship, to be honest. I do know we have a team there, but very few people in Norway do care about the national team in Ice Hockey. They hardly practice together, and we have like a snowball in hell chance of winning a game. We might be fine in the first of the three periods, but everyone who know hockey do know that the second and especially the third period is when things happen, just like the last ten minutes of a soccer game. If you do not have the routine and the quality and the quantity of great players, you don not have any chance.

We used to have four - 4 - ice rinks in total in Norway when I was a kid. One of these were Askerhallen, it was built around 1969. I followed every game, still do, a great team, we are the current champions in Norway. Our 3rd ice rink will be finished this year, which is impressing, knowing we - Asker - are just 2% of the population, but we have more than 5% of the ice rinks.

Still, the national team is far far behind Canada, Sweden, Finland, all those great hockey nations. We might win the game by luck and great defensive play, but it is usually a pain to watch, David vs Goliat, unequal backgrounds.

Canada have got around half of the roughly 17,500 ice hockey rinks on the planet. Norway have approx 50 ice rinks - 0.3% of the total. Norway do have one player only in NHL - Zucca - Mats Zuccarello (he played for our team before he left for Modo Sweden and then NHL NY Rangers, Dallas, and now Minnesota). May be one day we might have 100 ice rinks, but I don't think so. Cross Country skiing is much more popular here, kids would rather have skis under their feet than skates.

So in short, I know exactly what Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie is up to mostly, but international hockey on TV is not that tempting. I look forward to our new rink opening later this year, and I look forward to be inside the rink, watching the team up close, just like watching the Stones from the pit! May the best team win!

PS. Guess where the arena.no comes from. Not just Stones. Askerhallen i.e. Asker Arena came first... The first iorr url address back in 1996 was arena.no/stones.

List of indoor ice rinks in Norway

Graphic: Ice hockey nations by the numbers

Askerhallen

Bjornulf



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2021-05-27 14:58 by bv.

Team Sweden had 2-0 before the third period, then a stupid penalty in the aftermath of the second period. There you go, that was all the Czechs needed
(they are excellent in powerplay). Congrats Czechia, 4-2. Sweden is out now and I'm out of this thread...

Expressen says there's still a mathematical possibility for the Swedes to make it...