There were still two tickets for the quarter-finals on Thursday, the last day of the group stage. Canada shivered with a 3–2 draw against Finland as Germany gained the upper hand in the final performance with Latvia.
Liam Kirk briefly proved his talent in his final World Cup and contributed two goals and one assist in Great Britain’s 3: 6 defeat against Switzerland. The striker concluded the tournament with seven goals and nine points. For Switzerland, Lausanne striker Christoph Bertsky scored twice, with Tristan Sherway providing three assists. Switzerland finished second in the table in the group stage and met Germany in the quarter-finals. The tournament for Great Britain comes to an end after seven games – the British scored 14 goals and looked forward to a win over Belarus and a one-point win against Denmark.
Canada could not take a 2–1 lead against Finland over time. The Maple Leafs had to give up in a penalty shootout. Artu Rutsalainen scored both goals in the regular time and a decisive goal in the shootout. For Canada, the point win was enough for the quarter-final qualification, now none other than the Russian selection.
In the afternoon game, the United States won 4–2 against Italy, with the Czech Republic winning 7-3 in a neighborhood duel with Slovakia. The USA, Czech Republic and Slovakia both had quarter-final tickets before the final match day.
In the evening, there was spectacle between Germany and Latvia. With an X after 60 minutes, both teams would have been in the next round – but Germany saved 2–1 over time and thus knocked the Latvian out of the tournament. JJ Peterka and Marcel Noebels, who were later injured, shot the German selection in the first segment on their way to victory. Mathias Niederberger performed cleanly and diffused XY Latvian shots. At the same time, Russia had no problem with Belarus and the defender Nikita Nestorov scored two goals and one assist, giving the Group A group a 6–0 win.
The quarter-finals also continue on Thursday. Finland and the Czech Republic, as well as the USA and Slovakia, will duel at 3:15 pm. The encounter between Russia and Canada as well as Switzerland and Germany begins at 19:15.
IIHF World Championship – Group A
Switzerland: Great Britain – 6: 3 (2: 1 | 4: 1 | 0: 1)
tore:
1: 0 Hoffmann (11.), 1: 1 Kirk (12.), 2: 1 Loeffel (17.), 2: 2 Kirk (26./pp), 3: 2 Alatalo (31./pp), 4 : 2 Bertski (31.) 5: 2 Bertski (37.), 6: 2 Hissier (38.), 6: 3 Connolly (54.)
Slovakia: Czech Republic – 3: 7 (0: 2 | 1: 2 | 2: 3)
tore:
0: 1 Zadina (1.), 0: 2 Spacek (16.), 0: 3 Redil (23.), 1: 3 Sukkel (27.), 1: 4 Sulak (40./pp), 1: 5 Stransky (44th), 1: 6 Blumell (46th), 2: 6 Bako (49th), 3: 6 Pospisil (59th), 3: 7 Hajek (60th / n)
Russia: Belarus – 6: 0 (5: 0 | 0: 0 | 1: 0)
tore:
1: 0 Nesterov (1.), 2: 0 Galimov (5.), 3: 0 Shalunov (10.), 4: 0 Grigorenko (11.), 5: 0 Nesterov (17.), 6: 0 Voronkov ( 53.)
IIHF World Championship – Group B
Canada: Finland – 2: 3 NP (1: 0 | 1: 1 | 0: 1 | 0: 0 | 0: 1)
tore:
1: 0 Piri (2nd), 1: 1 Swedish (22nd), 2: 1 Comtois (29th / PP), 2: 2 Swedish (57th), 2: 3 Swedish (65th / PS-SO)
Italy: USA – 2: 4 (0: 3 | 1: 1 | 1: 0)
tore:
0: 1 Labank (7.), 0: 2 Labank (11.), 0: 3 Garland (20.), 1: 3 Frigo (22.), 1: 4 Garland (30.), 2: 4 Gilliyati ( 47.)
Germany: Latvia – 0: 0 (2: 0 | 0: 1 | 0: 0)
tore:
1: 0 Peterca (4th), 2: 0 Noibles (7th), 2: 1 Abol (26th)
www.hockey-news.info, Image: Mathias Rainer / City-Press GmbH
