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On the last day of the group stage, there are several big games that will determine the semi-finalists. We already know that Canada and Russia have topped their respective groups, but there are several teams still in the mix to claim the second places.
Břeclav Group
Switzerland vs Finland (15:30 CET, 9:30am ET)
In Břeclav’s early game, both Finland and Switzerland are looking to nail down a semi-final berth If the Finns get at least two points from this game, they will advance for sure and won’t have to worry about the result of the later game. They’re coming off a convincing win last night against the Czechs and would like to keep it going.
“It was a good game for us,” said Finnish coach Anssi Laine. “We skated well compared to (against Canada). All the players focused perfectly on the game and everything went as it should.”
As for the Swiss, they need to win this game in regulation time and then hope the Czechs lose to Canada. To do so, they’ll need a better outing than they had yesterday against Canada.
“That was the first time this group played against Canada, so we faced a really strong team,” said Swiss head coach Martin Höhener. “It was a real test for us and I saw some good things at times in our defensive zone but we really didn’t create a lot of offence - the pressure from Canada was just too much.”
Czech Republic vs Canada (19:00 CET, 1:00pm ET)
With back-to-back shutout wins of 6-0 and 8-0, the Canadians are in high gear and have already clinched top spot in the group.
“We’ve played two pretty solid games, I think,” said forward Hendrix Lapierre, who had four points in Tuesday’s win over Switzerland. “We set the momentum and I think all four lines are going - all 13 forwards and seven d-men. Obviously, we’ve got a big game coming up against the Czechs and we want to finish the round robin unbeaten.”
As for the Czechs, their destiny isn’t in their hands right now. They have to hope the Finns lose the early game or their semi-final hopes are finished before this game starts. Either way, they’ll be motivated to slay the group giants.
“Everybody’s gotta check their egos at the door and lay it all on the line,” said Czech coach Karel Beran. “We have a tough opponent, but if we all play together, we are capable of playing with them.”
Piešťany Group
USA vs Sweden (15:30 CET, 9:30am ET)
Quite simply, the winner of this game advances to the semi-finals and the loser will end up in a placement game. Doing so would erase a lot of bad feelings about the first two games, as both have so far performed below expectations.
The Americans blew a 2-0 lead against Russia and lost 6-2, and then were taken to overtime by Slovakia and only have two of a possible six points. The Swedes, on the other hand, narrowly beat Slovakia in their opener and were then badly outplayed by Russia yesterday, losing 3-0.
Slovakia vs Russia (19:00 CET, 1:00pm ET)
The late game in Piešťany doesn’t mean much for the standings. With two straight wins the Russians have already clinched top spot in the group and with one point, the Slovaks can do no better than third. They could, theoretically, force a three-way tie with Sweden and USA but would finish last in the tiebreaker as they lost to both teams. Nonetheless, two one-goal losses against traditional hockey powers are a step in the right direction for the Slovaks and they hope to continue that against Russia.
“I think that our team is a great advertisement for Slovak youth hockey,” said Slovak caoch Ivan Fenes following the USA game. “After a long time, we are finally at a stage where we are giving our opponents good games and not just showing up to be slaughtered. Our job is to improve every day and we did that again today.”
