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Heading into the final day of the group stage, Sweden is already in the semi-finals and Canada is almost there, but nothing is guaranteed for them. There are also two huge games - Russia vs Finland and Czech Republic vs USA - which will determine the other semi-finalists.
Sweden vs Switzerland
Břeclav, 15:30 CET/ 9:30am ET
With two wins in two games, the Swedes have already wrapped up top spot in the Břeclav Group. With two losses in two games, the Swiss already know they will finish 4th, and will face Slovakia in the game for 7th place overall on Friday. Therefore, this game means nothing as far as the standings are concerned. However, the Swedes will want to go into the semi-finals on a high note, as well as wrap up the top seed overall in the tournament, which could come into play to determine where the final will be played if the Czechs aren’t involved.
“We still have to improve a lot,” figured Swedish coach Torgny Bendelin following his team’s 7-3 win over the Czechs. “We pressured hard but sometimes we were maybe too offensive, and we gave them too many free chances.”
Despite the second loss in two games, Swiss coach Thierry Paterlini was much happier with his team’s effort against the USA than in the opening game against Sweden. “We played for the full 60 minutes today, which is something we spoke about after the game yesterday as something we had to improve on. We also played harder and got more pucks to the goal.”
Russia vs Finland
Bratislava, 15:30 CET/ 9:30am ET/16:30 EET & MSK
In contrast to the early game in Břeclav, the early game in Bratislava is huge. Basically, Russia needs one point to secure a berth in the semi-finals, while Finland needs to win the game in regulation time. The only way that both teams could advance is if Finland wins and Canada loses to Slovakia later tonight. After Tuesday’s games, both coaches knew today’s match-up was going to be huge.
“Now we have a very important game tomorrow and we will prepare very seriously. It’s an interesting rivalry with Finland and always good hockey,” Russian coach Alexander Zybin said after his team’s 9-3 thrashing of Slovakia.
After yesterday’s disastrous 5-1 loss to Canada, Finnish coach Tommi Niemelä simply stated: “We just have to put this game behind us - we’ll analyze some of the mistakes, but then we’ll turn the page and look ahead to tomorrow - it’s a big game.”
Czech Republic vs USA
Břeclav, 19:00 CET/ 1:00pm ET
Similar to Russia vs Finland, the Czechs and Americans are going head-to-head to determine a spot in the semis. This situation is simpler, though - the winner finishes 2nd, regardless of whether it’s in regulation time, overtime or a shootout. If the Czechs win, the semi-final will be in Břeclav, and if the Americans win they’ll travel to Bratislava to face that group’s winner. The loser will play in the game for 5th place overall, which will be in Břeclav no matter what.
"The USA won’t be an easy game tomorrow, they play very physically which may cause us some problems,” said Czech coach David Bruk following his team’s 7-3 loss to Sweden. “As we saw today, our players don’t react well to this style of game. If we stay organized, we’ll be able to play against them, and we have good special teams to win through.”
On his team’s win against the Swiss, U.S. coach Clark Donatelli said: “We played well and executed our systems really well, and special teams were good too. I am real proud of our guys, we gave them the game plan, they stuck to it and did not get frustrated.”
Slovakia vs Canada
Bratislava, 19:00 CET/ 1:00pm ET
After dropping their first two games, the Slovaks will finish 4th in the group no matter what, and will host Switzerland on Friday for 7th place overall. By the time this game starts, Canada might already be in the semis, depending on what happens between Russia and Finland. In the worst-case scenario (a Finland regulation victory), they’ll need two points to advance.
“We know we still have to win another game to get to the semi-finals and we know we still have a big challenge in front of us,” Canadian coach Brent Kisio said, emphasizing that his team was not going to look past Slovakia.
Following two losses, Slovak coach Norbert Javorčík said: “We are trying to keep the boys in good mood, but we have to find the strength and in the next games be able to cope a little better with our opponents. We work on it, and now Canada is waiting for us, and I believe we can give them problems.”
