Day 1 is in the books! Let’s see how everybody did!
Game 1: Slovakia hangs on for dear life, can’t overcome Axel Sandin-Pellikka hat trick as Sweden wins 5-2
Tre Kronor’s skipper decided he’s not waiting for anybody.
Game Notes:
- Slovakia did show a little bit of gumption here and there, but there’s not a whole lot you can do when your opponent’s captain decides it’s time to make as blunt a statement as they can muster in the form of a hat trick. Sweden is gonna be a tough beat, even if they’re willing to give up some goals. Sam Urban, Slovakia’s goaltender, was very early on bailed out by his defense, but eventually the dam broke as the Swedes began to abuse his glove side.
- Shoutouts to Slovakia’s Daniel Jencko; who late in the game got absolutely rocked in a reckless hit by Viggo Gustafsson and then got to get a measure of revenge by scoring on the resulting power play.
Game 2: Americans absolutely blast Germany off the map in 10-4 opening slaughter
Y’know, for how this game went, 4 goals for Germany is actually pretty good!
I’m sure the US coaches feel differently.
Game Notes:
- Good luck to the rest of this group because the US looks like they’ll be giving up that Gold Medal over their cold, dead hands. 2 goals on every 11 shots taken, absolutely torched the German defense, scored ten goals…and even when they started to get a little loose, it couldn’t have mattered. There was a point where I felt like the States could’ve played without a goalie and I can’t imagine it would’ve changed things much.
- That said, when the US started to loosen up, they loosened up a lot. Part of it I imagine comes down to the sheer disparity in score, but it gives the coaching staff something to ponder; What happens if they start doing that against a power nation?
Game 3: Czechs have a comfortable opener; win 5-1 over the Swiss
I declare Michal Hrabel a changed man, and the Czechs an official favorite to medal in this tournament. I will not be taking criticism of this decision at any point in Prelims, thank you.
Game Notes:
- In my preview, I said that a lot of this tournament rested on the back of Czechia’s goaltender to not play like he’d only had the position recently explained to him, and lo and behold, Hrabel showed up with a .961 SV% game on 26 shots! Granted, the Swiss weren’t really creating super dangerous opportunities for most of the night, but he definitely seemed like he’s gone and prepared himself properly for what awaits him. We’ll see how he does later in the tourney when the Czechs face Sweden and Slovakia, but this is a great start for the young man.
- Blues and Kraken fans are probably gonna love this highlight reel since their prospects were all over the scoresheet.
- Leo Braillard may be a saving grace for the Swiss this year. Given how Endo Meier played under fire, those two should be tied at the hip. Life isn’t gonna get much easier for the Swiss, so it behooves them to hit their next game with whatever advantage they can find.
Game 4: Canada blanks Finland in 4-0 Shutout
Starting slow against Canada isn’t exactly advised, Finland. You know better.
Game Notes
- Kinda hard to say anyone has a good game in a shutout loss, but the Finns never gave up; hammering the Canadians with shots in the final period in a desperate hope of breaking the ice. I’d also say that Petteri Rimpinen showed some guts in net. He wasn’t getting a whole lot of help and he kept Canada honest.
- Meanwhile any and all consternation about the talent pool Canada brought should be laid to rest; they’re fine. They outshot Finland by 10, they didn’t surrender a goal, and they largely controlled all but one period.
- That said the Red and White should probably be a little more careful with those third periods if they’re gonna play them like that.
Today’s Games:
Switzerland vs Slovakia, 10am EST
This may be one of the only times Switzerland gets to look marginally competitive against a country they can easily reach by rail, so the Slovaks better be ready.
Germany vs Finland, 12:30pm EST
Oh Germany you’ve wandered into a den of lions who are very mad they got blanked. Whatever happens next to you is not your fault.
Kazakhstan vs. Sweden, 2pm EST
Have you ever watched a Python eat a particularly fat rat?
If not, this will be a great analog for it.
Latvia vs. Canada, 4:30pm EST
See Above. Honestly the late slate for today is not going to be competitive in the slightest so it’s probably better to just skip it and come back.
But! There will be a recap for it regardless! My personal choice of viewing will likely be Switzerland vs. Slovakia if only for competitiveness’ sake.