IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
Poland was in a completely different tier, Div IB is a level lower than Div IA, so they got promoted to Div IA for next year. But I disagree with what you said anyway, there isnīt a big difference between Latvia, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Belarus. Some of them have better top prospects than others, but they are much closer to each other than they are to Slovakia or Switzerland. Which of course doesnīt mean that they canīt frustrate Slovakia or Switzerland or even beat them at top level occassionally, but there still is a drop off between SVK/SUI and the other mentioned teams.
Norway did beat Slovakia two years ago in the WJC, and both got relegated. Last time two teams went down, so we went down too.
I know Norway lost big last year, but it was a very weird and frustrating game.
Norway did beat Slovakia two years ago in the WJC, and both got relegated. Last time two teams went down, so we went down too.
I know Norway lost big last year, but it was a very weird and frustrating game.
We'll see next year, when we are back.
It was not the WJC, but the U18 WC. The game that was played there was a game for nothing as both teams were already relegated unlike the other game which decided about promotion, so I would not compare them. But I said that those teams CAN sometimes beat Slovakia even at a U18/WJC, but it is not a usual result. Also that was the only time ever that a Slovak team got relegated from WJC/U18 WC and there were so many factors included in it (bad coaching decisions, especially in deciding game against Czechs, poor goaltending - thereīs a reason why the goalie from the tournament did not even make the WJC this year and several injuries) and I think it is unlikely that such situation with that combination of factors would repeat itself again. ompared that to the other nations that keep on constantly bumping between elite and Div I (Div IA) now and thatīs one of the reasons why Iīm saying that there is a drop off between SVK/SUI (last time SUI played in Div I at junior level was U20 in 2009 I think) and those countries.
It was not the WJC, but the U18 WC. The game that was played there was a game for nothing as both teams were already relegated unlike the other game which decided about promotion, so I would not compare them. But I said that those teams CAN sometimes beat Slovakia even at a U18/WJC, but it is not a usual result. Also that was the only time ever that a Slovak team got relegated from WJC/U18 WC and there were so many factors included in it (bad coaching decisions, especially in deciding game against Czechs, poor goaltending - thereīs a reason why the goalie from the tournament did not even make the WJC this year and several injuries) and I think it is unlikely that such situation with that combination of factors would repeat itself again. ompared that to the other nations that keep on constantly bumping between elite and Div I (Div IA) now and thatīs one of the reasons why Iīm saying that there is a drop off between SVK/SUI (last time SUI played in Div I at junior level was U20 in 2009 I think) and those countries.
True, my bad. We will see next year, Norway is up and coming.
Just looking at the German results, 2-1 in OT looks like a horrible effort vs 8-0, but I still don't think it's an easy game for the US.
One thing I've noticed, and this is not just in this tournament but something I've noticed in lots of tournaments at different levels, is that Slovakia has a nasty tendency to play to the skill of their opponents. They play teams they should beat close but they also play top tier teams close.
Fantastic game. Slovakia has been very entertaining to watch this tournament. I really hope they beat the USA and put that team out of their misery. They've been awful and don't deserve a quarter final birth.
Enjoyed watching Germany fight through another tournament. Talk about a team that never gives up. They came out on fire tonight and gave Slovakia a real run for their money. I hope they can take out Latvia and retain their spot in the top group. I want to be able to see Draisaitl, Kahun and Tiffels next year after another year of development.
Just looking at the German results, 2-1 in OT looks like a horrible effort vs 8-0, but I still don't think it's an easy game for the US.
One thing I've noticed, and this is not just in this tournament but something I've noticed in lots of tournaments at different levels, is that Slovakia has a nasty tendency to play to the skill of their opponents. They play teams they should beat close but they also play top tier teams close.
A lot of Slovak posters have echoed these sentiments. Slovakia is apparently known to play to the skill level of their opponents. Scary for the USA because if they don't play well they could end up in the relegation round again. If Slovakia makes it to the Quarter Finals anything can happen from there.
Fantastic game. Slovakia has been very entertaining to watch this tournament. I really hope they beat the USA and put that team out of their misery. They've been awful and don't deserve a quarter final birth.
We just outshot and outpossessed the two best teams in the tournament in back to back games.
We need to finish better and generate some better looks. That's far from needing to be put out of our misery.
We just outshot and outpossessed the two best teams in the tournament in back to back games.
We need to finish better and generate some better looks. That's far from needing to be put out of our misery.
I've been very disappointed with the USA. This is more of a personal thing, but I was very excited to see a lot of these guys play who are so highly touted on these boards and quite a few have been god awful. JT Miller, Mario Lucia, Johnny Gaudreau, Rocco Grimaldi, Mike Reilly and Seth Jones have all been terrible in the 3 games I've watched and for whatever reason most of those forwards I mentioned are playing more than Galchenyuk. I had high expectations for this team and I'm disappointed with the results so far.
I've been impressed with Gibson, Galchenyuk, Trouba, Biggs and Barber, but the most of the others haven't played to what they were talked up to be.
Slovakia has to win tomorrow. But an OTL point guarantees that they don't have to win in regulation, and instead can win in OT or SO.
Not really, the point Slovakia won against Russia is meaningless. Even if Slovakia had lost against Russia 0-9, an OT/SO win against the US tomorrow would have been enough to advance.
But the good showing against Russia can be useful for boosting Slovakia's confidence ahead of tomorrow's game. Their performance against Canada was likewise promising.
Fantastic game. Slovakia has been very entertaining to watch this tournament. I really hope they beat the USA and put that team out of their misery. They've been awful and don't deserve a quarter final birth.
What, are you kidding? There's no way in hell you can make an argument Slovakia has shown more than the US thus far. I'm hoping for a Slovakian upset myself, but I think the US will win it easily.
