MVN - Most Valuable Network

Wednesday is Quarterfinal Day at World Championship

Halifax, NS- Eight teams remain in the 2008 IIHF World Championship, and by the end of the night on Wednesday, that number will be down to four. Four quarterfinal matches take center stage Wednesday in Halifax and Quebec. Group E will see Sweden take on the Czech Republic in the afternoon before Russia and Switzerland go in the nightcap. Over in Group F, Canada starts the day with a game against Norway. Norway is coming off of a 9-1 blowout loss to Team USA, but hung with Canada when they met, only losing 2-1. Team USA and Finland close out the day at 8:15.

The game between the United States and Finland will likely draw the most attention. Of the four quarterfinal matches, this is the one that is the most evenly matched. Throw in a bit of drama from Sunday and the hype continues to build. On Sunday, Team USA had a 2-0 lead over Finland, but watched it slip away in a frustrating 3-2 loss. The turning point in the game was a call by an off-ice official. Finland had a 5-on-3 power play in the third period, and appeared to have cut the deficit to one. Replays showed that the puck entered the net through a hole in the side, yet the replay official decided that the goal would stand. The Fins used that “goal” as momentum to eventually turn the game around and win with a power play goal. For those wondering, that replay official is now without a job as he was fired the next day. Taking away Finland’s goal would make Sunday’s game 2-2, meaning there is no real way to say who would have won that game. Perhaps that question will be answered fairly when the teams take the ice on Wednesday. One thing is for sure, both teams will be hoping that the same officiating crew is not in place for the quarterfinal game, as over 200 penalty minutes were assessed.

The other quarterfinal game that involves one of the Boston Bruins is David Krejci’s Czech Republic team taking on Sweden. These two squads also met on Sunday, and this was also an evenly matched contest. After a scoreless first period, the teams exchanged two goals each in the second for a 2-2 tie heading into the final twenty minutes. Sweden took a 3-2 lead early in the third period, only to have it answered midway through by the Czech Republic. With 4:53 remaining, Sweden took another one goal lead, and this time, they didn’t look back, adding an empty netter in the final minute. Shots on goal were in favor of the Czech Republic 39-27, but New York Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist showed why he has won 30 or more games in each of his first three seasons in the NHL. Each team has won four of six games so far in the tournament. Whichever one wins five will play in the semifinals.

Canada and Norway play in the other Group F Quarterfinal Round Game, and based strictly on the teams themselves, this game should be lopsided. The two teams met up Thursday in what was a very odd game to say the least. Some say Canada was lucky to come away with a win. Others say Norway was lucky to hang around as long as they did. The Canadians out shot Norway 52-16, but thanks to an outstanding performance by Norwegian netminder Pal Grotnes, Canada was only able to win 2-1 with a pair of power play goals. The winning goal in what was almost the biggest upset of the tournament came with 3:58 to go in regulation from Washington’s Mike Green. A few days later, Norway got blown out 9-1 by Team USA, so one would have to think that as soon as Canada is able to solve Grotnes, the flood gates will open.

Russia and Switzerland play in the fourth and final Quarterfinal Round Game (although it will be the third game of the day). The Russians join Canada as the only team to win each of their first six games in the tournament, however two of Russia’s six have come in overtime. These two teams just saw each other on Monday, so they certainly have the opposition fresh in their minds. Monday’s game went to Russia by a score of 5-3. Three goals in a span of 3:24 gave Russia a 3-0 lead after one period of play, and they never looked back. They added one more goal in the second, and another in the third, while holding off Switzerland’s comeback attempt. Russia was in control of most of the game, out shooting Switzerland 37-22. As anticipated, Russia will be the favorites heading into this contest.

Wednesday will be a busy, but fun day in Halifax and Quebec. All four games can be seen on WCSN.com. The Czech Republic and Sweden play at 1:00. Canada and Norway go at it at 4:30. Russia and Switzerland hit the ice at 7:15. USA plays Finland at 8:15.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 12:13 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.