MVN - Most Valuable Network

Quebec City Ready for Semifinal Action on Friday

Quebec City, QC- A tournament that began two weeks ago with 16 teams representing their respective countries is now down to its’ final four. Canada, Finland, Russia, and Sweden have all survived seven games through the first three rounds of the IIHF World Championship, and now sit just two wins away from taking home the grand prize. Three of these four teams will at least come away with a medal of some sorts.

Friday’s action kicks off early in the afternoon with a 1:00 faceoff between Russia and Finland. Russia appears to be the favorite entering this contest, as they are one of two remaining teams who have yet to lose a game. Two of those games went to overtime, but the Russians were able to prevail on both occasions. The Quarterfinal Round was probably the easiest round of the tournament for Russia, as they dismantled Switzerland 6-0. Maxim Afinogenov led the way with two goals, while four other players tallied, and Evgeni Nabokov made 22 saves for the shutout win. On the other hand, Finland has been just as tough, only falling once with a 6-3 loss to Canada on Monday. If there is one team that is on life support this week, it’s Finland. The Fins needed a three goal third period to erase a 2-0 deficit and defeat Team USA on Sunday. They turned around on Monday and fell to host Canada 6-3. In the Quarterfinal Round on Wednesday, Finland met up with Team USA again, and managed to sneak away with a 3-2 overtime win. The overtime winner was scored by defenseman Sami Lepisto. If Russia is to win, it will likely be because their offense is too much for Finland to keep up with. If Finland is to win, it will likely be because they slow the game down and Niklas Backstrom plays a strong game between the pipes.

Game two is a 5:00 start, and it will be Quebec’s first chance to see their native sons, as Canada has played all of their games in Halifax to this point. The game features the Canadians taking on Sweden. Canada is the other team that has gone 7-0, and unlike Russia, Canada has not even needed overtime to do it. Of the four teams remaining, Sweden has the worst record at 5-2. The two Quarterfinal Round games for these teams were about as different as they could be. Canada clobbered Norway 8-2, while Sweden came away with a 3-2 overtime win against the Czech Republic. Leading the way for Canada was Derek Roy with three goals and an assist. Five other Canadians showed up on the score sheet multiple times in the blowout, while Cam Ward had a relatively simple day with 22 saves on 24 shots. On the other side of the sheet, Sweden’s trip to the Semifinals was up in the air until Marcus Nilson tied the score late in the third, and Mattias Weinhandl eventually picked up the winner in overtime. Henrik Lundqvist had to be strong in goal, and he was, turning away 29 of 31 shots. The strategies for game two should be similar to those of game one. Canada’s offense is the best in the tournament hands down. Although they did pull off a 2-1 squeaker over Norway in the Qualifying Round, they prefer a high scoring match that forces the opposition to try and play catch-up. Sweden does have some weapons on offense, but they will be relying heavily on the goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist if they are to go to the Championship Game.

Just as has been done all tournament long, these games can be seen live on WCSN.com. Highlights and archives of previous games can also be seen on WCSN’s website.

Elsewhere in the hockey world on Friday, the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup gets underway from Kitchener, Ontario. The four teams are: the Belleville Bulls (OHL representative), Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL representative) Kitchener Rangers (host - from the OHL), and Spokane Chiefs (WHL representative). The first game of the tournament will be between Kitchener and Gatineau at 7:00.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 11:26 pm 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.