No surprises in round for 5th to 8th spot

Women's round for 5th to 8th spot - semifinals

Finland - Germany 2-1 (2-0, 0-1, 0-0)

Despite a bad start and an early two goal deficit the German women were able to keep the game against Finland open till the very last second! A hooking penalty against Maritta Better at 1:10 was punished by the Fins just 11 seconds later when Jenni Hiirikoski beat German goalie Jennifer Harss with a blue line shot into the right corner. Susanna Tapani had waited in front of the German net to block the view of Harss. The Northern Europeans kept the pressure high and were rewarded soon afterwards when Michelle Karvinen finished a one-timer from within the slot into the right corner after a pass by Riikka Valila from the left circle. This time Harss didn't look good at all as she just didn't get her glove hand up in time! Suddenly Team Germany tried to get the fast answer though. The best chance came when Julia Zorn hit the upper part of the left post with a shot from within the slot. The 2-0 after 20 minutes remained though.

The start of the middle period was a one-woman show by Finland's Linda Valimaki who had at least 4 or 5 good scoring opportunities within a couple of minutes but couldn't beat Harss. At 27:48 Venla Hovi tried to get the puck through the pads of the goalie but Harss showed a quick reaction! When Minttu Tuominen was sent to the penalty box for slashing this brought Germany back into the game. A minute into the power play Noora Räty had allowed a rebound after a powerful shot from within the slot by Susann Götz and Bettina Evers used the rebound from short distance! Nina Kamenik and Emma Terho had major opportunites in 1-on-1 situations prior to the 2nd intermission but the result didn't change anymore.

Throughout the third period the Germans kept the pressure high while the Fins concentrated on their own defense. In the end the 2-1 advantage was enough for the Fins who even missed the empty net several times in the last minutes after Jennifer Harss was pulled out for an additional attacker!

Russia - Japan 6-3 (1-0, 3-2, 2-1)

Just as during Russia's 2-1 group stage win, the Japanese women tried everything to get the big surprise against the tournament hosts! Especially at the start of the middle period with five goals within five crazy minutes, it looked like the Asians would have a real chance for a win. Anna Shukina had opened the score for Russia in the first period after a pass by Anna Shokhina. In the 27th minute Rui Ukita and Ayaka Toko twice scored the equalizer for Japan while Anna Shokhina had answered for the Eastern Europeans in between. this meant also the end of the working day for a nervous Anna Prugova in the Russian net and she was substituted by backup goalie Yulia Leskina. Galina Skiba from the blue line and Olga Sosina in power play from short distance let Russia escape with a two goal advantage for the first time. Chiho Osawa opened the third period with a strike for Japan but on the other side of the ice the power play goals no. 2 and 3 for Russia in this game through Galina Skiba and Tatyana Burina made everything clear.  

Schedule:

Semifinals:

Mo, 17 Feb (16.30 MSK) USA - Sweden
Mo, 17 Feb (21.00 MSK) Canada - Switzerland

7th place:

Tu, 16 Feb (12.00 MSK) Germany - Japan

5th place:

Tu, 16 Feb (16.30 MSK) Finland - Russia

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