U20 Div 1A, Day 4; Latvia with one skate in Canada, Italy relegated

Kazakhstan vs Norway

The Kazakhs, after losing their first two games, found the winning touch on Day 3 with a clear 7-0 over Italy. However, it did not seem as if they could continue their lucky streak in the first period against Norway. The Norwegians, desperate for points after their recent losses against Austria and Latvia, were clearly the better team in the first twenty minutes of play. Goals by Jesper Nipe and Magnus Henriksen gave the ‘Vikings’ a 2-0 lead.

In the middle frame though, the Asians stroke back. Alikhan Asetov’s beautiful wrist shot gave Kazakhstan hope again, for which the Scandinavians though found the response only 42 seconds later thanks to Fredrik Jorgenson’s marker . The young men in blue and white kept believing and also got rewarded with the 2-3 goal. Once again it was Asetov to make it a one-goal-hockey-game.

In the final period, Kazakhstan was pushing and was rewarded with 21 seconds left on the game clock. Bekmukhanbet Tolepbergen used some chaos in the slot to beat the sprawling Fredrik Gronstrand to tie the game at three goals each. 5 minutes of OT did not resolve anything and so the shootouts had to determine the winner. The Kazakhs carried the momentum over and earned the extra point. Anton Broyev stayed strong in net and Vladimir Volkov decided the game for the Asian represantatives.

Some game action between Norway and Kazakstan

Germany vs Latvia 

Latvia, the only unbeaten team at the contest, was facing Germany, who came off a 1-3 loss against host Austria. In the first period, the Baltic nation was the clearly better team. Two goals by Rodrigo Abols enabled the Latvians to earn a two-goal-lead. 17-year-old Tobias Eder created some good opportunities for the Germans, but it would not be enough to beat Matiss Kivlenieks minding Latvia’s net.

Also through the rest of the game the Balts seemed quicker and more efficient. Almost at half time Eder cut the deficit to one, but Artus Buss soon made it 3-1 again. Marks Lazarevs added the empty netter in the final minutes for the 4-1 result.

With this victory, the Latvians now have all cards in their hand to qualify for the Top Division in 2017, which will be held in Montreal and Toronto.

Latvia, here facing Germany, can promote to the Top Division with a win over Italy on Saturday.

Italy vs Austria

In the last meeting of the day the surprising Austrian squad faced the pointless Italian representative. The Austrians took the early lead thanks to a goal by Daniel Wachter, perfectly fed by Dario Winkler. While the ‘azzurri’ could partly keep up with the host team in the first period, they (once again) got into the penalty trouble in the middle frame. Goals by Alexander Lahoda, Stefan Gaffal and Daniel Jakubitzka made it 4-0, forcing Italian head coach to pull the guiltless goalkeeper Simone Armand Pilon. Hannes Treibenreif got in, but could not find any luck either. Lahoda found an incredible baseball—like-tip-in to make it 5-0 after 40.

In the final twenty minutes the Italians did not want to get shut out. Elias Thum and Davide Conci twice made it possible for Italy to at least win one period. For Austria two goals by Sam Antonitsch were enough for the final 7-3 win.

Handshake between surprising Team Austria and relegated Team Italy.

What’s next?

The last three games of the tournament will be played on Saturday. Latvia’s promotion to the Top Ten can only be stopped in the (unlikely) case of an Italian victory. Germany will finish off its tournament with a game against Norway . Austria, who can not finish worse than on second place, versus Kazakhstan will be the last game of this season’s Division 1A U20 World Championship. Except Italy, who are relegated to Division 1B, all teams still have a chance to earn a medal.

Standings after Day 4:

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