WJC18 Division 1A Day 1 recap

The D1A U18 World Championships begin this Sunday in Angers, France. One year after the Slovakians won the World Championship at home, the sub-elite level of junior hockey is back in action. The Japanese, red bottom of the last World Championship, received the Danes, seen as favorites, to inaugurate this edition.
In a pleasant game, the Japanese surprised the Scandinavians to win head and shoulders.

Albert Schioldan opened the scoring for Denmark with a short-handed goal before the Japanese turned the game around in the second half, Okubo equalized with a shot into the top corner from the slot early in the third, then Kokuwa and Ushio graced the crowd with two solitary rushes and two beautiful goals.

The third period offered a reaction from the Scandinavians with Petersen reducing the deficit before Shirozu and Ushio, who scored twice, sealed the result of the match, despite a further reduction in the score by Linde. But it was too late to threaten the Japanese who won 5-3.

The second match of the day was between the Ukrainians and the French hosts. Just like the preparation match between the two teams earlier in the week, the two teams were equal and gave each other a run for their money. Gerasymenko took advantage of a bad exit of the goalkeeper to score an empty goal before Serres answered him in the conclusion of a breakaway of Chapuis. Ivashchenko took advantage of a favorable counter-attack to give his team the lead, but Chapuis again answered with a wrist shot that left no chance for the goalkeeper. Neither the regulation time nor the extra time will be enough to decide between the two teams and finally the Ukrainians win the penalty shootout by three goals to one, thus creating the surprise.

The last match of the day was between the Hungary and Kazakhstan. The Kazakhs, widely favored in the tournament, made only a mouthful of their opponent of the evening. If the first third time remained virgin, the Hungarians folded as of the return of the locker room in numerical inferiority and a goal of Beisembayev before the Kazakhs take the broad one thanks to a lightning counter-attack of Artur Gross and the second realization of Beisembayev. The third third time was only a formality for the latter, who won with the manner against the promoted ones on this score of three goals to nothing and this in spite of the outstanding performance of the Hungarian netminder, Patrick Csala.

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