HOCKEY CANADA
2003 IIHF World Junior Championship
Germany beats Belarus 4-0 Before Energetic Crowd Germany used physical play and quality chances to defeat Belarus 4-0 Saturday night in Halifax. The 5,621 fans who showed up despite the meaninglessness of the game and the massive snowstorm outside saw an entertaining game that had everything. All the great passing, checking, and goaltending that can occur when two teams of relatively equal skill levels meet, and some of the miscues, missed passes and missed assignments that occur when that skill level is not in the same class as the upper echelon teams. Technically the game meant very little in terms of standings or medals, and even relegation but in terms of both personal and national pride, this game was big because neither team had won a game thus far here. And both teams played that way. Belarus controlled the puck early, but as was the pattern for the remainder of the game, the team failed to create quality opportunities. Most of their shots coming from well outside the slot and with very little traffic in front of German goalie Patrick Ehelechner. Another trend began early when Belorussian goalie Dzmitry Kamovich came up with a great save, stacking the pads on a Max Seyller backhand. Then followed immediately a sliding stop on a Marcel Goc wraparound attempt. Kamovich continued to put in an outstanding performance with practically every shot he faced requiring acrobatics. In the other net, Ehelechner, while facing just one less shot during the game, had a much easier time of it, recording the shutout and his team’s first win. The scoring opened at 10:02 of the second when Christoph Ullman picked up the rebound on a shot from the left point and beat the helpless Kamovich on the power play. As the game continued, Germany began to dominate along the boards and their physical play created chance after chance. Finally late in the second Marcel Goc’s pretty pass to Yannic Seidenberg was one-timed past a stretching Kamovich. In the third, Belarus again came out strong in terms of possession, but Germany seemed to have all the scoring chances. Team Belarus had it’s best opportunity when Pavel Kutsevich broke away, only to have his shot steered wide by Ehelechner. In the Belorussian end, the Kamovich heroics continued with a stretching leg save stopping a 2-on-1 onetime shot and seconds later trapping the puck under an outstretched arm. Two more German goals from Max Seyller and Stefan Schauer sealed a game that was never really in doubt. What had been in doubt was the quality of play to be expected in a supposedly unimportant game. Ask Aliaksander Zhydkikh who left the ice in extreme pain after blocking a slapshot with his open palm. Ask Kamovich, who looked devastated after allowing a German goal on which he had absolutely no chance. Ask German Stefan Schauer who sacrificed his body and took a huge hit that he knew was coming just to clear the puck from his zone, or ask Belorussian Kutsevich who sprawled to block a shot while his team was down 3-0 with only 25 seconds remaining in the game. Although the Germans and Belorussians have not been the powerhouse teams of this tournament, both teams displayed something lacking from some "more important" games--a ton of pride and the desire to win. Both teams played the way a hockey team should play. Even if it’s not for gold. Gary Caven
BELARUS TO FACE GERMANY FOR PRIDE Belarus to Face Germany for Pride For the first time in the tournament tonight, either Belarus or Germany is going to get its first win. Unless, of course, they tie. Both teams come into the game sporting identical records of 0-5 after faltering though the preliminary round. The game has little meaning, though, because both teams have been relegated to Division I for next year. Belarus comes into the game after a 5-4 loss to Sweden in which it looked stronger than at any time in the tournament. The team surprised many in attendance against Sweden for not pulling its goaltender despite trailing by only one goal and needing the victory to stay alive. Even salvaging a tie with Sweden would have given the Belorussians a chance to avoid relegation, but they could not earn the point. The Belorussian’s are led by Aliaksandr Kulakou, Andrei Kastsitsyn, and Jonas Almtorp, three dynamic forwards who all scored on great individual efforts against the Swedes. Belarus has looked overmatched in many of their games, but they possess players with enough talent to keep them in games on solo efforts. Their attack is based around playing defence and waiting for a forward to pick his spot on a solo rush. Their attack may work against the Germans who have been content to sit back on defence and send only one man deep. Germany is paced up front by Alexander Sulzer, Alexander Barta, and Marcel Goc. The German team places plenty of responsibility on Goc’s broad shoulders. He plays every second shift for the Germans and is on the ice during power-plays and penalty kills. Unfortunately, he has not found his scoring touch in the tournament, something the team was counting on for success. Inconsistent goaltending is part the reason both teams have found themselves in the positions that they are in. Despite riding the underdog-momentum to becoming a crowd favourite in Halifax, Germany’s Dimitri Patzold has played by turns well and erratic. His counterpart will probably be Dzmitry Kamovich, who has a goals-against average of more than seven for the tournament. There are implications for the game, although they will not take effect until next year. Both teams move to Division I next year and the winner of this game will be the number-one seed and the loser will be the number-two seed. Winning tonight may place the team into an easier bracket next year in an attempt to make it back to the IIHF World Junior Championship. Forest Kenney |
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For more information: André Brin Director, Communications | Directeur, communications |
