2008 IIHF World Championships

[William Bourque]

World Championships started today in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Slovakia defeated Austria 6-4 in the first game, icing it with a empty netter late in the game.

Is anyone else following the tournament??

Here are two preview articles, the first is about Henrik Lundqvist and how he led Sweden to the 2002 gold medal game. The second is about the teams roster and compositions.


http://www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-inline-championship/news/news-singleview-club-continental-cup/article/from-inline-to-hockey-stardom.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1748&cHash=637558325d

http://www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-inline-championship/news/news-singleview-club-continental-cup/article/inliners-ready-for-bratislava.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1748&cHash=896c69eb1c

[wednthavddr]

wheres kyle mikel from? Does he play Narch at all?

[William Bourque]

wheres kyle mikel from? Does he play Narch at all?

No idea, but apparently he is a Lindenwood guy, i'm sure one of their players/fans could give you the information on that one...

[William Bourque]

In top Division Play: Slovenia defeats Austria 8-1 and the United States leads Germany in the 2nd period, 4-2.

In Division I Play: Japan topped Hungary in overtime 6-5. Marton Vas scored 4 goals for Hungary and Yutaka Ono scored the game winner in overtime for Japan.

and Great Britain leads Australia 11-7 in the 4th period.

[William Bourque]

United States 6
Germany 3
After 3 Periods


Great Britain 11
Australia 7
Final

[William Bourque]

United States 9
Germany 3
Final

Canada 7
New Zealand 0
After 1

Looks like the US will get off to a good start with a 9-3 win over last years Bronze medalist Germany. Everyone in the United States, Germany, Finland and Czech Republic group is going to want to avoid the qualification game. Canada is projected to be in that game and have opened the tournament up in dominating fashion. Canada put up 7 first period goals against New Zealand and leads 7-0 to start the second.

[Leaferguy]

I hope the United States wins it all. I'm from the same country they are.

[imasieve30]

wheres kyle mikel from? Does he play Narch at all?

I'm not sure if Kyle plays Narch at all, but he did play for the Lakewood Fire this past season in PIHA and the Fort Collins Catz the season before. Also Lindenwood U. as someone previously mentioned.


-Joe

[William Bourque]

Rest of the Final Scores from today's action:


Canada 13
New Zealand 2
Final

Brazil 13
Bulgaria 2
Final

Sweden 5
Slovakia 0
Final

Czech Republic 4
Finland 2
Final

[rhhof]

Bill,

Are you in Slovakia, or are you just reporting from the comfort of PA??

Its great though either way, I only have to check one website instead of three....

Thx

[luhockey1]

Kyle Mikel was in goal for Lindenwood's championship in the CRHL Premier Division, the next season he played ice hockey at Lindenwood.

[William Bourque]

Bill,

Are you in Slovakia, or are you just reporting from the comfort of PA??

Its great though either way, I only have to check one website instead of three....

Thx

I wish i was in Slovakia.

However, I actually reporting from the comfort of PA. I'm currently fighting a case of mono, so all i can do is pretty much lay in bed all day.

Following the tournament has given me another way to ensure that i don't go insane.

[quick_dry]

ouch! tough opening game for New Zealand, most of those guys have been playing together for years, but it is hard to get much hockey at a high enough level before the tournament to even contemplate being competitive against lesser teams straight away, let alone Canada.

Curious omission on the Aussie roster - 91 Casacelli is one of the stronger (or strongest) scorers in the team, but I didn't see him listed as dressed for that game, might be sick, gear lost in transit (again) NFI.

[RichardGraham]

LOL. Don't go insane, Bill. Keep the updates going. I was away this past weekend and actually unable to go on the web for much of the time, so I appreciate your postings.

[William Bourque]

LOL. Don't go insane, Bill. Keep the updates going. I was away this past weekend and actually unable to go on the web for much of the time, so I appreciate your postings.

Thanks, I'm trying, its pretty annoying waking up at 3:00am sweating like its 100 degrees in your room when in fact the air is set on 65 with the ceiling fan on. But the one positive is the fact this tournament gives me something to follow while i lay in bed and act pretty worthless.

Games on Tap for today:

Sweden (1-0-0-0) vs Slovenia (1-0-0-0)
Germany (0-0-0-1) vs Czech Republic (1-0-0-0)
United States (1-0-0-0) vs Finland (0-0-0-1)
Australia (0-0-0-1) vs Bulgaria (0-0-0-1)
Brazil (1-0-0-0) vs Great Britain (1-0-0-0)
Canada (1-0-0-0) vs Hungary (0-0-1-0)
Japan (0-1-0-0) vs New Zealand (0-0-0-1)

[William Bourque]

Well, Canada is out to prove they belong in the Top Division again today, after the beat down they laid on New Zealand yesterday, they are leading Hungary 8-0 after two periods. Hungary lost their first game 6-5 in OT versus Japan, Canada's next opponent. Right now there is no reason to think that Canada won't be going 3-0 in the RR and facing the last place team in the Germany, United States, Finland, Czech Republic pool.

Bulgaria and Australia are set to get started.

[BLowe7]

I wish i was in Slovakia.

However, I actually reporting from the comfort of PA. I'm currently fighting a case of mono, so all i can do is pretty much lay in bed all day.

Following the tournament has given me another way to ensure that i don't go insane.

Bill gets mono like once every two months, I think its a sham to get people to feel bad for him because he's ugly :eek:

[Mtour71]

Looks like the Czech team has some NHL'ers on it..
Some guy by the name of Ales Hemsky looks like he is rostered.
Karel Rachunek as well!

[William Bourque]

Bill gets mono like once every two months, I think its a sham to get people to feel bad for him because he's ugly :eek:


Thanks! But thankfully this is the first time I've ever had mono. It's Bronchitis that i get every two months.

Canada 14
Hungary 0
Final

Australia 5
Bulgaria 1
3rd Period

[William Bourque]

Looks like the Czech team has some NHL'ers on it..
Some guy by the name of Ales Hemsky looks like he is rostered.
Karel Rachunek as well!

Pro Ice Hockey Players Playing:

Richard Kapuš - Slovakia - Slovan Bratislava
Linus Klasen - Sweden - Södertälje SK
Johan Olsson - Sweden - Nordsjælland Cobras
Petr Tenkrát - Czech Republic - Timrå IK
**** Axelsson - Sweden - Djurgarden
Fredrik Eriksson - Sweden - Malmo
Mikko Koskinen - Finland - Espoo Blues
Sasu Hovi - Finland - Slovan Bratislava
Martin Galik, Jakub Ruckay, play ice hockey in the Slovakian Extraliga
Lee Sweatt - United States - TPS Turku
Sam Ftorek - United States - Bloomington Prairie Thunder


There are so many more but it can't think of them right now.

[William Bourque]

Here is an interview of **** Axelsson, he is currently under Contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/article/inline-90-seconds-with.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=955&cHash=3ef2a4f85a


Australia 10
Bulgaria 3
Final

Germany 4
Czech Republic 3
After 2 Periods

[William Bourque]

Germany 6
Czech Republic 6
4th Period

[William Bourque]

Germany 6
Czech Republic 7
Final

The Czech Republic moves to 2-0 with the win over Germany, last year's Broze Medalist. The Czech's trailed 6-5 heading into the final frame but tied it up early and won it late. Germany falls to 0-2 and is in grave danger of meeting Canada or Japan in the qualification game.

[William Bourque]

Finland vs United States

1st Period:
1-0 Finland: HEINONEN, Tommi
1-1 Tie: BRUCE, Tommy
2-1 Finland: LYYTINEN, Jani
8:00 1st Period

Japan 5
New Zealand 4
4th Period

[William Bourque]

3-1 Finland: LOHTANDER, Kari
3-2 Finland: GOUGE, Kyle

Finland 3
United States 2
9:15 1st Period

[William Bourque]

Finland 3
United States 2
End 1st Period

[William Bourque]

Things getting heated in the US/Finland game:

Jani Hinkanen and Sam Ftorek are both going off with 4 minutes for roughing and 10 minute misconducts at the 14:41 mark of the second

Finland 3
United States 2
14:41 2nd Period

[William Bourque]

Japan 7
New Zealand 5
Final

Looks like its the Winner of Canada vs Japan tomorrow for who will be taking on the 4th place finisher from the Top Division.


US-Finland

Goal - Lee Sweatt (Pat Lee, Steven Oleksy)

Finland 3
United States 3
20:02 2nd Period

[William Bourque]

Finland 3
United States 3
End 2nd Period



Pool D Standings
Canada - (2-0-0-0) - 6 Pts
Japan - (1-1-0-0) - 5 Pts
Hungary - (0-0-1-0) - 1 Pts
New Zealand (0-0-0-2) - 0 Pts

Tomorrow's Games:
Canada vs Japan
Hungary vs New Zealand

[William Bourque]

Starting the 3rd Period

The United States is holding a shot advantage of 37-20 after two periods but the score is still tied at 3-3.

[William Bourque]

A correction for those of you scoring at home ;)

Jani Hinkanen and Sam Ftorek were both assessed game misconducts and will not be returning in this game.

Finland vs United States
Penalty (FIN) - Olli Lehtinen - 1.5 minutes for Tripping (26:49)
Goal (USA) - Pat Lee (Kyle Gouge, Derek Kern) (29:33)
Announced Attendance: 774 (2nd Highest of Tournament)

Finland 3
United States 4
29:33 3rd Period

[William Bourque]

Goal - (USA) Tommy Bruce (Dan Comrie, Iton Chavira)


Finland 3
United States 5
31:36 3rd Period


After falling behind 3-1, the United States had rattled off four unanswered goals. If the Finns can't answer soon they may run out of time.

[William Bourque]

Kevin Devergilio (USA) was just sent of for a 4 minute major for Kneeing. This could open the door for the Finnish team to respond.

For me it means its time to head to the Dr's office.

I'll be back after 2:30 with the final updates of the day.

[William Bourque]

Goal - (USA) Kyle Gouge
Goal - (FIN) Aki Tuominen
Goal - (FIN) Sami Markkanen

Finland 5
United States 6
Final


Great Britain 11
Brazil 6
4th Period

[William Bourque]

Great Britain 11
Brazil 6
Final

In what could turn out to be the shocker of the day, Slovenia has opened a 3-0 lead over the defending World Champions, Sweden.

Slovenia 3
Sweden 0
2nd Period

[William Bourque]

Slovenia 3
Sweden 0
End of 2nd Period

John Dolan of Great Britain has scored a total of 8 goals in the first two games of the tournament to lead the tournament in goals. If he keeps scoring at this rate, Great Britain will have a pretty good shot at getting promoted into the Top Division as they set out to do before the tournament started.

[William Bourque]

Slovenia 6
Sweden 0
Middle 3rd Period

[William Bourque]

Slovenia 6
Sweden 2
End 3rd Period


Slovenia ran up a 6 goal lead on the defending World Champions, but the momentum is on Sweden's side as they scored two late goals in the third period. Is there a chance they can rally back and force overtime?

[William Bourque]

Slovenia 7
Sweden 3
Final




Top 3 Games by Attendance:
Slovenia vs Slovakia (1,125)
Sweden vs Slovakia (726)
United States vs Finland (724)



That's all for Day 2!

[RichardGraham]

Thanks again, Bill. Get better soon. And you're not as ugly as some of the PIHA/AIHL guys.... ;)

[growl89]

great recaps, keep em coming. For those who dont know... Slovenias goaltender is probably tops in the world in my opinion. He played for rinkrat at torhs last year and was a wall. Could be a reason for the upset. How is canada doing?

[William Bourque]

How is canada doing?

Canada is showing everyone why they shouldn't be in Division I.

They won both their games 13-2 and 14-0.

[EagleBC]

Canada is currently 2-0 in Group D of the B Pool after victories over New Zealand on Sunday and Hungary today.

Game 3 goes Tuesday against Japan with the winner moving on to the Relegation game against the 4th place Group B team in the A Pool.

The winner of the Relegation Game will move on to the A Pool Playoffs with the loser playing in the B Pool playoffs.

Finland and Germany (Silver & Bronze in '07) are currently 0-2 and play each other tomorrow with the loser going in to the Relegation game against the Canada/Japan winner.

[William Bourque]

Canada 9
Japan 1
Early 4th Period

Another game, Another Canadian blowout. With this win the Canadians will advance to the qualification round against the loser of the Germany-Finland game. One of lasts years medalists (Silver & Bronze) is going to be in the position to be dropped from the top division. Will the lack of early competition in this tournament hurt the Canadian squad when they come face to face against stiffer squads?

[William Bourque]

Canada 12
Japan 1
Final

Canada advances to Qualification Round.
Japan clinches #2 seed in Pool D and will take on the #3 Seed from Pool C.

[William Bourque]

United States 4
Czech Republic 1
After 1 Period

[William Bourque]

United States 5
Czech Republic 2
End 2nd Period


1st Period Scoring
(USA) - Dan Comrie (Pat Lee)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(USA) - Steven Oleksy (PP) (Pat Lee)
(USA) - Kyle Gouge (Steven Oleksy)
(USA) - Lee Sweatt (Steven Oleksy)

2nd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Jiri Polansky (PP) (Ludek Broz, Martin Vozdecky)
(USA) - Rafael Rodriquez (PP) (Derek Kern)

[William Bourque]

United States 5
Czech Republic 3
3rd Period


1st Period Scoring
(USA) - Dan Comrie (Pat Lee)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(USA) - Steven Oleksy (PP) (Pat Lee)
(USA) - Kyle Gouge (Steven Oleksy)
(USA) - Lee Sweatt (Steven Oleksy)

2nd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Jiri Polansky (PP) (Ludek Broz, Martin Vozdecky)
(USA) - Rafael Rodriquez (PP) (Derek Kern)

3rd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (Ales Hemsky)

[William Bourque]

United States 5
Czech Republic 4
3rd Period


1st Period Scoring
(USA) - Dan Comrie (Pat Lee)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(USA) - Steven Oleksy (PP) (Pat Lee)
(USA) - Kyle Gouge (Steven Oleksy)
(USA) - Lee Sweatt (Steven Oleksy)

2nd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Jiri Polansky (PP) (Ludek Broz, Martin Vozdecky)
(USA) - Rafael Rodriquez (PP) (Derek Kern)

3rd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (Ales Hemsky)
(CZE) - Martin Vozdecky (PP) (Ludek Broz)

[William Bourque]

United States 5
Czech Republic 5
3rd Period


1st Period Scoring
(USA) - Dan Comrie (Pat Lee)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(USA) - Steven Oleksy (PP) (Pat Lee)
(USA) - Kyle Gouge (Steven Oleksy)
(USA) - Lee Sweatt (Steven Oleksy)

2nd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Jiri Polansky (PP) (Ludek Broz, Martin Vozdecky)
(USA) - Rafael Rodriquez (PP) (Derek Kern)

3rd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(CZE) - Martin Vozdecky (PP) (Ludek Broz)
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (PP) (Ales Hemsky, Ludek Broz)

[William Bourque]

United States 6
Czech Republic 5
3rd Period


1st Period Scoring
(USA) - Dan Comrie (Pat Lee)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(USA) - Steven Oleksy (PP) (Pat Lee)
(USA) - Kyle Gouge (Steven Oleksy)
(USA) - Lee Sweatt (Steven Oleksy)

2nd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Jiri Polansky (PP) (Ludek Broz, Martin Vozdecky)
(USA) - Rafael Rodriquez (PP) (Derek Kern)

3rd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(CZE) - Martin Vozdecky (PP) (Ludek Broz)
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (PP) (Ales Hemsky, Ludek Broz)
(USA) - Dan Comrie (PP) (James Beilsten)

[William Bourque]

United States 6
Czech Republic 6
End 3rd Period


1st Period Scoring
(USA) - Dan Comrie (Pat Lee)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(USA) - Steven Oleksy (PP) (Pat Lee)
(USA) - Kyle Gouge (Steven Oleksy)
(USA) - Lee Sweatt (Steven Oleksy)

2nd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Jiri Polansky (PP) (Ludek Broz, Martin Vozdecky)
(USA) - Rafael Rodriquez (PP) (Derek Kern)

3rd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(CZE) - Martin Vozdecky (PP) (Ludek Broz)
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (PP) (Ales Hemsky, Ludek Broz)
(USA) - Dan Comrie (PP) (James Beilsten)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)

Two refs from Finland working a really tight game and calling a bunch of penalties. Only two Even Strength goals at this point in the game versus ten power play goals.

[William Bourque]

United States 7
Czech Republic 6
FINAL


1st Period Scoring
(USA) - Dan Comrie (Pat Lee)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(USA) - Steven Oleksy (PP) (Pat Lee)
(USA) - Kyle Gouge (Steven Oleksy)
(USA) - Lee Sweatt (Steven Oleksy)

2nd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Jiri Polansky (PP) (Ludek Broz, Martin Vozdecky)
(USA) - Rafael Rodriquez (PP) (Derek Kern)

3rd Period Scoring
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (PP) (Ales Hemsky)
(CZE) - Martin Vozdecky (PP) (Ludek Broz)
(CZE) - Petr Tenkrat (PP) (Ales Hemsky, Ludek Broz)
(USA) - Dan Comrie (PP) (James Beilsten)
(CZE) - Tomas Mojzis (PP) (Ales Hemsky)

4th Period Scoring
(USA) - Kyle Gouge (Steven Oleksy)



So the United States hangs on by the smallest of margins to win Pool D with a perfect 3-0 record. Kyle Gouge is tearing it up in the tournament finding the next for his 5th and 6th goals of the event, leading all scorers in the Top Division.


Great Britain 2
Bulgaria 0
2nd Period

[Rzorbck]

United States 6
Czech Republic 6
End 3rd Period




Any idea who is in net for the U.S.?

[William Bourque]

Jamie Bufalino

[Drexel63]

Jamie Buffalino

[William Bourque]

Great Britain 8
Bulgaria 1
FINAL

The British advance to the Qualification game tomorrow against the last place finisher from Pool A (Slovakia, Sweden, Slovenia, Austria). Austria is the team they would most likely face. It would be a rematch of last years qualification game, which Austria won 6-5 in overtime.

Germany 2
Finland 0
End 1st Period

Could it be? Canada versus Finland? With one team heading down to Division 1 for the remainder of the tournament. Finland is the all-time leading medaling country with 11 medals in 12 events (3 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze).

[EagleBC]

The IIHF seems to be doing a much better job of broadcasting the World Championships this year.

The Live Scoring feature is updated very quickly - every minute or two it refreshes. Lots of statistics, photos, information available.

There are plenty of press releases that are appearing on the main IIHF home page in addition to the Inline page.

It's good to see this type of coverage.

[William Bourque]

The IIHF seems to be doing a much better job of broadcasting the World Championships this year.

The Live Scoring feature is updated very quickly - every minute or two it refreshes. Lots of statistics, photos, information available.

There are plenty of press releases that are appearing on the main IIHF home page in addition to the Inline page.

It's good to see this type of coverage.

It is really exciting. It's nice to read the interviews with some of the players.


Germany 2
Finland 4
End 3rd Period

Finland has a 4 goal 3rd period and now puts Germany against the ropes. It's one period to determine who is going down to the qualification round and who is advancing to play the 2nd seed (Most likely Sweden) in the 1/4 - Finals.

[EagleBC]

Finland leads even though they are being outshot 44-29. Goalie must be standing on his head.

[William Bourque]

For those who dont know... Slovenias goaltender is probably tops in the world in my opinion. He played for rinkrat at torhs last year and was a wall. Could be a reason for the upset. How is canada doing?

Just to expand on what you said about him being the best. He actually won the MVP award last year even though he team went out in the 1/4 Finals.

[William Bourque]

Finland leads even though they are being outshot 44-29. Goalie must be standing on his head.

Yea, Finland has been on the PK a bunch in this game. They always say your best penalty killer is your goalie.

[EagleBC]

Yikes....Germany ties it with 16 seconds left. Good game!

[William Bourque]

Yikes....Germany ties it with 16 seconds left. Good game!

Nothing Better Than Overtime Hockey!

Germany 4
Finland 4
Overtime

[William Bourque]

Looks like they are going to a Shootout...

What a comeback that was by Germany, especially with the implications...

[William Bourque]

Tuomas Valosaari with the heroics for the Finland Team.

Finland advances to the 1/4 Final where they will wait for the 2nd place team of Pool A. There is a good chance it will be a rematch of last years Gold Medal game against Sweden. Sweden won the gold last year.

Germany is now set to face Canada with the loser being sent down to Division I and the Winner advancing to the 1/4 Finals.

[William Bourque]

Hungary 11
New Zealand 4
Final

Slovenia 1
Slovakia 0
1st Period

[William Bourque]

Slovenia 3
Slovakia 1
Third Period

Brazil 2
Australia 0
Second Period

[Stampede#11]

Great action shots on the IIHF site by the way for those who haven't perused.

[William Bourque]

Slovenia 4
Slovakia 3
FINAL

Slovenia wins Pool A and has the unpleasant distinction of playing the winner of the Germany-Canada game. If Slovenia doesn't advance to the semi's, it would be the second straight year they came out of the pool as the top seed and getting eliminated in the semi-finals.

Brazil 7
Australia 3
Early 4th Period

If Brazil holds on to win, they will face Hungary in the 1/4 finals and Australia will square off against Japan. If the result changes, the opponents would flip.

[snipe123]

Where can you watch the games?

[William Bourque]

Where can you watch the games?

You can only watch the Live Updates, no audio or visual.

www.iihf.com

[Tekkaman]

Just wondering...does anyone know why CJ Yoder isn't playing?

[William Bourque]

Sweden 8
Austria 2
Final

Brazil 8
Australia 3
Final

Thats all for Day 3!

[dan sangiorgio]

Just wondering...does anyone know why CJ Yoder isn't playing?

simple answer there are 2 usa national teams one for usars/aau and one for usa inline, the one playing right now is the usa inline. cj along with some of the other top guys are on the usars team.
with team usa doing so well with some top players being spilt, one could only imagine if the 2 teams combined how they would do. the usa inline team seems to be a younger team based around alot of college ice and roller players with incredable speed

[Mtour71]

IIHF did do a combo last year. There wasn't enough time to do a camp so they hand picked the team. They got upset!

C Yoder
J Yoder
L Sweat
C Popescu
D Kern
J Beilsten
A Moss
D Canstanza
B Yingling
G Thompson
T Bruce
C Peterson
E Hartlieb

IN NET:
J Reinheart
M Castanza

Yoder's, Thompson, Canstanza, Beilsten all played both teams last year.

FIRS team choked as well.


Looks like IIHF has a great mix of speed, experience, and age. Hopefully they can pull this off.

[William Bourque]

Germany 11
Canada 3
Final

History held true as the Canadians were outclassed by the Germans today. Germany who went 0-3 in pool play just smoked Canada. I was really surprised to see such a one-sided result. Germany stays in the top division and will square off against Slovenia tomorrow.

[yokes]

IIHF did do a combo last year. There wasn't enough time to do a camp so they hand picked the team. They got upset!

C Yoder
J Yoder
L Sweat
C Popescu
D Kern
J Beilsten
A Moss
D Canstanza
B Yingling
G Thompson
T Bruce
C Peterson
E Hartlieb

IN NET:
J Reinheart
M Castanza

Yoder's, Thompson, Canstanza, Beilsten all played both teams last year.

FIRS team choked as well.


Looks like IIHF has a great mix of speed, experience, and age. Hopefully they can pull this off.

Has something to with tryouts or something for the games next year. Running into each other, try to get more info from CJ or Brian when i get as chance.

[Mtour71]

I can take a guess why these guys didn't play IIHF this year. Well the World Games is next year.

Side Note *The USA won the first ever World Games Inline Hockey was involved in and it just happens that it is next year (Every 4 years).

The FIRS team has practice at Feasterville this weekend so that overlapped with the IIHF tournament. So I'm sure a lot of their choice was concerning next year's events. Just a wild Guess!

[yokes]

Thats what it was cause of the world games. ^

[William Bourque]

Austria 6
Great Britain 1
Final

With the win, Austria prevents itself from being the first team to lose a qualification game to a Division I team. They move on to face the United States in the 1/4 finals tomorrow. Great Britain finds themselves back in DI where they will square off against New Zealand in the 1/4's.

[William Bourque]

Sweden 9
Finland 3
Final

United States 15
Austria 1
4th Period

Australia 5
Japan 4
Final

Brazil 5
Hungary 3
Final

Canada 2
Bulgaria 1
End 1st Period

[William Bourque]

Hungary 7
New Zealand 6
Final

Japan 11
Bulgaria 5
Final

Great Britain 4
Brazil 3
Final

GB Advances to the Gold Medal Game, Brazil to the Bronze Medal Game.

Czech Republic 10
Finland 8
Final

Slovenia 9
Austria 2
Final

Slovakia 2
Germany 0
2nd Period

[William Bourque]

Slovakia 3
Germany 2
Final/OT(SO)

Slovakia has clinched their first medal ever as they are headed to the Gold Medal game against either the United States or Sweden.

Canada 4
Australia 0
3rd Period

[William Bourque]

United States 0
Sweden 2
1st Period

Detroit Reg Wings prospect **** Axelsson score a pair of early goals to give Sweden the early edge.

Canada 8
Australia 0
4th Period

[William Bourque]

United States 4
Sweden 4
2nd Period

Some interesting turn of events in this game. **** Axelsson scored SH for the natural hat trick and a 3-0 lead for Sweden. Sam Ftorek and Kyle Gouge scored 30 seconds apart to cut the lead down to 3-2. 21 seconds later, Sweden scored again to go back up by two and chase starting American goalie Jamie Bufalino, he was replaced by Kyle Mikel. Dan Comrie and Pat Lee than scored 40 seconds apart just one minute after the goalie move to tie the game at 4-4. Additionally, after the US made it 4-3, **** Axelsson (3 goals), was give a 10 minute misconduct.

[Puckdropper1]

Sweden has gone up 4-6

[Puckdropper1]

Looks like USA just pulled their goalie again Bufalino is back in and score now 5-7 still in second period.

[That Guy]

Hey the score is US - 6 and Sweden - 7

[William Bourque]

United States 6
Sweden 7
End 2nd Period

WOW! Talk about offense. 11 goals in the 2nd period alone. The US has switched goalies twice now. The United States goalies have made 1 save in the first 2 periods and the US only trails by one goal. US has the advantage in shots 29-8

[William Bourque]

United States 6
Sweden 7
End 2nd Period

WOW! Talk about offense. 11 goals in the 2nd period alone. The US has switched goalies twice now. The United States goalies have made 1 save in the first 2 periods and the US only trails by one goal. US has the advantage in shots 29-8

United States 6
Sweden 7
3rd Period

Correction, it now says Sweden has 20 shots, i guess they were having trouble keeping up with all the goals being scored.

[William Bourque]

United States 7
Sweden 9
End 3rd Period

[That Guy]

United States - 8
Sweden - 12

[Stampede#11]

For those who haven't seen it ... on Dangl Productions web site are a couple of full length USA games.

[TommyToedrag]

I have been a long time reader of this page (been on here since the beginning) but never before wrote in the forum. Something I have been wondering about is how the US cannot put together a better team for the IIHF.
Sweden has been a dominant force for the last couple of years, and barely has an organized domestic league. Finland is in the same boat, but both those two nations have only ice hockey players on their teams.

I am curios of what you guys think of this. There are probably 50 times more teams and players in the US than in most of the European countries combined, but it still seems like the top players are as good there.

[Mtour71]

The United States always has the best skating teams at the World Championships. The USA won two years ago so you can't say that they are not in the race. The offsides in the IIHF definitely benefits a lot of the other teams in a lot of ways. This may be a bone head comment but I think if it was a regular 4 on 4 game the US would win a lot more than they do (Just my opinion).

Have to give credit to the other countries out there though. These guys play hockey almost every day of their lives. Sure they aren't on their Roller Hockey skates everyday but it is some sort of hockey. They know how to play the game. Give them a puck in the slot they are going to score...An odd man break...Yep, most likely a goal. I'll still take our ROLLER HOCKEY team over their ICE players any day. Sure, we (THE US) haven't won the IIHF in the past couple of years but we are always in the running and have great tournaments. I think it is pretty cool how most of our players have no ice background and still compete with professional ice players.

Anyone else?

[rhhof]

I think that we compete very well in the IIHF's -- Im for getting rid of one of these competitions so we can have a true Team USA under one of these governing bodies (please no arguements)

Not to burst MTour's bubble but most of our guys actually have minor pro or Division one college under their belt - so we are on par with the level of play with these other countries...Might be one or two that dont have the serious ice background - Beilstein, Ftorek, Chavira, Buff and Hartlieb (not active this year) all played at that level most others played college or better

Either way, my feeling is that it should be more highly recruited and not based on whether they played in events or have to fly half way across the country to attend one tryout on one specific weekend - If so then it needs to be more publicized...

[TommyToedrag]

The United States always has the best skating teams at the World Championships. The USA won two years ago so you can't say that they are not in the race. The offsides in the IIHF definitely benefits a lot of the other teams in a lot of ways. This may be a bone head comment but I think if it was a regular 4 on 4 game the US would win a lot more than they do (Just my opinion).

Have to give credit to the other countries out there though. These guys play hockey almost every day of their lives. Sure they aren't on their Roller Hockey skates everyday but it is some sort of hockey. They know how to play the game. Give them a puck in the slot they are going to score...An odd man break...Yep, most likely a goal. I'll still take our ROLLER HOCKEY team over their ICE players any day. Sure, we (THE US) haven't won the IIHF in the past couple of years but we are always in the running and have great tournaments. I think it is pretty cool how most of our players have no ice background and still compete with professional ice players.

Anyone else?


I think that we compete very well in the IIHF's -- Im for getting rid of one of these competitions so we can have a true Team USA under one of these governing bodies (please no arguements)

Not to burst MTour's bubble but most of our guys actually have minor pro or Division one college under their belt - so we are on par with the level of play with these other countries...Might be one or two that dont have the serious ice background - Beilstein, Ftorek, Chavira, Buff and Hartlieb (not active this year) all played at that level most others played college or better

Either way, my feeling is that it should be more highly recruited and not based on whether they played in events or have to fly half way across the country to attend one tryout on one specific weekend - If so then it needs to be more publicized...

Thank both of you for your opinions. I never have, and never ever will, say that the US is not a top nation in the world. Roller Hockey is an american game, and have the best history out of all countries. That was not my point at all.
I was trying to find out why the US, with such a huge pool of players are not able to create better "top" players. If it is as you say that "the euros have ice hockey players on the team," then it must be that ice hockey is better than roller hockey - if the goal is to win roller hockey games. I am interested in what people thing, and is not trying to argue. I have watched many of the phenomenal US-born players of the past (John Hanson, Jason Deskins, Billy Lund, Yoder brothers, Ftorek, Tony Szabo etc.) but once again, they all came from ice.

[Mtour71]

I'm not saying that the Euros are better because they have ice hockey players but people think it is a breeze to win this event. It isn't as easy as you think.
RHHOF- I agree that we have guys with ice experience but come on. Some of those guys haven't played ice hockey in 10 years. Kyle Gouge was one of our leading scorers last year and plays Roller Hockey. He played a season of ice hockey 5 years ago. I think we should recruit out of our ROLLER HOCKEY circuit. If they play ice hockey so be it.

The tryout process should be interesting this yr!

[JLambertUMSL]

Kyle Gouge was one of our leading scorers last year and plays Roller Hockey. He played a season of ice hockey 5 years ago.

Are you sure? One season of ice? I was not aware of that. I thought his background was in ice.

[EagleBC]

Ultimately, I don't think it's fair to say that ice hockey makes you better OR roller hockey makes you better.

The skills used in each are so similar that they complement each other very well, thus you have players having success in both when they crossover.

The keys to being a top athlete in any sport including ice hockey and roller hockey are having natural ability combined with time spent practicing your skills.

If a kid plays once per week his skills won't develop nearly as quickly as a kid who is playing 3-4-5 times a week. Most high level ice teams are on the rink 5 times a week in games and practices with high level coaching.

Some roller teams will get on the rink this many times, but I would suggest that in general, the roller kids are not on the rink nearly as often as their ice counterparts. In addition, the high level coaching is much more widely available on the ice side. More and more high end coaches are getting involved in roller, but still not to the degree that they are on the ice side.

In addition, outside of NARCh, TORHS, State Wars, etc., there aren't as many high level playing opportunities at all levels as there are on ice. How many times have we seen the top roller kids cross over to ice in order to face higher competition?

Just my $0.02.

[LukePhillips]

Does anyone have links to video of the games? I'd like to see how some good roller hockey looks...

[Mtour71]

Couldn't find much on IIHF but here is a clip of the Americans vs. France at the FIRS World Championships this year.
http://www.dailymotion.com/ffroller/video/x65oe3_finale-franceusa_sport

[JLambertUMSL]

Some roller teams will get on the rink this many times, but I would suggest that in general, the roller kids are not on the rink nearly as often as their ice counterparts. In addition, the high level coaching is much more widely available on the ice side. More and more high end coaches are getting involved in roller, but still not to the degree that they are on the ice side.

The discipline also isn't always there. I'm generalizing, but (again, in general) there is often a difference in the level of commitment and coachability between kids who have played ice and those who haven't.

[GoRangrHky]

Nothing against the US goalies, but Sweden had Henrik Lundqvist in net a few years ago. http://www.niha.ca/News/2008%20News/LundquistSweden.pdf That right there is how you win.

As soon as top US hockey players (inline or ice) start showing up, then the US will be able to reach that level. Most of the Swedish team now plays in the SEL, and are playing under professional coaching and are working with trainers on a daily basis. Having some Lindenwood and DI ice players are nice, and nothing against them, but a lot of these guys just work Joe jobs on the regular and don't have the time or the opportunity to work on their game like that. This team should be filled with at least AA level players, if not better. If NHL teams are letting players go play in the world championships for ice after the season ends, would they not let them go and play roller? DiPietro played at Sportime in Bethpage, NY as a forward during the lockout- why isn't he in net for the US at this tournament (besides the fact that he has the hips of a 92 year old woman)?

I'm sure there's reasons why they're not playing, otherwise they would be, naturally. But I think that if you want to compete with teams like Sweden in this tournament, you need to get guys who play at the same level as them and have the same kind of training that they do on a day in and day out basis.

[EagleBC]

The discipline also isn't always there. I'm generalizing, but (again, in general) there is often a difference in the level of commitment and coachability between kids who have played ice and those who haven't.

Agreed 100%.

[GoRangrHky]

I think a lot of that comes from the coaches that these young kids have, and the sport in general. First off, most youth ice coaches have some kind of training and certification. That doesn't make every one of them great coaches, but at least it points them in the right direction. Inline coaches are usually just someone's father who stands behind the bench. Rare is it that you find a good youth coach. Second, to many inline youth players, it is just another activity, along with soccer, trumpet lessons, birthday parties, and scheduled playdates. For $150 a season, the parent is basically passing their kid onto someone else for an hour a week. The kids (for the most part) don't care, and that creates an environment where it's not so much about skill development, but about having fun and orange slices after the game. Which is all great, but it doesn't develop good hockey players. Ice is fairly expensive- for practice time, tournaments, even rec leagues, so if the kid isn't really interested in it, the parents aren't probably going to spend that much cash on it. That weeds out the ones that aren't as committed at an earlier age. So now you have better coaches coaching kids who actually want to be there. They get used to being coached, and have wanted to be there since day one, so ultimately they are the ones that are more coachable and committed.

[TommyToedrag]

GoRangrsHky: Nothing against the US goalies, but Sweden had Henrik Lundqvist in net a few years ago. That right there is how you win.

At the time Lundqvist was 19 years old and had never ever played a pro ice hockey game. He didn't even get goalie of the year in the tourney.
And to be fair - before the WC Lundqvist played a total of 10 games of inline hockey in his life (with Gothenburg Jokers). So, a tender with only 10 games of inline experience total - is "right there is how you win" in the WORLD championships? Come on, Henrik is good - but there are guys in like Missouri or New Mexico that play inline goalie every day of their life, they should be able to compete if that´s the argument.

GoRangrHky: Most of the Swedish team now plays in the SEL:

Absolutely wrong - two of Sweden´s players (**** Axelsson and Linus Klasen) played SEL, that´s it.

GoRangrHky - don´t get me wrong though. I agree with all your opinions stated in your post, I just make sure we have the facts right.

Question still remains unanswered. the US has 50 times more inline hockey players than all European countries combined (50 is an estimation but if anyone complains I will google my ass of to find the accurate one) but does still not dominate the sport. Do we have an idea why? I don´t, that´s why I am asking. I hate to be the troll here - but I would like real arguments, because I have been a believer in US inline for a long time, but is about to get off the train.

[Mtour71]

Tommy...
How about Canadian Ice Hockey? They were so dominant for so many years not look what happened. Every other country in the world has cought up. It was just a matter time for everyone else in the Wolrd to do the same in Roller!

[mrrinkrat15]

Hey guys,

Great conversation...Now take this from a Canadian and One of the Coaches of Team Canada last year. Team USA in both IIHF and Firs have been amazing for years...I believe Team USA won Firs this past year and had a respectable showing at the IIHF. I don't think its that Team USA cannot win, I just think that the talent across the board has improved so much that its harder to win every year which Team USA was doing for along time. Team USA has been blessed with some of the games greats but as with life everyone gets a little older and there needs to be a feeder system to continue the tradition. For those of us in the sport who have been around the game for years have seen some of these great young players such as Itan, Ostercamp and Pat Lee just to name a few...These are the guys to carry your Red White And Blue torch into the future. For those who have never had an opportunity to watch a World Championship it is some of the most unbelievable hockey you could ever see.

This past year on the Czech Republic alone had Rukunick, Hemsky and Tenkrat all stars in the NHL...Not 4th liners and I believe they finished 5th or 6th.

In Canada we went with a young group of kids with an average age of about 22...The super stars of the past..St.Cyr, Jamie Cooke, Mark Woolf and Doug Ast have all since retired..Team Canada is back in A pool this year and were hoping for a medal...But as this thread goes....The big question is can we do it against amazing World talent! Time will tell

As far as the Americans go..They will always be in contention to win the Gold...For those back home cheering for them don't be to disappointed if they fall short now and again, it's gonna happen because of the parity of the Countries....Which is a great thing for our sport!

My 2 Cents

Michael Hunt
Rink Rat
Team Canada

[RichardGraham]

Hey Mike,

Great post. You made a lot of great (and accurate) points. Just like any other sport of quality, the competition continues to improve. And that's a good thing!

[DCbullets14]

I think that one reason why the US does not experience the success that it is capable of is because they have left some of the best players off their roster. I could be mistaken but I did not see Osterkamp on eigther of the world team rosters and I personally felt that he was the most dominant player in Narch pro this year. I think that there are a few other phenominal players that should be included on these rosters.

I have not had the opportunity to play agaisnt every player that is on the roster and I am not trying to say that there are any second rate players on the rosters. I would agrue that there are some insane players left off the roster and that may be part of the reason for the lack of success.

Brad Pryor

[TommyToedrag]

Hey guys,

Great conversation...Now take this from a Canadian and One of the Coaches of Team Canada last year. Team USA in both IIHF and Firs have been amazing for years...I believe Team USA won Firs this past year and had a respectable showing at the IIHF. I don't think its that Team USA cannot win, I just think that the talent across the board has improved so much that its harder to win every year which Team USA was doing for along time. Team USA has been blessed with some of the games greats but as with life everyone gets a little older and there needs to be a feeder system to continue the tradition. For those of us in the sport who have been around the game for years have seen some of these great young players such as Itan, Ostercamp and Pat Lee just to name a few...These are the guys to carry your Red White And Blue torch into the future. For those who have never had an opportunity to watch a World Championship it is some of the most unbelievable hockey you could ever see.

This past year on the Czech Republic alone had Rukunick, Hemsky and Tenkrat all stars in the NHL...Not 4th liners and I believe they finished 5th or 6th.

In Canada we went with a young group of kids with an average age of about 22...The super stars of the past..St.Cyr, Jamie Cooke, Mark Woolf and Doug Ast have all since retired..Team Canada is back in A pool this year and were hoping for a medal...But as this thread goes....The big question is can we do it against amazing World talent! Time will tell

As far as the Americans go..They will always be in contention to win the Gold...For those back home cheering for them don't be to disappointed if they fall short now and again, it's gonna happen because of the parity of the Countries....Which is a great thing for our sport!

My 2 Cents

Michael Hunt
Rink Rat
Team Canada

Thank you for your input. It makes a lot of sense!