BUFFALO – After falling short in their opening game, the Czech Republic came out roaring
against Japan on Monday (27 April) at the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World
Championships A-Pool, which are taking place in Buffalo, New York in the
USA.
Two-time Paralympian Michal Geier anchored the Czech attack in their 2-1
win over Japan at the HARBORCENTER, scoring an even-strength goal at the 8:04
mark in the second period, and another at the 4:25 mark in the third period.
With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Masaharu Kumagai slipped
the puck into the net off a pass from Satoru Sudo to give Japan their first goal
of the Championships, but it was too little too late for the eighth-seeded
team.
Czech goaltender Jan Matousek recorded nine saves on the day, and the
Czech defence, led by Pavel Kubes, had an extremely impressive second period in
which they allowed just one shot on goal.
“It wasn’t easy to get motivated
for this game after yesterday’s loss,” Geier said. “The start of the game was
difficult, but when we scored the first one we really found our way, and we were
able to control the game by its end.”
The Czechs are now in third place in
the Group A standings with a 1-1 record, with Japan sitting in fourth place with
an 0-2 record.
CANADA 5, NORWAY 0
In a rematch of the Sochi 2014
bronze-medal game, Canada defeated Norway, 5-0, to stay in first place in Group
A with a 2-0 record in Buffalo.
Adam Dixon started off the scoring 5:37 into
the game for Canada, coming out of his defensive position to attack the net.
About a minute later, hard-hitting forward Brad Bowden crossed a pass at the top
of the ice to team captain Greg Westlake, who stuck the puck in the net to score
his sixth goal of the Championships. Emerging forward Tyler McGregor closed out
the first period with an even-strength goal at the 12-minute mark to push
Canada’s lead to 3-0.
Billy Bridges, husband of two-time Olympic champion
Sami Jo Small, then found the net in both the second and third periods to seal
the victory for Canada.
Kjell Christian Hamar had 19 saves in the net for
Norway, while Canada’s Corbin Watson was credited with six saves.
RUSSIA 3,
ITALY 0
The Sochi 2014 silver medallists posted a 3-0 shutout over the European
champions, as new goaltender Evgenii Plotnikov stopped all seven shots that came
his way.
Former wheelchair basketball player Vasilii Varlakov scored an
even-strength goal in the opening five minutes of the game before Russian
teammate Sergei Panfilov found the net in the second and St. Petersburg native
Aleksei Lysov padded the team’s lead with a score in the third.
Russia
outshot Italy 18-7, and it was Plotnikov – a newcomer to the squad this season,
replacing star goaltender Vladimir Kamantcev because of an illness – who carried
the team.
“It was very pleasant for me to not allow any goals,” Plotnikov
said. “We are here to win the Championship, and we’re now still able to achieve
that after this win.”
USA 7, GERMANY 0
The second day of play in Buffalo
concluded with the host nation’s 7-0 victory over Germany to put them atop Group
B with a 2-0 record.
Forward Declan Farmer, one of the fastest rising players
in the game, started off the USA’s scoring by pushing the puck from centre ice
into the net just 6:32 into the game. About two minutes later, a scrum in front
of the net ended with Buffalo’s own Adam Page sticking the puck in to make it
2-0, with the assist credited to USA teammate Josh Pauls.
At the 12:03 mark,
Pauls scored on a power play, and then just 11 seconds later Page put it between
the pipes again – assisted by team captain Josh Sweeney – to make it 4-0.
In
the second frame, another Buffalo native, Paul Schaus, scored, while first-year
player Sam Mumper added a goal. Chicago’s Brody Roybal then tallied his second
score of the tournament to extend the USA’s lead to seven.
“It seems
everything was going in that we were putting toward the net,” Page said. “But
now, we’ve just got to focus on the next game.”
CHAMPIONSHIPS COVERAGE
All
teams will have a rest day on Tuesday (28 April) before the final day of
preliminary round action. On Wednesday (29 April), Germany will challenge Russia
at 10:30am (ET), and that will be followed by USA-Italy at 2pm (ET),
Canada-Czech Republic at 5:30pm (ET) and Norway-Japan at 9pm (ET).
Live
coverage of all the games at the World Championships, along with results,
statistics and ticket information can be found at
www.Buffalo2015.com.
Up-to-date details of where games can be watched live
nationally can be found at Buffalo2015.com.
IPC Ice Sledge Hockey will tweet
live updates from on site in Buffalo from @IPCISH and is encouraging all fans to
use the #Buffalo2015 hashtag when tweeting about the tournament.
