WJC Group A: Dec 29 GDT - Austria vs. Russia (1-3)

[Rabid Ranger]

I think it has been a trademark of both Russian teams in the previous 2 Championships. To be honest I do not remember when was the last time Russian convincingly beat hockey midget countries despite all the offensive power Russia has been bringing to these tournaments.

I see many "specialists" are already running in front of the train predicting USA and Canada in the Final game. Not so fast, pals. Same was last year when US had many hopes to beat team Russia but was outplayed, outhit and outclassed.

This is a game of hockey and has always fortune turning both ways to you. I think Russia did not have lots of luck in the first 3 games, if you shoot 50 times and score only 3 goals next game you can score 7 on 25 shots. Always like that in hockey. Who knows, maybe Fortune is turnoing the other way now.

You bring up some excellent points. Yeah, Russia hasn't been dominate in their first two games, but they still have a tie and a win going into their next game against the United States. The outcome of that game is still very much in question, and it's the U.S., not Russia which has something to prove. It should be a great game. Personally, I hope the U.S. doesn't look past Sweden, and keeps on getting better and better as we get closer to our match-up against Russia. Some things in the U.S's favor is Montoya has been rock solid, and the U.S. is getting progressively more disciplined.

 

[Fedz]

Can somebody who has seen a few russian games tell me how Denis Grot, and Ilya Krikunov are playing? I saw that Grot is first line D, and Krikunov is 2nd line LW, is this true?

 

[Dr_Chimera*]

I bet the guys had trouble getting up for this one... But it's good to see that they got 50 shots on net - believe me if that were the Ukranian goalies, they'd get their 10 goals. The Austrian netminder is obviously pretty decent.

Anyway - it's good that we're playing a strong team in the final round-robin game - it is not sudden-death and at the same time it's finally a real test to see whether the Russian team is about to wake up anytime soon.

It's obviously not due to a lack of talent, but more due to a lack of attitude of some sort - perhaps in this case just a lack of jump and interest due to weak opposition.

I predict a solid performance from Russia on Wednesday against the US, but whether or not that will result in a win will depend on whether United States can handle the crunch of the clutch. After all, you can beat 'em Austrians 25-0 if you can, but if you can't win 'em close ones, you're not worth a penny in tourneys like this.

Plus, I bet Barulin is begging to see some consistent work - he seems to thrive on more shots. So let the US get their arsenal out - it'll be a good warm-up for him for the real games.

 

[txpd]

Glazachev could not crack the team ... i'm not sure he could help ...

and Ovechkin, Semin, Pestunov, Krikunov, Shkotov, Malkin etc. should be enough to score more than 3 goals against Austria ...

Is Semin getting much ice time? From what little I have read Semin has 1g and 1a in 3 games playing from the 4th line. Why is he on the 4th line???

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I bet the guys had trouble getting up for this one... But it's good to see that they got 50 shots on net - believe me if that were the Ukranian goalies, they'd get their 10 goals. The Austrian netminder is obviously pretty decent.

Anyway - it's good that we're playing a strong team in the final round-robin game - it is not sudden-death and at the same time it's finally a real test to see whether the Russian team is about to wake up anytime soon.

It's obviously not due to a lack of talent, but more due to a lack of attitude of some sort - perhaps in this case just a lack of jump and interest due to weak opposition.

I predict a solid performance from Russia on Wednesday against the US, but whether or not that will result in a win will depend on whether United States can handle the crunch of the clutch. After all, you can beat 'em Austrians 25-0 if you can, but if you can't win 'em close ones, you're not worth a penny in tourneys like this.

Plus, I bet Barulin is begging to see some consistent work - he seems to thrive on more shots. So let the US get their arsenal out - it'll be a good warm-up for him for the real games.

Again, great points. I don't think the U.S. will have any problems getting up for their match against Russia, after all, the U.S. has many of the same players on this year's team that was thumped, what 6-1, by the Russians last year. It should be a fun game to watch. This game, more than any other I think will prove the U.S.'s mettle. It will be interesting to see how Montoya plays against a "real" opponent.

 

[Slick Nick]

Can somebody who has seen a few russian games tell me how Denis Grot, and Ilya Krikunov are playing? I saw that Grot is first line D, and Krikunov is 2nd line LW, is this true?

Ishmatov changed his lines after the game VS Sweden. He placed Semin with Anshakov and Malkin on the second line, while Kirkunov was shifted to the third line with Kozhevnikov and Kazionov.

Khudyakov was in the net for Russia.

As for Austria, Lange started the game but was replace by Starkbaum after the first period. The Austrian coach said he wanted Lange to be confident and ready for the game against sweeds.

 

[Epsilon]

Malkin really seems to be performing well in this tournament. Once it's over I bet he will have solidified his #2 ranking in the draft.

 

[Winston Wolf]

Ich glaube das wahre Team werden wir gegen die Usa sehen ....gut oder schlecht !

Schlecht! Amerika ist viel besser! Das Spiel ist schon aus!

 

[Fan.At]

As for Austria, Lange started the game but was replace by Starkbaum after the first period. The Austrian coach said he wanted Lange to be confident and ready for the game against sweeds.

The official iihf website says, that Lange was replaced by Innerwinkler. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyways, I'm happy with this effort. This is a decent result for Austria and confidence will sure go up after this game.

 

[Slick Nick]

The official iihf website says, that Lange was replaced by Innerwinkler. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyways, I'm happy with this effort. This is a decent result for Austria and confidence will sure go up after this game.

My bad, Innerwinkler replaced Lange.

 

[SIBIR]

Is Semin getting much ice time? From what little I have read Semin has 1g and 1a in 3 games playing from the 4th line. Why is he on the 4th line???

Semin had the most shots on the net (8 ... Anshakov also).
I'm sure he gets enough ice time. To play on the fourth line in a russian team, does not always mean 'no ice time' ...

 

[Simagin]

Schlecht! Amerika ist viel besser! Das Spiel ist schon aus!

da kennt jemand wohl einen guten Translator

 

[CSKA]

da kennt jemand wohl einen guten Translator

 

[Dr_Chimera*]

One question - if anyone knows... It does not matter technically if the US loses tomorrow - is that right?
Even if the US loses, they still have a shot at the bye with the win against Russia on Wednesday, as far as I understand, eh? I hope I am interpreting this correctly. I am assuming that the tie-break is by virtue of head-to-head matchups.

 

[Epsilon]

One question - if anyone knows... It does not matter technically if the US loses tomorrow - is that right?
Even if the US loses, they still have a shot at the bye with the win against Russia on Wednesday, as far as I understand, eh? I hope I am interpreting this correctly. I am assuming that the tie-break is by virtue of head-to-head matchups.

I think that's correct as long as it's not a 3-way tie where each team has lost to one and beaten another, as would be the case if the Czech Republic beats Canada and Finland wins their last game.

 

[I_r_1337]

A Russian hockey team is different...they roll the lines from 1-4. Everyone gets equal ice time it's just a matter of him playing with others who arn't on his skill level. However he's managing to get points playing with lesser talents so I imagine if there is a shakeup(which i think will happen soon due to Russia not scoring like they predicted) he will be promoted. The coach is crazy but he isn't stupid. Semin would be racking up a lot more points if paired with other star players.

 

[Dr_Chimera*]

Semin got promoted to the second line in this game (source: RussianProspects.com).