IIHF World Championship roundup: Danes sneak past Great Britain, Germany hammer Kazakhstan
The defending silver medallists built a decisive lead in the second period, scoring three times as John Peterka contributed with a goal and three assists, while Wojciech Stachowiak collected four assists. In Group A in Prague, Denmark defeated Great Britain 4-3, who are still waiting for their first point at the championship.
Germany 8 Kazakhstan 2
Germany had a perfect start to the game and took the lead after just 62 seconds. Goaltender Andrej Shutov managed to stop the first two shots, but the puck bounced off the skate of teammate Leonid Metalnikov behind his back. Just more than a minnute later, Parker Tuomie added a second goal, hitting the bar before the puck found the net.
Goaltender Philipp Grubauer made his first save in the seventh minute, but Kazakhstan reduced the deficit shortly after. In the first powerplay, captain Roman Starchenko took advantage of a surprise backpass from Yevgeni Rymarev to reduce the arrears. The Kazakhs subsequently matched their opponent's pace, but failed to equalise.
At the end of the first period, Dominik Kahun had a great opportunity after a quick counterattack, but Shutov knocked his shot away. After 71 seconds of the second period, the Germans added a third goal when JJ Peterka scored. Kirill Savitsky came close to reducing the deficit, but hit the bar. Grubauer then saved Kirill Panyukov's shot in the ensuing powerplay. The Kazakhs' successful passage of play ended with another stick shot by Maxim Mukhametov.
Instead of the game getting closer, the German goals came. In the 29th minute, Lukas Reichel punished the opponent's mistake in the midfield by beating Nikita Boyarkin, who replaced Shutov after the third goal. Although the referees called off Kai Wissmann's next goal after a video review, citing an offside that preceded the strike, Lukas Kaelble scored in the 36th minute within the rules.
Kahun could have increased the German lead in the 49th minute, but the Czech native could not find a way past the second Kazakh goalkeeper. Shortly afterwards, Bojarkin was beaten by Reichel after good interplay and scored his second goal of the game. Korolyov reduced the deficit, but the German shooters had the last word. Frederik Tiffels scored shorthanded and Kastner to finish the game with the score of 8-2.
Great Britain 3 Denmark 4
Great Britain, who returned to the elite after a year's break, started better in their fourth game of the tournament as they looked for their firsrt points of the competition. In the sixth minute, Liam Kirk surprised goalkeeper Frederik Dichow with a goal. After 61 seconds, the reply came when Mikkel Aagaard easily scored from the rebound for the first time today. When Phillip Bruggisser scored on a powerplay in the ninth minute, the Danes celebrated the lead, only to have Cade Neilson level the score midway through the 11th minute.
But 102 seconds into the second period, the Danes were back in front. Oscar Fisker Molgaard got the puck in the offensive zone, and Olesen and Aagaard then toyed with defending opponents, including goalie Jackson Whistle, and took care of the rest. But in the 39th minute, Nathanael Halbert' s precise shot made it 3-3.
The Brits defended first in the third period on a Robert Dowd penalty and it was Evan Mosey's exclusion that proved fatal, with Weise directing the puck past Whistle at closr range in the 52nd minute after a pass from Joachim Blichfeld. The Brits failed to equalize on an Alexander True penalty, when the powerplay was cut short by six seconds by a penalty for too many players on the ice, or on a final powerplay compounded by a 34-second powerplay after a foul by Nicholas B. Jensen.