Back in the spotlight
With just a few days remaining until the very best young hockey players in the world clash in Buffalo, the second tier tournaments of the World Junior Championships have already been played. Divisions 1A and 1B (played in France and Slovenia, respectively) finished up their tournament games a couple of days ago and for those of you who are curious, here is what went down:
DIVISION 1 A
You may remember we previously wrote about this tournament before it started, where we singled out two prospects – Alexandre Texier of France and Leon Gawanke of Germany – who had the potential to be standouts for their respective nations. Ultimately, both individuals ended up having successful tournaments but fell short of leading their teams to the promised land. Gawanke finished with five points (2+3) in 5 games while Texier contributed four points (0+4) in the same amount of games. In the end, the winner of the tournament – and in turn recipient of a spot in the top division next season – ended up being somewhat of a surprise. An underdog even, some might say. Carried by sparkling performances from each member of their top line – Artur Gatiyatov, Nikita Nazarenko and Adil Beketayev – combined with a terrific tournament from top defender Valeri Orekhov, Kazakhstan ended up conquering first place. At the other end of the spectrum, Hungary was demoted to Division 1 B after collecting just one point in the standings through five games.
Germany (ten points) and Latvia (twelve points) both came close to catching Kazakhstan but the Kazakhs’ 13 points were enough to snag a promotion. However, Kazakhstan certainly proved their mettle by defeating both of their toughest opponents during the course of the tournament.
The promotion to the top division was the Kazakhs’ first in ten years.
Final Standings, Division 1 A
Kazakhstan, 13p – Promoted
Latvia, 12p
Germany, 10p
France, 6p
Austria, 3p
Hungary, 1p – Relegated
Top scorer(s)
Artur Gatiyatov & Valeri Orekhov, Kazakhstan – 7 points
Top goalie
Gustavs Grigals, Latvia – 96.00%, 0.99 GAA, 2 SO
DIVISION 1 B
1 B turned out to be just as even of an affair as 1 A with the top three teams – Norway, Poland and host nation Slovenia – separated by just three points. For a long time it looked like tournament standout Alan Łyszczarczyk would be able to lead Poland to promotion, but in the final game of the tournament Norway defeated Poland by a 3-2 score in the shootout – securing their spot in Division 1 A for next season. Finishing at the bottom of 1 B was Lithuania who will have to spend next tournament in a lower division.
Final Standings, Division 1 B
Norway, 13p – Promoted
Poland, 12p
Slovenia, 10p
Ukraine, 6p
Italy, 2p
Lithuania, 2p – Relegated
Top scorer
Alan Łyszczarczyk, Poland – 15 points (8+7)
Top goalie
Laurynas Lubys, Lithuania – 95.29%, 1.29 GAA, 0 SO