#55/ 2013 IIHF WJC Blog
Biscuits and Breezers
Quarterfinals Recap
Welcome back to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Yes, we have finally reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championships! I am very excited to see who will win the medals and who will claim the gold. I think that Sweden or the USA will claim the gold because both teams are very strong coming out of the regular schedule games. Some players to look at as these finals progress are Sebastian Collberg, Niklas Lundstrom, John Gibson, Jacob Trouba, Emil Molin, Victor Rask, Viktor Arvidsson, John Gaudreau, J.T. Miller, and Seth Jones. I am really excited to watch the medal round games just for the fact the recent game scores have been so high and there have been quite a number of shut outs. The stress level has sky rocketed for not only the players but also the fans. A lot of countries have been sent to the relegation rounds and hockey super stars aren't going for gold like Canada, Russia, and Finland! This was quite a shocker to everyone I think. There were two games today. One was a very important game for the USA against the Czech Republic and the other was Russia against Team Switzerland. Let's get onto those reviews now shall we?
Game 1 - USA vs. Czech Republic
Team USA blew the Czech Republic out of the water to gain a 7-0 win and a much deserved semifinal spot against Team Canada. The Americans are slowly gaining momentum and using it very smartly. They are coming from the brink of death and fighting once more. The team this year is very strong and will do anything to win the gold. The Czech Republic is also very good, but unfortunately I feel that they are losing their momentum as we continue on in this tournament. They were very strong in the beginning and they seem to have puttered out of steam. I don't know if it was the stress or the anxiety but they really slipped away. They had a really good chance of medaling. The first goal of the game was scored midway through the first period when John Gaudreau lit the lamp. After completely dominating the first period, John Gaudreau scored just 28 seconds in to the second and Ryan Hartman scored 40 seconds later to make it 3-0 for the Americans. Deciding three goals was too much the Czechs replaced goaltender Patrik Bartosak with Matej Machovsky. But he let 4 goals go also. University of Miami freshman Riely Barber beat Matej twice before John Gaudreau scored his very own hat trick of the game. With the five goals in the last two game, John is now tied with Finland's Markus Granlund with most goals scored in the games. J.T. Miller scored the last goal for the USA early in the third with assists from star players Jacob Trouba and Seth Jones. Jones and Trouba tallied four assists each during this game. John Gibson was impeccable in the net gaining his second shut out of the tournament. The Americans will play Team Canada and see if they can give Canada their first loss of the tournament.
Game 2 - Russia vs. Switzerland
Russia played Switzerland in a very important game today that decided whether this hard working team would move onto the medal rounds. Guess what? They won 4-3 in another shoot out. Honestly, I think that they have had the most shoot out wins so far in this competition. It's crazy really! I mean how many more shoot outs are we going to have? I would like to see a shut out instead of a shoot out. Switzerland is playing very well though for having a past like they have. I am very impressed how they have stepped up their games and really met their opponents face to face. Alexander Khokhlachev scored first for his mother country of Russia on a power play 6 minutes into the first period. Perhaps one of the strongest players for the Swiss, Christoph Bertschy scored to even things up shorthanded 4 minutes later. This is his third goal of the tournament. Mikhail Grigorenko scored for Russia in the start of the second. But, the Swiss fired back as Martin Ness of Switzerland scored 3 minutes later. He had assists from Samuel Guerra and Dario Simion. Midway through the third, Sven Andrighetto gave the Swiss the first lead of the game beating Vasilevskiy at point-blank range. Just as Russia was going to tie the game, the net came loose before Grigorenko would score his second goal of the game. But once it was fixed, only moments passed befored Nikita Kucherov saved the Russians from sure elimination. Andrey Vasilevskiy and Melvin Nyffeler denied all three rounds of shooters. Mikhail Grigorenko and Alessio Bertaggia both scored in the shoot out to make it go into round number 5. In round number 5 though, Nikita Kucherov gained stardom as he scored the winning goal. Vasilevkiy also saved Bertaggia's goal to seal the victory for Russia. Russia will go against rivals Sweden in the semifinals. Russia is clearly on paper favorite because of Sweden's three missing and injured players but, Russia will have to step up their game to the very top if they want to beat Team Sweden at all.
3 Stars of the Game
1. Nikita Kuherov Russia
Nikita scored twice in the game versus the Swiss and won the shoot out with his goal. He scored the game tying goal with just 1:39 left to go. He kept Russia alive just long enough to lead them to the semifinals against Sweden.
2. John Gaudreau USA
John scored his hat trick against the Czech Republic that helped the Americans move onto the semifinals. He is now tied with Team Finland's Markus Granlund with most goal scored so far in the tournament.
3. Mikhail Grigorenko Russia
Mikhail was definitely a huge threat against Switzerland in the right time that he needed to stand up and take charge. He scored the goal that gave Team Russia the lead in the second period and he could have tied the game if the net hadn't been knocked loose by a team mate. But he did set Kucherov up to score the equalizer with his goal in the shootout.
Thanks for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Every blog will be filled with updated hockey news, player reviews, and much more! Until next time remember, don't get your breezers in a bunch because hockey is always around the corner. Remember, it's always a great day for hockey and it's a lifetsyle not just a sport!
Game 1 - USA vs. Czech Republic
Team USA blew the Czech Republic out of the water to gain a 7-0 win and a much deserved semifinal spot against Team Canada. The Americans are slowly gaining momentum and using it very smartly. They are coming from the brink of death and fighting once more. The team this year is very strong and will do anything to win the gold. The Czech Republic is also very good, but unfortunately I feel that they are losing their momentum as we continue on in this tournament. They were very strong in the beginning and they seem to have puttered out of steam. I don't know if it was the stress or the anxiety but they really slipped away. They had a really good chance of medaling. The first goal of the game was scored midway through the first period when John Gaudreau lit the lamp. After completely dominating the first period, John Gaudreau scored just 28 seconds in to the second and Ryan Hartman scored 40 seconds later to make it 3-0 for the Americans. Deciding three goals was too much the Czechs replaced goaltender Patrik Bartosak with Matej Machovsky. But he let 4 goals go also. University of Miami freshman Riely Barber beat Matej twice before John Gaudreau scored his very own hat trick of the game. With the five goals in the last two game, John is now tied with Finland's Markus Granlund with most goals scored in the games. J.T. Miller scored the last goal for the USA early in the third with assists from star players Jacob Trouba and Seth Jones. Jones and Trouba tallied four assists each during this game. John Gibson was impeccable in the net gaining his second shut out of the tournament. The Americans will play Team Canada and see if they can give Canada their first loss of the tournament.
Game 2 - Russia vs. Switzerland
Russia played Switzerland in a very important game today that decided whether this hard working team would move onto the medal rounds. Guess what? They won 4-3 in another shoot out. Honestly, I think that they have had the most shoot out wins so far in this competition. It's crazy really! I mean how many more shoot outs are we going to have? I would like to see a shut out instead of a shoot out. Switzerland is playing very well though for having a past like they have. I am very impressed how they have stepped up their games and really met their opponents face to face. Alexander Khokhlachev scored first for his mother country of Russia on a power play 6 minutes into the first period. Perhaps one of the strongest players for the Swiss, Christoph Bertschy scored to even things up shorthanded 4 minutes later. This is his third goal of the tournament. Mikhail Grigorenko scored for Russia in the start of the second. But, the Swiss fired back as Martin Ness of Switzerland scored 3 minutes later. He had assists from Samuel Guerra and Dario Simion. Midway through the third, Sven Andrighetto gave the Swiss the first lead of the game beating Vasilevskiy at point-blank range. Just as Russia was going to tie the game, the net came loose before Grigorenko would score his second goal of the game. But once it was fixed, only moments passed befored Nikita Kucherov saved the Russians from sure elimination. Andrey Vasilevskiy and Melvin Nyffeler denied all three rounds of shooters. Mikhail Grigorenko and Alessio Bertaggia both scored in the shoot out to make it go into round number 5. In round number 5 though, Nikita Kucherov gained stardom as he scored the winning goal. Vasilevkiy also saved Bertaggia's goal to seal the victory for Russia. Russia will go against rivals Sweden in the semifinals. Russia is clearly on paper favorite because of Sweden's three missing and injured players but, Russia will have to step up their game to the very top if they want to beat Team Sweden at all.
3 Stars of the Game
1. Nikita Kuherov Russia
Nikita scored twice in the game versus the Swiss and won the shoot out with his goal. He scored the game tying goal with just 1:39 left to go. He kept Russia alive just long enough to lead them to the semifinals against Sweden.
2. John Gaudreau USA
John scored his hat trick against the Czech Republic that helped the Americans move onto the semifinals. He is now tied with Team Finland's Markus Granlund with most goal scored so far in the tournament.
3. Mikhail Grigorenko Russia
Mikhail was definitely a huge threat against Switzerland in the right time that he needed to stand up and take charge. He scored the goal that gave Team Russia the lead in the second period and he could have tied the game if the net hadn't been knocked loose by a team mate. But he did set Kucherov up to score the equalizer with his goal in the shootout.
Thanks for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Every blog will be filled with updated hockey news, player reviews, and much more! Until next time remember, don't get your breezers in a bunch because hockey is always around the corner. Remember, it's always a great day for hockey and it's a lifetsyle not just a sport!
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