DURHAM, UK – The 2012 World Championship’s Division 1 Group A was hosted in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana at the newly built Stozice Arena on the outskirts of the city. At the start of the tournament most fans considered Austria to be favourites for the tournament. The Austrians were able to include NHL forward Michael Grabner on their roster alongside many other quality players such as Thomas Raffl and Johannes Reichel. However with strong sides such as Slovenia, Ukraine and Hungary in the division as well as the improving Great Britain and the relatively unknown roster from Japan it was extremely hard to predict just how the week long tournament would transpire.
The first game of the pool saw Hungary take on Japan. The Japanese matched the Hungarians for large segments of the game however the Asian side looked a little short of fire power and Hungary were able to take all 3 points on offer with a 5-1 victory. Austria were next up against Ukraine, Austria raced into a comfortable 5-1 lead however Ukraine showed some impressive guile to fight back into the game and get within a goal (5-4) of the Austrians by the end of the contest. Host nation Slovenia faced Great Britain as the tournament was officially opened on the evening of the first day of action. Slovenia were able to take the three points on offer thanks to a 3-2 scoreline despite an encouraging showing from Britain.
On the 2nd day of the tournament Hungary, Slovenia and Austria all picked up their 2nd victories in the pool to leave GB, Ukraine and Japan pointless after the opening two rounds of fixtures. The opening game on the 3rd day of action was a crucial game for the sides at the foot of the table as GB took on Ukraine. GB looked to be on course for a win in regulation when they held a 3-1 lead however Tony Hand’s side eventually had to settle for an overtime success after Ukraine battled back to level the game up at 3-3 with 60 minutes on the clock.
Stozice Arena
The 2nd game of the day saw Austria take on Japan many observers thought that this fixture could be the most one sided game of the week however Japan shocked the hockey world to claim a 4-3 overtime win over the highly rated Austrians to collect their first points of the tournament. Austria’s surprise loss meant that the winner of the night game between Slovenia and Hungary a few hours later would go top of the pool. Slovenia brushed aside a surprisingly lack lustre Hungary (4-1) which saw the host nation go two points clear at the top of the division.
Table after 3 games
Slovenia 9 points
Austria 7 points
Hungary 6 points
Japan 2 points
GB 2 points
Ukraine 1 points
Few fans would have expected Slovenia to top the standings at this stage of proceedings, however the host nation have been extremely solid in defence conceding only 5 goals in the opening three games of the tournament which has meant that they have been able to secure victories even when they haven’t been at their best offensively. At the foot of the table GB, Japan and the Ukraine are all fighting it out to remain in this division next year.
GB took on Japan in the lunchtime game on the 4th day of the tournament in what was a crucial game to both nations given their position in the standings. Japan cleared buoyed by their success against Austria raced into an early lead. Britain could not get their offensive game going at all which resulted in a rather comfortable victory for the Asian side by five goals to nil. Austria and Slovenia both picked up wins later in the day which confirmed that both sides would be promoted out of Division 1 at the end of the tournament.
After a gruelling schedule of four games in a five day period all teams got a well deserved rest day before the final games of the tournament took place. Ukraine took on Japan in the first game on the last day of action knowing they needed at least two points from the contest to give themselves a chance of avoiding relegation. The Ukrainians were overjoyed to take a penalty shots victory which meant that they would keep their place in the division if GB failed to pick up a point against Hungary.
After such a disappointing showing by Britain against Japan many observers felt a Hungary victory was the most likely outcome of the GB/Hungary clash. However GB looked a totally different side in their last game of the tournament as Robert Dowd inspired his side to a superb 5-4 victory which condemned Ukraine to the relegation (meaning that the former Soviet state had dropped two divisions in the last three years).
The final game of the tournament saw the two already promoted sides Austria and Slovenia battle it out for the Gold medal. Slovenia were able to pick up yet another narrow victory (3-2) in what was a highly charged atmosphere to claim the Gold medal in front of their own fans as the week long tournament came to its conclusion.
Final Standings
Slovenia 15 points
Austria 10 points
Hungary 6 points
Japan 6 points
GB 5 points
Ukraine 3 points
Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.