Hello everyone! I'm Val Pix, coming to you from just outside of Lanxess Arena in Cologne for the daily IIHF recap for the second day of round robin action. Plenty of hockey to talk about, so let's not waste time!

Day 1 - October 9

 Latvia 2-3 France  

After a 3-0 start, Latvia had to feel good after going up 1-0 in this one courtesy of Zebulon Leavitt. But Les Bleus peppered Toms Zīle with 44 shots, and Duncan Mackenzie scored twice for the comeback win. Connor O'Byrne added two assists for the French.

 USA 2-5 Canada  

In the battle of North American rivals, red and white had the US feeling blue. Canada scored twice in the first and never looked back. Justin Time did his best to keep the Stars and Stripes in the game with 45 saves, but it wasn't enough to ward off Canada's attack led by Sarah Burke (2 goals) and Axel Kirby (3 assists).

 Great Britain 2-1 Czechia  

Great Britain did what Great Britain does: keep shots low and goals near zero. Jeff Newman stopped 22 of 23, and the offense did juuuust enough to squeak the three points. Makrus "The Tater" Jager scored the winner to go with his assist on Conner Snooks's opener; Lev Lebedev added two assists for GB.

 Germany 3-2 (SO) Finland  

A rematch of a matchup we saw on Day 1 saw essentially the same result. Germany scored a third period equalizer from Red Kirkby, and Evan Winter scored the lone goal in the shootout to secure the second point for the tournament hosts.

 Sweden 4-1 Switzerland  

A game that was close in pretty much everything except the final score (though that's partially inflated by an empty netter), the Swedes took the lead late in the second, then scored twice in the third for padding. Willie Miller stopped 26 of 27, with his lone blemish coming from Sebastien Regazzoni.

Day 2 - October 10

 Great Britain 4-1 Ireland  

Only the one game today, and while it may be a British Isles derby, it was pretty anticlimactic. Team GB scored first and put it into cruise control; Viktor Hargreeves's third period goal to break Alexis Texas's shutout bid was mere consolation. Four Brits put up two-point games.

Day 3 - October 11

IRHF 2-3 Germany  

Old man still got it. Already having assisted on Rikkert Biemans's first period goal, Burlok Sulfurgold broke the tie in the third period and netted Germany a critical 3 points. Olof Korsikko was spectacular, stopping 36 of 38 from Sbornaya. 

 France 3-6 Canada  

Two words: Max. Manning. Manning put Canada on his back, scoring five of the Canucks' six goals...and the one he didn't score, he had the primary assist. Paul Koivu added the other goal plus three assists as France was unable to cope with Canada's deadly top unit.

 Czechia 5-1 Switzerland  

The Swiss opened the scoring less than a minute in, but from then on the Czechs grabbed the game by the throat. Shorthanded goals just 16 seconds apart by Jayson Aittokallio (his second goal of the game) and Filip Zadina served as a debilitating blow to Switzerland as the Czechs cruised. 

 Finland 5-2 USA  

Three points each from Shōyō Hinata and Yannick Svoboda led the way for Finland, who never trailed in this one. 

 Ireland 0-4 Japan  

BASE PACK's 19 saves and three points each from Evil AllBran and Ryuuji Kawashima back the Japanese, as they cruise to victory over the Irish.

Day 4 - October 12

 Norway 6-1 Czechia  

Norway's torrid offensive start to this tournament continues, thanks to a four-goal third period. Salzburger Lillehammerson potted twice and added and assist, while Tom Pedersen, Aksel Fiske, and Pawter Meowski chipped in with two points each.

 Latvia 0-3 Finland  

Rhett Carpet's Leijonat debut was a successful one, as he pitched a 23 save shutout. Walton Stromberg and Sconnie McHits each posted a goal and an assist for the Finns.

 Germany 5-1 IRHF

An early first period power play goal by Evan Winter gave the hosts the start they needed; while Viktor Krunk equalized about ninety seconds later, the Germans poured on four unanswered after, paced by 3 points each from Burlok Sulfurgold and Chris McZehrl Jr.

 Great Britain 3-0 Switzerland  

Another game, another British defensive masterclass. Jeff Newman stopped all 24 shots he saw, and Lev Lebedev anchored the offense with a goal and two assists.

Day 5 - October 13

 Sweden 4-2 Japan  

The lone game of the day saw Japan take a 2-0 first period lead. However, the Swedes roared back with four unanswered goals, led by two points each from Lias Ekholm-Gunnarsson and Melvin Majestik-Moose.

Day 6 - October 14

 Sweden 1-5 Ireland  

For the second day in a row, Sweden fell behind on two first period goals, both by Viktor Hargreeves. This time, though, they could not come back. Mads McBride scored an insurance marker to up it to 3-0, and added assists on a pair of third period goals as Ireland cruised.

 Finland 2-3 IRHF

A two goal first period lead for Sbornaya was slowly eaten away at, and Eero Makela tied the game early in the third. Viktor Krunk's power play goal with 92 seconds on the clock preserved the 3 points for IRHF.

 France 1-2 USA  

Goalies were the story of this one. Enes Gündoğan stopped 41 for France and Justin Time 39 for the US. A pair of power play goals nudged the States to the victory.

 Czechia 3-4 Norway  

Not much is stopping the Norwegian offense right now. The Czech offense was able to hang with them, and even led 2-0 for a while, but four straight Norwegian goals, including three in the third, were just too much. e e's late goal was mere consolation.

Current Standings:




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