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***Valpix*** · 12-05-2023, 04:12 AM

Hey everyone! It's your friendly neighborhood IIHF gal Val Pix here, coming to you from the aftermath of the recent tournament in Osaka. The medals have been given out, the confetti has been cleaned up, and with the SHL season underway, it's time to take a look back at the tournament that was. The quarterfinals were ultra competitive, and we ended up with a Nordic sweep on the podium for the first time since Season 35!

Quarterfinals

Norway

Norway 2-1 (2OT) Germany Germany

The reigning champs put up all the fight they could. But in the end, this epic goalie duel for the ages went the Norwegians' way.

Norway went up early in the first through Grogu Mandosson. Try as they might, however, they could not extend the lead. Olof Karsikko kept Die Mannschaft in the game for as long as he could. Eventually, he got his goal support, as Konstantin Selich set up Evan Winter for the game-tying goal in the third.

Overtime was a slugfest, and we ended up needing a second. Five minutes into that fifth period, it was Gnabe Dabson converting to dethrone the champs and send Norway into the semifinals.

Enough praise can not be bestowed upon Ally Mathieson and Karsikko for the way they played. Karsikko stopped 62 of 64 for a .970 SV%; Mathieson turned aside 55 of 56 in the winning effort. Just an absolute class performance from the two goalkeepers. It's just a shame only one could get through.

Great Britain 5-4 (OT) Ireland Ireland

The British Isles Derby brought us another OT game. This one not quite as long, and not as goalie-dominant.

Ireland came out of the gates flying with a 15-3 shot edge in the first. A Kyle Murray buzzer beater in the first to put the Irish up 2-0 could've easily deflated their British foes. But, credit to them, they bounced back in a big way in period two, with Makrus "The Tater" Jager scoring twice to restore parity headed to the third. The two sides combined for three goals in a 38 second span early in the third which gave GB a 4-3 lead. Derek Martin tied the game with just under six minutes to play, and to OT we went once more.

This one didn't last 25 minutes, it only lasted a hair under seven. The hero for the British side was Sven Svechnikov, knocking home a feed from James Ward-Prowse to send GB through.

Canada

Canada 1-2 Finland Finland

It feels like matchups between these two are always pretty dang competitive. For Finland, it was a tale of old and new getting the job done.

EGGWARD ELRIC opened the scoring for Canada just over three minutes into the game, but that'd be all the Canucks could muster. Four minutes later, William Tree, in his second IIHF tournament, tied the game up.

From there on out, Finland's veteran goalie Mat Smith went toe-to-toe with Anthony Dionne until someone found a breakthrough. Someone that, like Smith, is a grizzled vet for this Leijonat squad.

Playing in his last IIHF tournament, Lemo Pihl broke the deadlock midway through the third on a feed from KEKW Kekkonen, playing in his second-last. The Finnish vets still had some zip in 'em, and they got the job done.

France

France 2-5 Sweden Sweden

For the second year in a row, the French advanced to the knockouts, a good sign of progress from a young fed. Unfortunately for them, a return trip to the semis was not on the cards because they ran into an absolute buzzsaw.

After a first period where the two teams traded goals, Sweden poured on three goals in the second, via Tony Soprano, Willow Söderberg-Snooks, and Lias Ekholm-Gunnarsson. A Ray Alexander goal right away to start the third cut the lead to 4-2, but the French were never able to get it closer than that. Borje Samuelsson restored the three-goal lead, and that was that.

Dominant win by the team that would dominate these rounds.

Semifinals

Finland

Finland 3-6 Sweden Sweden

This game was pretty close until it wasn't.

Dogwood Maple put Tre Kronor in front just under three minutes in; Mikko Rashford responded three minutes later on the power play. In the second, Lord Farquaads restored the Swedish lead through the player advantage, but the Finns would respond with a second of their own through Yannick Svoboda. Adelie de Pengu added Sweden's second power play goal of the game three minutes later.

Most of the third was fairly quiet with the Swedes holding the lead. With 90 seconds to go, a critical insurance goal came via Jølngüštrâädüvich DuBølk, and Graj Virrok added an empty netter a half minute later.

Finland didn't go quietly though. Bnana NWaffles pulled that ENG back just 14 seconds later to cut it to 5-3, but Jimmy Wagner cancelled it out with a goal of his own 27 seconds later. For those keeping track at home, that's four goals in 79 seconds. Chaotic ending.

Great Britain 1-4 Norway Norway

This one was....a bit less chaotic. Vladimir Petrov and Iliket Urtles put Norway up 2-0 in the first, and Aksel Fiske added a third early in the second. Perhaps both teams were kinda gassed after their OT quarterfinals, but Norway put it in cruise from there. A Jaxson Reaper power play goal spoiled Mathieson's shutout bid, and Salzburger Lillehammerson added an empty netter.

After 55 saves in the quarters, Mathieson continued her fine form with a 32 save effort here.

Bronze Medal Game

Great Britain 1-9 Finland Finland

That....that is the rage after losing a rivalry game in the semifinals. Good grief.

The Brits actually led this game for a bit as Tiberius Kane scored just under five minutes in. From there...oh boy was it all Finland.

Nine unanswered goals. Tree, Truck, NWaffles, Hinata, Rashford, Pihl, Svoboda, Donskoi, and Tree again. British starter Jeff Newman was chased after the seventh goal, and while Bernard Lodge did slow down the barrage of goals, it was too late.

Shōyō Hinata and Mikko Rashford posted three points each to lead the way for Leijonat.

Gold Medal Game

Norway

Norway 3-8 Sweden Sweden

Close...until it wasn't.

For the first 48 minutes, every goal had a response. Tom Pedersen's opener was met with M'Baku Olubori's shorthanded equalizer. Aksel Fiske cancelled out Melvin Majestik-Moose's early go-ahead goal in the third; Söderberg-Snooks's go-ahead goal was instantly pulled back by Dabson.

And then the dam broke.

Call it an onslaught from a team that could get hot and score in bunches. Call it fatigue from Mathieson, who was excellent all tournament. Whatever it was, Sweden poured on five unanswered goals. Virrok, de Pengu, Virrok again (chasing Mathieson in the process), Laraque, Maple. Sweden left absolutely no doubt that this was their gold medal to win and by god would they win it. 19 goals in 3 knockout games. They say that defense wins championships; Sweden said "the best defense is a good offense." That shouldn't take away from what was a competitive effort from Norway for 48 minutes.

And now, we pivot to the Directorate Awards. Let's start at the back.

Best Goaltender

Finalists:

Jeff Newman (4-4-1, 2.17 GAA, .939 SV%, 10.97 GSAA)
Ireland

Beau Kavanagh (8-3-1, 3.02 GAA, .921 SV%, 8.94 GSAA)
Germany

Olof Karsikko (8-3-1, 2.31 GAA, .929 SV%, 11.02 GSAA)

Your winner, with 17 vote points and five of six first place votes is....

Germany

Olof Karsikko @Accka!!

And to think that stat line doesn't include Karsikko's heroic performance in the quarters! It's the second time Karsikko has won this award in his career, becoming the (if my count is right) 12th multiple-time winner. Congrats to Karsikko!

To the blueline, then:

Best Defender

Finalists:

Canada

Ben Jammin (3-9-12, +3, 4 PIM, 22:56 TOI, 50.8 CF%)
Norway

Gonzo Gobbledygook (4-8-12, +5, 8 PIM, 21:30 TOI, 55.8 CF%)
Japan

Wide Peepo Happy 3 Koivu (5-8-13, -2, 2 PIM, 25:29 TOI, 57.6 CF%)

We actually had a tie here! Both Koivu and Gobbledygook ended up with 12 vote points. So the tiebreak was via first place votes, and coming out with 3 votes to 2 is...

Norway

Gonzo Gobbledygook @tweedledunn!!

Gonzo finished second in the tournament in goals, assists, and points, while also dishing out the most hits. He brought a physical edge and point production to the side, and becomes the first Norwegian defender to win this award since Isak Ødegård in S43! Congrats to Gonzo!

And now to the forward lines....

Best Forward

Finalists:

Finland

Shōyō Hinata (11-11-22, +1, 6 PIM)
Latvia

Benjamin Surkhi-Ze'ev (8-10-18, -2, 4 PIM)
Sweden

Lord Farquaads (7-16-23, +7, 4 PIM)

The winner, with 15 vote points and 3 FPVs, is....

Finland

Shōyō Hinata @Gordon Bombay!!

Finland had the best offense of the group stage, and Hinata was their engine, leading the team in scoring. Despite this fed's history of success, this is the first time a Finn has won this award since Noro Wozy way back in S40! Congrats to Hinata!

That's all from Osaka! Thank you for another great IIHF tournament and we will see you next season in Latvia!

[1662 words, ready for grading]