TORUN - Tomorrow, Italy and Ukraine will decide which grabs the gold and gets a ticket to the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany. Italy came from behind to beat Poland, 4-2. Ukraine blanked Romania, 7-0 while Great Britain defeated the Netherlands, 3-2.
Poland - Italy 2-4 (1-0, 0-2, 1-2) Game sheet Photos
Italy put itself in pole position for an immediate return to the top division after beating host Poland, 4-2. The Azzurri can order their tickets for Germany 2010 if they win tomorrow afternoon's encounter with second-place Ukraine.
Ronald Ramoser scored twice for Italy, which successfully tackled a tricky game against Poland coming back from a 1-0 deficit after 20 minutes.
Things didn’t start well for the top team. Poland got the crowd in the sold-out Arena Toruna on its feet when Mikolaj Lopuski scored the opening goal for the host. With Luca Ansoldi serving a slashing penalty, Lopuski slalomed through the Italian defense and backhanded a shot home over the shoulder of Thomas Tragust.
But Italy bounced back in the second period, taking control from the first face-off. Christian Borgatello equalized on a text book play. At 23:04 Luca Ansoldi won a face off in the offensive zone. Michele Strazzabosco picked up the puck and played it wide to Borgatello who rocketed it behind Rafal Radziszewski.
Two and a half minute before the end of the period Italy took the lead. Roland Ramoser released a slapshot from the top of the right face-off circle that was misjudged by Radziszewski who saw the puck fly into the net underneath his glove. It was one of his first mistakes, but an expensive one, after a solid performance so far in the championship.
"I don't know where it exactly went in but I hit it pretty good,," Ramoser explained. " I don't think the goalie saw it coming."
Ramoser again silenced the crowd when he scored his second late in the final period. Poland was a man down for five minutes after Adam Borzecki was given a match penalty for a check-to-the-head on Patrick Iannone.
Nicola Fontantive made it 4-1 scoring on an empty net as Poland coach Peter Ekroth pulled his goalie. With no options left, Radziszewki was pulled again. With the extra attacker Poland cut the deficit to two when Marcin Kolusz buried the puck in a scrum, but it was too late to establish a miracle.
"It's really good playing in front of such a crowd," defenseman Trevor Johnson admitted. "It was nice to upset such emotional fans."
Poland can secure the bronze by beating Great Britain tomorrow and has a chance forsilver if Italy beats Ukraine in regulation.
The quest for gold will be decided tomorrow afternoon 16:30 when Italy and Ukraine meet. The winner will get gold and the promotion to the top division.
"Tomorrow is an all-or-nothing game," said Johnson. "We came to Poland to win so that is what we'll be doing tomorrow."
Ukraine - Romania 7-0 (2-0, 3-0, 2-0) Game sheet Photos
Ukraine will play for gold against Italy tomorrow and tuned up for the meeting with a simple 7-0 win againt Romania.
Before the game, both teams knew that tomorrow's games are more important and it showed. Ukraine, which has juggled its line formations, dominated the full 60 minutes practicing plays in the offensive zone, while Romania saved energy for tomorrow's relegation battle against the Netherlands.
In the first three minutes Ukraine scored when Oleg Tymchenko put in a wrist shot between the legs of Szabolcs Molnar. The score was doubled at 5:41 when Oleg Shafarenko raced down the ice past three Romanian defensemen. His cross-ice pass was one-timed into the net by Artem Gnidenko, his first goal of the tournament.
Gnidenko, who plays for HK Vitebsk in Belarus, had a goal and a pair of assists to lead his team in scoring today. Other than Gnidenko, Andri Mikhnov, Dmytro Tsyrul and Sergi Kharchenko scored their first goal of the tournament in the 7-0 victory. The lone player yet to register a point for Ukraine is defenceman Vitali Lyutkevych.
"I hope we can score a goal before we head home," Tom Skinner commented on his goal-less squad. "This has been the most inexperienced team I've ever coached and I am proud on what they bring on the ice. I'm hoping for a good result tomorrow and might need to visit one of the curches here in Torun and hope the Gods will be with us tomorrow."
Oleg Tymchenko opened the scoring for Ukraine in their 7-0 victory over Romania. Photo: Wojtek Szabelski/freepress.pl
Great Britain - Netherlands 3-2 (3-0, 0-1, 0-1) Game sheet Photos
The comeback rally was almost completed. With the Netherlands fighting back from a 3-0 deficit, Mitch Bruijsten had a golden opportunity with less than two minutes left, on the receiving end of a 2-on-1 breakaway. His tip-in in front of the net was parried by Jody Lehman, who saved the day for Great Britain.
After last year’s 8-1 thrashing in the meeting between the teams, many would expect the Dutch looking to avenge the loss. However, it was Great Britain, which was given time and space to walk away with a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Phil Hill, David Longstaff and Ashley Tait after one period of play.
The Netherlands stormed out in the second, leading to Jamie Schaafsma cutting the lead to two. The pressure on the net of Jody Lehman continued but the British defence held its own.
With time running out, Schaafsma gave the Dutch a late lifeline, deflecting a Bjorn Willemse shot behind Lehman to make it a one-goal game with 2:30 left to play. Apart from Bruijsten's opportunity, Great Britain held on to the lead it built in first period.
The result doubles Great Britains points total to six and keeps its medal chances alive with a game against host Poland tomorrow. The Netherlands, which was outshot 39-26, will need to defeat Romania to avoid relegation.
Great Britain thwarted a late Dutch comeback. Photo: Wojtek Szabelski/freepress.pl
JOERI LOONEN
