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Mack · 04-16-2019, 03:39 AM

IIHF MEDAL ROUND PREVIEW

The Round Robin is all finished and we are about to start the Medal Round. Today April 16th, 2019 we will be simming both the quarter finals in the morning (11AM EST) and then the semi finals in the evening (9PM EST). By the end of tonight we will know who makes it to the gold medal game which will be simmed tomorrow April 17th at 9PM EST. We had a lot of great stories in the round robin and I am really looking forward to the medal round. I really believe we have many teams that are capable of winning it all I know we are going to get some great sims. Here is a quick look at the teams remaining.

#1 LATVIA HOSTS #4 CZECHIA

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Latvia made a mockery of the the round robin going 11-1. They dominated Group A with just 1 loss to the United Kingdom. Latvia has a really balanced attack and their leading scorer was actually on their 3rd line. Herb Robert lead them 6 goals and 6 assists playing wing on the third line and 2nd PP unit. Defenseman Kristaps Ball has lead them with 11 assists from the back-end and is playing over 22 minutes a night on the 2nd pairing. They are firing on all cylinders but there are no more easy games left, all teams left can win on any night.

Czechoslovakia

Czechia stormed out of the gates in the round robin tournament winning their first 7 games. They looked to be the top team in Group B but they finished the tournament with 5 consecutive losses to end up 7-5 and 4th in Group B. 1st line center DeMaricus Smyth lead them all the way and was one of the best players in the tournament scoring 8 goals and 8 assists in 12 games. They rode him for almost 24 minutes a game and he will need to be big to beat Latvia. On defense Charlie Schieck had 9 assists in the 12 round robin matches to lead them on the back end. He is a young star and is playing over 24 minutes a night.

Goalie comparison:

Latvia - Artom Zhumbayev 0.935 SV% and 2.29 GAA
Czechia - Chris Partridge 0.920 SV% and 2.25 GAA

#2 IRELAND HOSTS #3 USA

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This is a rematch of last seasons gold medal game!! (Ireland won 6-3)
Ireland comes into the Medal Round on a 4 game losing streak but still managed to end up 6-4-2 and second in Group A. Roman Augustus lead them playing 3rd line and PP time. He had 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points and added 30 hits. Jack Tanner on the back end had 10 points as well with 2g and 8a. He is up over 24 mins a game and will need to have a big game here against a great American Squad. Ireland is looking to win their 5 straight Gold Medal which would be straight silly.

Usa

USA finished 7-5 and 3rd place in a very tight Group B. They were up and down all tournament but had some bad puck luck and they can easily beat any team on any night. Jason Visser and Louie Garrett both had 4 goals and 8 assists to lead them on the front end. On defense The Dude had 1 goal and 8 assists in 12 games playing around 20 minutes a game. All of these guys were +8 as well and don't be surprised to see them playing big minutes and having a big impact in this game. Both these teams squads are worth checking out because they are very deep and anyone could be a hero for them.

Goalie Comparison:

Ireland - Beaujeaux Biscuit 0.916 SV% and 2.22 GAA

USA - Aleister Cain 0.920 SV% and 2.35 GAA

#1 AUSTRIA HOSTS #4 CANADA

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Austria finished on top of Group B with a 9-3 record. They lead the round robin tournament with a +17 GAA. First line center and SHL superstar Mike Izzy was the MVP of the round robin in my books. He finished with 9 goals and 17 points - lead the tournament in both stats. On the back-end they have another SHL superstar Tigole Bitties who was as good as anyone round robin. He finished with 5 goals and 10 assists playing over 22 mins a game and got 3 big power play goals for his team. A great team here but they don't have it easy as they draw a very solid Canadian team in the first round.

Canada

Canada came out and won the first 5 games of the tournament and looked like they would fight for 1st overall. They went on to lose 4 straight games and 6 of their last 7 to finish 4th in Group A and they still have a chance to win it all. Canada had a bit of trouble scoring this tournament but they were lead by SHL superstar Sophia Bennett who had 6 goals and 5 assists playing 20 mins a game. On Defense Gary Grease was making his presence known in many ways. He had 8 assists but also 22 PIMs and 57 hits. He is playing over 25 minutes a game and is looking to cause some pain out there. They have their hands full with Austia but these two teams are really well matched up and it should be a great game.

Goalie Comparison:

Austria - Johannes Leitner 0.905 SV% and 2.53 GAA

Canada - Walter Hobbs 0.908 SV% and 2.81 GAA

#2 SWEDEN HOSTS #3 UNITED KINGDOM

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Sweden really surprised a lot of people to finish 2nd in Group B. They lost their first 3 games and it looked like they were in for a tough tournament. But they won their final 4 games and 6 of 7 to go 7-4-1. Crossfit Jesus and Dani Forsberg finished with similar stats as they both had 7 goals and 6 assists. Defenseman Sven Brokstad added 1 goal and 8 assists from the blue line. This team has some balanced scoring and relies mostly on it's forwards for offense. They are as hot as anyone but the team they face, the UK, is equally as hot entering the Medal Round!

United Kingdom took a few games to adjust to the round robin losing 3 straight and 4 of their first 5. They got comfortable though and won 6 of their final 7 games and looked really strong in Group A. Xander Green had 4 goals and 8 assists playing 21 minutes a night as their top center. Bob Bergen on defense scored 5 goals including 2 on the PP and 1 on the PK! He had 6 assists for 11 points in 12 games. He was very clutch in all areas and he could make a big difference in this 1 game winner takes all battle. Both teams are on fire and there should be some fireworks here.

Goalie Comparison:

Sweden - Kata Vilde 0.896 SV% and 3.33 GAA

United Kingdom - Cedric Robinson 0.916 SV% and 2.39 GAA

Thank you to Finland, Germany, Japan, Norway, Russia, Switzerland on a great tournament. Running this thing I know see how competitive it is and how there are many great teams and the sims can really go many ways. There are a lot of great people and managers on these nations and they will be back bigger and stronger next season I am sure.

IIHF Logos made by DrunkenTeddy here

Update:

QUARTER FINALS WINNERS

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LATVIA - The Latvian squad played a great game against Czechia winning 4-3 and outshooting them 36-26. Brock Nuck was 1st star of the game playing only 13:53 he managed to score the game winning goal with just 2:55 left in regulation. This game came right down to the end and Czechia put up a great battle. Latvia was very clutch when it mattered most scoring two goals late in the third to take this win. One area Latvia could improve is the Power Play as they went 0/2 on the PP. Latvia won Silver two years ago in S44 and are looking for their first gold medal in a long time.

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IRELAND - Ireland enters the tournament as the team to beat winning 4 straight golds. Last year this was the gold medal match-up and Ireland yet again has come out on top. The 6-4 win over the Americans was a great game that was tied 4-4 with 5 minutes left in regulation. That's when young Irish up and coming star Rainbow Dash scored the game winning goal and Spitfire added and empty netter. Eric Pelletier was first star of the game after moving lines prior to the game and becoming the 3rd line center. Clearly the move worked out well.

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AUSTRIA - Austria had a huge performance from goaltender Johannes Leitner in their 2-0 shutout victory over Canada. The Canadians had 35 shots on net but Leitner was a brick wall and they couldn't get anything past him. Mike Izzy the heart and soul of Austria scored the game winner in the 3rd period and Alex Light added a PP marker. Austria really shut the door on the PK killing all 5 of the Canadian attempts. If they can get their whole team to keep buying in like this look out. Austria finished with the Bronze medal last year and has their eyes set on Gold.

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UNITED KINGDOM - This was the most exciting game of the first round with the UK winning 7-6 in this high scoring affair. Both teams managed 36 shots on goal but Sweden had 21 alone in the third to try and tie this game up. Vince Rieper had a hat-trick and added one assist to be named first star of the game. He was a beauty but his linemate Rex Kirkby was right there with him with 1 goal and 3 assists. This UK team has a lot of firepower and it will be interesting seeing how they match up against the Irish destroyers of dreams.

Semi Final Match-ups

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Team Logos made by Kalakar here

Update

GOLD MEDAL PREVIEW

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Ireland had a top opponent in the semi's facing Latvia who had won 12 of 13 games so far. They were as tough of a test as Ireland has faced in recent memory and were up 2-1 after the first period. Ireland's experience just took over and they scored 2 goals to win 3-2. First Defenseman O'Callaghan scored on the PP in the 2nd period. Late in the third in a tie game, Ireland was just putting on non-stop pressure. They outshot Latvia 18-6 in the period and unfortunately for Latvia, the Irish managed to score the game winner at 17:16 of the 3rd period. Second line center Dermot Lavelle scored on a breakaway after Jack Tanner sent him in clear from the neutral zone.

Three Stars of Semi Final:
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What can we say about the Irish that hasn't already been said? They have won 4 straight gold medals and 11 straight elimination matches in medal round games. If they win tomorrow it will be 5 straight gold medals. What they have done already is amazing and should be celebrated. This is a dynasty already everyone and they look to just extend the legacy. They have no pressure and can just come out and play their game, we all know that doesn't bode well for the United Kingdom. That being said if history tells us anything this could be a repeat of the great Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the mid 1600's. Ireland can't take the UK lightly and I don't expect them to.

Top Scorers:

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The United Kingdom had to face the beasts of Group B, team Austria. Austria won 9 games in the round robin and beat Canada in the Quarter Finals. This game got off to a bang just 3:24 in when Austria's Gabriel Wong scored to put Austria up early. The UK came out a bit sloppy but that early goal against seemed to wake them up. They really started to skate and Reginald MacIntyre scored the tying goal and just 3:04 later the red hot TJ Bayley scored what would turn out to be the game winner. The UK added 2 more goals in the third period to really seal the deal and send the Austrian squad packing.

Three Stars of Semi Final:

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The last team to win this tournament before the current Irish streak was the UK! They won gold back in S41 and are looking to put and end to the dominance the Irish nation has displayed here for many years now. This would be their 2nd gold medal ever if they can win it all. Their last silver came in S40. This team has been really scrappy throughout the entire tournament and they have really stood out to me. I am not surprised to see them make it this far and I think this should be a great game. If the UK manage to pull this off it will feel really great doing it against such a top tier opponent in the Irish.

Top Scorers:

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In Closing:

Good luck to both these teams and their management. It has been a long week or so of sims and it's all going to wrap up soon. There will be a PbP today April 17th of the Gold Medal final! Also congratulations to Latvia and Austria who will fight it out for the Bronze medal. Who are you betting on to win it all?