Photos from the Championships

I'm very happy to announce that you can view/purchase images from the Championships from SMP Images. The site can be found at:

http://www.smpimages.com.au/

Just go to the Ice Hockey section to find the photos from the various games. Photographer is yours truly :-)

Wednesday's Results - Day Two

Today was day two of the tournament. Tuesday was actually a team practice day so there wasn't any games scheduled.

• China seems to love those nail bitters. They managed to defeat Iceland in a closely fought contest of 5 - 4, again with penalty shots to determine the outcome of the game.
• Mexico was just too good for New Zealand in the second game of the day. Mexico got ahead in the first period and managed to pad their lead in the second. Final result, 2 - 0 for Mexico over New Zealand. We were treated to the Haka for this game. It was a very disappointing loss for New Zealand. The Ice Blacks would need to win at least a game against either Spain, China or Australia. They would certainly be the underdogs so looks like New Zealand may get relegated to Div. III for next year.
• The game the local fans were waiting for did not disappoint. Australia played Spain in the last game of the evening. By the end of the second period Australia was trailing 3 - 2 thanks to some great playing by Spain and some bad luck on Australia's side. The final period saw Australia score three unanswered goals so Australia finishes with a second win, beating the Spaniards 5 - 3.

Monday's results

The championship got off to a great start on Monday. Results for the day:

• China defeats Spain in a nail biting overtime shootout, final result 5-4. This was a great opening game to the championship
• Following Iceland pushing the zamboni off the ice :-)  (more on this later), they continued on to defeat New Zealand 6-3. It was a very fast moving game and I thought New Zealand played better then the score reflected.
• Due to the zamboni problems, the Australia - Mexico game started almost two hours late but that didn't stop Australia dominating the game and beating Mexico 7-1.

I'll post some game details a bit later.

If you are interested in ice hockey in Australia and you happen to be in the Newcastle, NSW area, get some tickets and go an enjoy a game. It is well worth it. Just go to the Ice Hockey Australia link on the right.

See you at the game ;-)

Team Practices

I was at the rink this afternoon to check out the lighting with some players on the ice, looks great. Mexico, followed by Iceland were having a final practice prior to the start of competition.

All the flags of the participating nations were up on the rafters, advertising was up on the boards, each team had their dressing room assigned, so it pretty well is ready to go. There were still some final preparations to complete but all that should be ready to go for the start on Monday 1PM with the Spain vs China game.

2008 IIHF World U18 Championship Div. II Group A

The Australian U18 team has finished at the bottom of the Division II Group A round robin tournament held in France. This relegates the Australian team to Division III for the 2009 Championships.

For the Championship's results, go the IIHF site here.

2008 IIHF World Women's Championships Division II

Australia's Women Ice Hockey have lost all of their matches in the World Women's Championships Division II in Finland. Unfortunately, this will relegate the Women's team to Division III for next year. I'm sure the team played hard and would be disappointed with the result.

Better luck next year. For the Championship's results, go the IIHF site here.

Only Three Days to Go

The preparations for the 2008 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B are in their final stages. The teams for this competition, in order of IIHF world rankings are:

• China (27)
• Australia (33)
• Spain (36)
• Iceland (37)
• Mexico (38)
• New Zealand (39)

On Sunday 06 April 2008, the teams are having their final preparations and the competition starts on Monday 07 April 2008. This year, the round robin tournament is being held in Newcastle, NSW Australia at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium.

The rosters for the teams can be found in the Championship statistics available here.

I picked up my media pass today so I'll be ready for action on Sunday to check out the teams' practices and ready for Monday's three games.

The Start

The blog for Leave Only Footprints will start with the coverage of the World Ice Hockey Championships Division II Group B.