Photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
On Tuesday, the WW18-IA standings became a little more clear. Japan continued to win, Hungary finally scored and hosts Italy recovered to return to contention for promotion to the top level next year.
Hungary 4 – Denmark 0
The day’s program began with a battle between both teams, who entered the match with 0 wins and 2 losses. Hungary hadn’t even scored a goal, but that quickly changed when Reka Hiezr scored just 2 minutes and 53 seconds into the game. It was a sign of things to come.
Hungary outscored Denmark by a staggering 45-6 in the match, during which Hungarian forward Boglarka Bahicki-Tos managed to record 12 shots on goal, more than Denmark’s overall total. That’s exactly twice that! She scored two goals today, the first goal coming midway through the game to make it 2-0, and the second goal late in the game, 5-3.
And then there was Denmark’s other problem – 41 of the 43 penalty minutes awarded by Swedish referee Sabina Kler were awarded to Denmark, including for boarding late in the game. It also included serious misconduct against Olivia Lanum.
Helga Milibak, who started the first game, recorded a shutout victory, and Christina Weiler scored another point on the power play in the third game.
Japan 3 – Austria 0
The match between undefeated teams was followed by a match between undefeated teams, and the experienced Japanese team won. Thanks in part to Haruka Kuromaru’s 15-save shutout, her second straight clean sheet, Japan improved to 3-0 and Austria to 2-1, putting Japan on a path to promotion.
Japan took control of the match by scoring two goals in the opening half, with Nana Akimoto scoring the first goal, followed by Sofia Odermatt scoring her second goal of the tournament. A dual citizen of Japan and Switzerland, Odermatt has spent the past few years playing at the Ontario Hockey Academy in Cornwall, Canada, honing his skills and developing into Japan’s top prospect.
Azumi Numabe added a third goal early in the third period, but Austria had a chance to come back with a penalty kick from Emma Lintner midway through the final period. It was stopped by Kuromaru and the score remained 3-0.
Italy 3 – France 1
Italy bounced back from Sunday’s loss to beat France and stay alive in the hunt for promotion. They are currently in second place with seven points, two behind Japan. Each team will play a deciding match on Friday, the final day of the tournament. With today’s loss, France now has one win and two losses, leaving them tied for fourth place with Hungary.
The teams traded goals early on, with Mathilde Fantin scoring a tournament-leading six points.th Clemence Boudin scored the tying goal less than two minutes later at 2:42. Manuela Hedenberger, who was the tournament’s second-highest scorer after Fantin, put Italy ahead and stayed until midway through the game, while goalkeeper Margherita Ostoni performed flawlessly in the remaining games.
Italy added another point in the second with Fantin potting his seventh goal, but France could not generate much attack, scoring just one goal for the third consecutive game.
Note: Wednesday’s matches include Hungary vs. Austria, Italy vs. Denmark and France vs. Japan.