Thursday, February 15, 2018

Olympic Pool Update (Day 2, Feb 15)



Germany was no match for the Finns in the early game of the night, the 8pm MT start, as Nashville Predators 1st round pick in this past year's draft, Eeli Tolvanen went to town and showed us why he is a top prospect on the verge of a good NHL career.  The 18-year old led the way with the game-winning goal and a trio of assists for a 5-point night, as Finland topped Germany, 5-2.  Joonas Kemppainen had a goal and an assist and Petri Kontiola had a pair of assists to also be notable for the Finns on the night.

Chris collected the big 5-point night, while Neil and Don had one of the 2-point players each.  After this game, everyone was on the board with at least a point, so things were certainly going in the right direction in the pool.

The Swedes are certainly considered to be one of the favourites in this tournament and they got off to a solid start, shutting out the Norwegians, 4-0. Linus Omark, one of the most requested players at the draft, led Sweden with 3 assists, while Dennis Everberg had a goal and an assist as well.  Scoring the opening goal, which was the eventual winner, was forward Par Lindholm, so he nabs the bonus point.  Certainly a good start for the Swedes. who now lead Pool C after the victory, thanks to the goal difference.

Don zoomed up to the overall lead, thanks to having both Omark and Lindholm, taking a 1-point lead over Chris' team, which has Everberg.  Both of these pool teams got off to great starts on Day 2 of the tournament.

Korea got off to a good start against the Czech Republic, scoring within the first eight minutes of the contest, but the Czechs were able to recover in the 1st period, scoring a pair of goals, including a shorthanded marker by Michal Repik, which ended up being the winning goal, with a few minutes left to play in the opening frame.  The game finished at 2-1, as there was no more scoring after the 1st period.  Repik was the only notable player, also picking up an assist for a 3-point game, which was great news for Benson's team, which moved up to 4th place.

Finally, the last game of the update was Switzerland opening up against Canada and the Canadians were off to the races early, scoring within the first three minutes of the game and never really looked back.  Two goals in the 1st, two more in the 2nd and they held down the fort in the 3rd, finishing with a 5-1 victory in the end.  Maxim Noreau scored the winner and added an assist, while Derek Roy had 3 assists, both leading the way for Canada with 3 points in this contest.  Also having good games were Rene Bourque and Wojtek Wolski, each with 2 goals and defenseman Chris Lee had a pair of assists as well.

Clayton had 5 points in this game, Roy and Wolski, getting his team into the race, while Dale had Noreau and Stuart had both Bourque and Lee.  No one jumped up into the lead from this game, but it kept pretty well everyone good and tight, except for Grant, who's team has been left behind with only 1 point, so far.

No comments: