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Austria - Slovakia 9 - 0 (2 - 0, 5 - 0, 2 - 0)

INNSBRUCK - The Austrian women’s hockey team got off to a flying start at the 2012 Youth Olympic Games, keeping the Slovak offence bottled up and scoring at will to take their first game 9-0.

The Austrian team chemistry was evident in the game early on, with many of the girls coming from the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship Division 1 one week earlier. Captain Tamara Grascher and forwards Julia Frick and Julia Willenshofer each scored two goals to lead the Austrian attack.

“We trained hard and thankfully we had a very good start,” said forward Anna Meixner. “We had a few days to relax before this tournament and we feel ok."

With the period length at 15 minutes and penalties set at two minutes, the ability of teams to stay out of the box could factor significantly in this tournament. The Slovaks were called for tripping early in the first, giving the Austrian offence even more of an advantage in puck control. Willenshofer got the puck in front on a cross-crease pass from Victoria Hummel at the back of the net and roofed it over goaltender Nikola Kaliska.

Kaliska was under pressure the entire game, while on the other end goaltenders Paula Camilla Marchhart and Julia Pechmann spent most of the time watching their forwards control the puck in the Slovak zone. By the end of the game the shots were 44-3 in favour of the Austrians.

Austria has a date against the Kazakhs next on Saturday, while Slovakia goes up against Germany on Sunday.

Germany – Sweden 0 – 11 (0 – 3, 0 – 4, 0 – 4)

Fresh off their bronze medal campaign at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship, Team Sweden appeared in top form during an 11-0 dispatch of the Germans on the opening day of the Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck.

Linn Peterson and Kristin Andersson each scored a hat trick as the Swedes built up an insurmountable lead through two periods. With the majority of Sweden’s IIHF U18 bronze medal winners making up the Olympic squad, the team chemistry amongst the girls was evident. Eight players on Sweden finished with three or more points.

“We were a little tired, but excited to be playing in the Youth Olympics,” said Peterson. “We have a great team and I love playing with my teammates. We want to continue to play our game and keep skating hard, but we also want to have fun. The Olympic experience is so special, you have to enjoy it.”

Andersson opened the scoring less than a minute into the game. Her line mate Malin Wong won a faceoff in the German zone and passed the puck to Andersson, who fired it past netminder Meike Krimphove. Andersson struck again minutes later, skating along the goal line and sneaking the puck into the left side of the net past Krimphove’s outstretched skate.

A goalie switch in the second period did little to help Germany, as Peterson scored all three of her goals in the frame, putting the game out of reach.

In the third period, two breakaway goals by Amanda Lindberg and Johanna Eidensten and a pretty wraparound backhand goal from Emmy Alasalmi rubbed salt into the wounds of the German team, and Sweden walked away with the 11-0 shutout victory.

Sweden, looking like an early favourite in the women’s tournament, will next play Kazakhstan on Sunday. Germany will also play Sunday against the Slovaks, who lost their opening game 9-0 against Austria.

ADAM STEISS courtesy of IIHF.com

Hungarian Tricolour Flying High

ASIAGO, Italy – Hungary and Great Britain finish atop of the first world championship event of the season. Both teams qualified for the U18 Women’s World Championship Division I.

The U18 Women’s program expanded to a third tier this year as the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship Division I Qualification was played in Asiago, Italy, to determine the remaining two teams for the upcoming Division I tournament.

And it was the red-white-green tricolour that was raised for the winning team, however, the flag was not Italy’s, but Hungary’s.

The Magyars steamrolled through the tournament and showed that they are ready to compete at Division I level and challenge some of the established teams. They won all their games with relative ease; against China (10-1), France (3-0), Great Britain (8-1), Kazakhstan (10-2) and Italy (6-0) and led the event in almost every statistical category. Alexandra Huszak, who only appeared in three games, was the event’s scoring leader with nine goals and four assists.

The race for second place in the standings and for the last berth to the Division I tournament was tighter. China, Great Britain and Italy were all in competition on the last day. Italy, however, had the toughest task and was blanked by Hungary while Great Britain and China met in a head-to-head game on Sunday.

The Chinese improved throughout the tournament after a difficult start and they could still have made it by defeating Great Britain in regulation time. They outshot Great Britain 39-31 as Xin He scored the opening goal as well as the game-tying 2-2 marker while Saffron Allen and Katherine Gale replied for the Brits in between.

Xin He also scored the game-winner in the penalty shootout, but the goal was to no avail. Great Britain gained the point it needed by withstanding the Chinese pressure and keeping the 2-2 score until the end of regulation time.

For China the event ended with the unthankful third place, on eight points. Italy (7), France (6) and winless Kazakhstan followed behind.

Hungary and Great Britain will now join Japan, Slovakia, Austria and Norway in the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship Division I which will be staged in Tromsø, Norway, from 29th December 2011 to 4th January 2012.

Posting credit: www.IIHF.com

For Stats and Game Details: www.iihf.com/se/channels1112/ww18-iq/statistics.html
 

Dec. 11, 2011.
China spend two months training in Canada. Here is a report from Monika Morovan on China's new coach and hunger to improve.

AURORA, Canada – Hockey’s family tree has stretched from its North American roots and includes branches spanning the globe, including China.

The Aurora Junior Panthers were one of several teams to host games against the Chinese women’s national team during a two-month tour of Canada.

The Chinese lost the game 5-1 to the Panthers, but focussed on the positive aspects.

“We are a young team and this gives our new players international experience,” said team captain Baiwei Yu. The global stage is a very familiar place for Yu, who has played several international hockey events, most notably the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

With the current youth movement Chinese women’s hockey wants to ensure the program’s growth, but there have been recent growing pains.

If the Olympics were held today, China would probably not qualify. The team was relegated to the IIHF’s third tier and will participate at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group B in Hull, Great Britain in April.

Along with the drop in international ranking came a coaching change. Mikhail Chekanov takes over the reins from Finnish coach Hannu Saintula in an attempt to change the squad’s fortunes in time for Sochi.
Chekanov has worked with the Russian Hockey Federation coaching staff for U17 and U16 (men’s) national teams.

The international flavours are a nice touch. “We can’t always travel so it’s good to learn (from coaches) how the game is played elsewhere,” said Yu.

Although it could be very difficult to take the fact that her team has gone from Olympic qualification to finishing last in their most recent IIHF event, Yu takes it in stride.

“We’re like all hockey players. We want to be the best and know it will be a lot of hard work,” said Yu.

It wasn’t just the players from China and Aurora who put in a lot of effort. People from several organizations including the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, Ontario Women’s Hockey Association and the Central York Girls Hockey Association spent countless hours making sure everything went smoothly, perhaps none more so than Jane Voorheis.

“Jane did an amazing job in organizing the event and the Town of Aurora was a great partner,” said Kim Hullah, Administrator, Central York Girls Hockey Association.

“Language was the biggest barrier,” said Voorheis during a rare free minute at the game, “but our shared passion for women’s hockey made it work.”

While being away from home for two months has some drawbacks, it also presents opportunities.

“I love to shop!” declared the 23-year-old defender before heading to a post-game banquet for both teams. In addition to clothing, shoes, and purses Yu and her teammates take advantage of how readily available hockey gear is in Canada and the numerous hockey-only speciality shops.

And just where do the Chinese women see themselves using their newly acquired goodies?

“Sochi. It’ll take two years to develop young players. Just in time,” smiled Yu as she headed off to join her teammates.

China’s goal is to be back in Sochi. For now a first step is to get back to the second tier of women’s hockey next spring in Hull by defeating the likes of France, Denmark, Italy, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

With thanks to IIHF.com and writer MONIKA MOROVAN
 

The Chinese team, which finished seventh at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, is touring Ontario to try to gain more experience. WINIH will post a more complete schedule of games Oct. 17.

China vs. Aurora Panthers Intermediate AA

When: Oct 16, 2011.

Time: 4:15pm

Cost: Donation at the door.

Where: Stronach Aurora Recreational Complex
1400 Wellington Street East. Aurora, Ontario. Tel: 905-726-4770
 

Here for the first time on WINIH is a listing of the Women’s College Hockey Poll which is done weekly. WINIH will be reporting on international or non-North American players on US college teams this season. No. 1 ranked University of Wisconsin has no international players albeit 7 Canadians on its 2011/12 team.

University of Wisconsin Unanimous No. 1 Selection in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's
2011-12 Women's College Hockey Poll - #1 (Preseason)
 

Rank School      2010/11Final Rank 2010/11 Record
1 University of Wisconsin, 190  1      37-2-2
2 Cornell University, 161           4      31-3-1
3 Boston University, 158           2      27-7-4
4 University of Minnesota, 131   7      26-10-2
5 Boston College, 102               3      24-7-6
6 Univ. Minnesota Duluth, 100    5      22-9-3
7 University North Dakota, 76     9      20-13-3
8 Mercyhurst College, 57           6      29-6-0
9 Providence College, 31           10     22-12-1
10 Quinnipiac University, 21      NR     2-12-3

Others receiving votes: Northeastern University, 8; Dartmouth College, 6; Harvard University, 3; Ohio State University, 1.

NOTES: The Western Collegiate Hockey Association leads all conferences with four ranked teams, while Hockey East Association has three ranked teams and ECAC Hockey has two. Mercyhurst is the only College Hockey America team ranked. ... For the second time in the last three years, the University of Wisconsin has been selected as the unanimous No. 1 selection in the preseason poll. ... A total of 14 teams received votes.

ABOUT THE POLL: The 15th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the four NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey Magazine.