26th April

Spain made it to the final

Spain defeated Australia with clear numbers 13-3 and will play in the final tomorrow versus Slovakia

After 10 minutes of playing the score was still 0-0, but then Nicolas Prieto scored the first goal for Spain. Enrique Gomez increased the lead to 2-0, which was the score after the first period.

In the second period the difference in skill became obvious as Spain got their game going. Luis Gonzalez scored two goals in the second period and although Australia succeeded twice, Spain had taken an unattainable six goal lead after 40 minutes.

Spain increased their lead in the third period and Luis Gonzalez scored a hat trick tonight. The final score was 13-3 to Spain. The match summary can be found here.

Slovakia will play in the final

The home team played a brilliant match against one of the favourites Canada in the first semi-final match today. Slovakia was under with 0-2 in the first period, but managed to get back and won the semi-final with 7-6.

Slovakia got into the lead for the first time in the second period as they scored two goals within two seconds, but then Canada used their power play opportunity and it was 3-4. Slovakia did however get into good scoring opportunities in the opponents defensive zone and also used the chances given, 4-6 after two periods.

Slovakia even got to a three goal lead in the third period, but then Seppo Lattu  scored for Canada and the match was 5-7. As Slovakia received a five minutes penalty for using incorrect equipment Canada got their chance to equalise. Canada came as close as 6-7, but no more, and Slovakia pleased their supporters and will play in the final tomorrow starting at 13:00 CET.

Canada will play in the bronze match starting tomorrow at 10:00 CET.

Liechtenstein 7th

Liechtenstein played a tight match versus Korea, but was the better team today. Liechtenstein, that participated in a WFC for the first time, was placed 7th in the tournament.

25th April

Spain winner of group B

Spain won the exciting match today versus Slovakia and will play their semi-final match against Australia tomorrow. Team Slovakia will meet the A group winner, Canada, in the other semi-final match.

Tremendous atmosphere in the full arena, with 687 spectators, in Bratislava tonight. The first period was dramtic. First Tomás Skarupa put Slovakia in the lead, but then Enrique Gomez could even the score on power play. In 15.11 Skarupa got a 5 minutes penalty for pushing a Spanish player over the rink and on the secretariat table, but Spain missed their power play opportunity as they played with too many players and received a 2 min penalty.

When both teams played short handed, Slovakia had a very good chance, but missed it. This was followed by a successful counter attack and Luis Gonzalez took Spain to a 2-1 lead. Then it was Spain´s turn to be unlucky as they on power play served Matej Kender with a scoring opportunity in front of their own goal, 2-2 after 20 minutes.

The match continued to be tight and entertaining, but no goals in the second period. Spain got into a two goal lead when Alberto Dominguez succeeded twice. In 57.14 Matej Kender also scored his second of the night and Slovakia was only one goal behind again. Slovakia pressured their opponent until the end, but no equaliser for the Slovakians and Spain won with 4-3

Serbia will play for the 5th place

Serbia continues to perform well in their first ever IFF tournament. Today the Serbian team defeated Korea in a tight match 4-3 and will play for the fifth place versus France tomorrow.

Serbia had a strong start and got into a 1-0 lead in 1.17. Then Marko Petrovic scored two times and increased the Serbian lead to 3-0. The first 10 minutes Serbia dominated the match, but then Korea also started to give pressure. No Korean goal however, when the Serbians did a good job defending the area in front of the goal. Also the goalie, Antic David, did some important saves.

The score was 4-0 to Serbia in the second period until Korea managed to score, and the Koreans then scored three goals in a row, two of them by Kyoung Hoon Seo and the score was suddenly 4-3 in the third period.

The match was interesting until the end as Korea had some very good scoring opportunities, but Antic David kept his goal clean. France and Serbia will play for the 5th place tomorrow at 20:00 CET and Korea will play versus Liechtenstein for the 7th place tomorrow at 11:45

24th April

Canada winner of Group A in the WFC-C division

All the matches in group A have now been played and Canada secured their first place after winning the decisive match against Australia with 11-1.

Canada crushed Australia today and proved to be one of the best teams in the C-division. The quality of the passing play was impressive and of the highest level so far in the tournament. Canada lead 3-0 after 13 minutes and could have scored even more, but the Australian goalie made some tremendous saves. When Australia had two players on the penalty bench, Canada increased their lead with two goals to 5-0.

Canada, lead by Patrick Ducharme (3+3) and Lauri Hannelius (3+2) who both scored a hat trick, continued to dominate the match. Australia´s only goal was a penalty shot scored by Timothy Boteler and the final numbers were 11-1 to team Canada.

First victory for France

In the first match today Liechtenstein and France, that both had lost their previous matches battled for the third position in the A group. Liechtenstein began the scoring, but then France took the lead as Beat Glauser scored two and Manaüre Russo-Mendoza three goals. France took a clear 7-2 victory and will play for the 5th place on Saturday at 20:00 versus the 3rd placed team in group B.

The Final Standings in Group A

The A Group Statistics can be found here

Read more from the official WFC-C division webpage and follow the matches LIVE on Web TV

Spain and Slovakia leading the B group

Spain and Slovakia continue to dominate the B group as neither one of the teams has yet lost a point in the tournament.

Spain played their third match against the Koreans. Korea did not really stand a chance versus the more skilful Spanish players and the score was 6-0 to Spain already after 20 minutes.

Korea had their best chance in the third period when they got an opportunity to shoot a penalty shot, but the Spanish goalie could keep his goal clean for the whole 60 minutes. The final numbers were 15-0 for Spain.

The match statistics can be found here

The Koreans will face Serbia in the match for the third place in group B at 17:30 tomorrow. The winner of this match will play for the 5th place versus France.

New record set by the Slovakian team

40 -0 is the new record result in a WFC. The previous record 30-0 was set by team Finland against Singapore in WFC 1996.

Slovakia needed 18 goals versus Georgia in order for a tie to be enough versus Spain tomorrow.

In 32.30 Vladimír Beres scored the important 18th goal for the Slovaks, but the scoring did not end there. All in all there were 16 players in the Slovakian team who scored at least one goal out of the 40.

A new spectator record of the tournament was also set as there were 1026 spectators watching the C-division matches in the Bratislava arena during the day. The matches on Web TV have also been popular. There has been an average of 10.000 unique users per day following the matches.

The winner of the B group will be settled tomorrow when Spain and Slovakia will play the last match in the B group at 20:15. Since Slovakia´s goal difference is better than Spain´s, a tie will be enough for the Slovaks to win the group B.

The match statistics can be found here and the B Group statistics can be found here

Read more from the official WFC-C division webpage and follow the matches LIVE on Web TV

23rd April

Slovakia looking strong in front of the home crowd

An extra spectator stand was needed when the home team Slovakia played their second match of the tournament versus Korea. There were 600 spectators cheering for their team in the Športová hala Mladost in Bratislava.

Three fast goals for team Slovakia within the first 10 minutes. The home team continued to control the game in the second period and increased their lead first on power play by Denis Granec then by Juraj Matejka just a few seconds later. When the Slovakian team played short handed Denis Granec scored his third of the evening and the score was 6-0 after 40 minutes.

Slovakias 7th goal scored by Roman Pavlus was a pretty one and a result of some excellent direct passes. Slovakia played very strong the whole match through and the team is one of the most physical in the tournament with both strong and fast players. The final score was 11-0 to Slovakia who will meet another favourite, Spain, on Friday in the late game starting at 20:15 CET.

Canada and Australia already in the semis

The second day started with smiles in Korea but ended with tears in France. Korea, who rested day 1, started the second day by taking its first victory ever in an IFF Championship when defeating Georgia 11-3. The first half of the match was quite even but when Kwang Hwan Yeon made his third and Korea’s 5th goal in the end of the second period the match was settled.

Spain had decided not to let Serbia getting into the match and went on to a 4-0 lead after 9 minutes. Although Serbia fought well, and scored even in the third period, there was no discussion – Spain controlled the match to a 10-4 win.

In group A Canada had big problems to get hold of Liechtenstein in the first period but did anyhow manage to get a 2-1 lead. In the second period Canada showed efficiency and scored in both power plays they were given, and also once in box play so in the end Canada went off to a very clear 10-1 win taking them to the semi-finals as the first team.

The last match of the day was of play off character, a win for Australia would give them a place in the semi-finals and France needed at least a draw to still have the chance to reach the semi-finals. Australia took an early lead which later was extended by a power play goal after 9 minutes.

France got into the match with a power play goal after 16 minutes and the first period ended with Australia in a 2-1 lead. The remaining part of the match was even, Australia extended their lead several times but France kept on coming back over and over again – but in the end Australia won 7-6 taking them into the semi-finals.

First ever victory in a WFC for team Serbia

Serbia took their first ever victory with clear numbers against Georgia during the third day of the C-division.

Team Serbia had the ball in their possession 90% of the time in the first period, but the Georgians that were smaller both in size and number, managed to block the shots in front of their own goal and had a few pretty dangerous counter attacks. A two minutes Georgian penalty in the 12th minute was however crucial as Serbia´s Marko Petrovic scored his first goal of the match.

Zaza Chikhadze evened the score in the second period, but Robert Latkovic took Serbia to a one goal lead again. Then Nikola Novakovic and Marko Petrovic (2+2) increased the Serbian lead. Team Georgia proved their endurance as they still fought back with their nine players, but the score was still 2-5 after 40 minutes.

Alexander Silvert-Mitrovic began his show in the third period as he made two short handed goals, which meant a hat trick for him. Also Toni Valle (2+3) played a good match tonight and the final score was 9-3 to Serbia

Pictures: Leo Wittek, Slovak Floorball Association