Masters and Veterans World Championships - Day 5

The penultimate day of the Veterans' and Masters' World Championships in Nový Jičín and Přerov has past. While veterans celebrated their way to the final, after defeating Canada 9: 3, the Masters had to bite a tight defeat with France and play a bronze.

The first games on the agenda in Přerov were for ninth to twelfth places - that is, among the teams that failed to make the round of 16. The Slovaks went into action against the Slovenes and fell again, losing 4-1. After two minutes, it was 1-1, but the Slovenians kept pushing. After that, Great Britain and Australia hit the floor and the British won 6-2. The Australians were able to make it a game, but then they could not keep up with the British.

Two battles followed for fifth to eighth places. For the second time, the German and Italian teams met at this tournament, with the Germans winning again. Italians showed some improvement, but lost 3-1. A much bigger difference came between the USA and Hungary, with the Americans clearly dominating and winning 12-2.

Next up in Přerov were both semi-finals. First was the game between Switzerland and Canada, and it was a clear victory for the Swiss, who prevailed 7-1, thanks to a hat-trick by Rolf Schrepfer. The best game of the day in Přerov was the last one between the Czechs and French, but the result did not please the fans, as their team fell 4-3 to the French.  The Czechs led 2-1, but the late going belonged to France. The Czechs will face the Canadians for bronze on Saturday, with Switzerland taking on France in the final.  

There was a similar program in Nový Jičín, starting with placement games. In the second of a two-game set to determine ninth place, the Australians prevailed for the second time against their neighbours from New Zealand, meaning that they will claim ninth place. The teams will play for a third time on Saturday.

Next were two games for placing teams fifth through eighth. First, Germany avenged France for an 11-3 defeat in the group stage by winning 5-3. Next was the Italians beating Great Britain 4-1 on the strength of a strong first half

In the first semi-final, Slovakia played against the United States. The Slovak team was a slight favourite, but a tight battle was expected. However, the Americans started poorly and fell behind 4-0 in the first half. They began to play in the second and closed the gap to 4-3, but couldn't get the equalizer despite a long power play. Slovakia eventually won 6-3.

The nightcap featured the host Czechs and the Canadians. Like the Slovaks, the Czechs also had an excellent start to the game and after eight minutes led 3-0. They added two more goals in the half to put themselves firmly in the driver's seat the rest of the way. Partly due to Jiří Heš's hat-trick, the final score was 9-3 and the Canadians were never able to close the gap to less than four goals. 

That means that the Czech Republic will meet their neighbours from Slovakia in a highly anticipated final, while the bronze-medal game will feature another border clash between Canada and the USA.