Masters and Veterans World Championships – Day 6

Přerov, Nový Jičín – The gold medals at the Inline Hockey World Championships in the Masters' and Veterans' categories were won by Czech and French teams, respectively. In Nový Jičín, Czechs beat their former "federal" brothers from Slovakia, while in Přerov, France secured a dramatic one-goal victory over Switzerland.

In Přerov, the Masters' tournament saw its last day of games to determine the final rankings. The Slovaks entered the 11th-place game with only one win under their belts, while the Australians had not won yet and only managed to score a few goals. For a time, this game remained close thanks to the goaltending of Ells, but eventually the Slovaks broke down the door and won 9-1. 

In the game to determine 9th and 10th places, Great Britain and Slovenia were led by two snipers - Aleš Fajdiga of Slovenia and Marcel Malý of GB. Fajdiga scored four goals and Malý three in Slovenia's 6-4 victory. The Slovenes scored three of their goals while on the penalty kill.

While the Slovenes were dangerous shorthanded, the Italians were potent on the power play again on Saturday. They scored three times with the man advantage against Hungary and only once at even strength, helping them to a 4-3 win and seventh place. The Hungarians pressed hard at the end for the equalizer, but had to settle for eighth.

The USA scored five goals in the first half against Germany to lead 5-1. The offensive attack was led, once again, by Derek Kern. In the second half, the Germans scored a couple goals to come within two, but that was as close as they would get. A late insurance goal gave the Americans a 6-3 win and fifth place. 

In the battle for bronze, the Czechs were strong out of the gate, scored the game's first four goals had a firm 6-2 grasp on the game by halftime. They then added three more in the third to win going away, 9-2. The Czechs were unhappy not to be playing in the final in front of their home fans and took their frustrations out on the Canadians. Lubomír Korhoň scored three goals for the Czechs, but overall the offence was spread around rather evenly.

And in the dramatic finale, France and Switzerland traded goals in the first half and Richard Aimonetto scored his second goal of the game early in the second half to give his team the lead. Édouard Clisson added the third French goal with 10 minutes to play, but the Swiss pressed hard over the final quarter, got one goal back but couldn't quite get the equalizer as time ran out on them. They had to settle for silver as the French claimed the World Championship in the Masters' category for the third time in history.

In Nový Jičín, Australia had already claimed ninth place in the Veterans' category with two straight wins but they decided to play the third game of the series with New Zealand anyway. In the game, the Kiwis got their first win of the tournament, 4-2. Then in the game for seventh and eighth places, France handled Great Britain 8-1.

The game for fifth place was much more dramatic, however. Italy and Germany were deadlocked at 3-3 after 40 minutes and needed overtime to decide a winner. The hero was Italy's Andrea Banvegnu' in the 47th minute. Then in the bronze-medal game, the USA led Canada 3-1 at halftime, then added three more goals to win 6-3. 

In the bronze-medal game, the USA led 3-1 at halftime thanks to two goals from Michael Vicklerman, the Canadians closed the gap early in the second half, but then the Americans pulled away and eventually won 6-3. 

And finally, while the Czech masters had to settle for bronze, the Czech veterans did manage to win their championship on their home floor in Nový Jičín against their eastern neighbours from Slovakia. It was quite a game, too, as each team scored four times in the first half. The second half was much more defensive, however. The Czechs kept the Slovaks from scoring any further, while Petr Polívka's tally in the 30th minute turned out to be the tournament-winner. A late empty-netter made the final score 6-4, touching off a big celebration.