IIHF World Championships 2011 is hapening in Slovakia today?
IIHF World Championships 2011 is world best ice hockey tournament all over the world. The 2011 World Championship Icehockey, this time to be held in Slovakia. Host cities are Bratislava and Kosice. opening match will held between
USA vs Austria .whole
USA vs Austria are egarly waiting to watch the exiting game. ice hockey is the most popular game all over the world. so please donot miss the game .here you can watch
USA vs Austria live broadcasting IIHF World Championships 2011 match between Belarus vs Canada .
IIHF World Championships 2011
Slovakia
The 2011 World Championship Icehockey, this time to be held in Slovakia. Host cities are Bratislava and Kosice.
USA vs Austria
Match scheduled:
Date: 30-04-2011
Time: 14:15 until 17:15
Group Stage :: The 2011 IIHF World Championship Icehockey :: Slovakia
Click here IIHF World Championship 2011 LIVE TV
Before last year’s tournament in Germany, all the talk was of Czech hockey’s decline. That changed quickly after the Czechs marched to gold. Despite a roster featuring little NHL presence, they edged an Olympic-calibre Russian team 2-1 in the final.
The Czechs may not have the depth to build another international hockey dynasty like their reign of 1998 to 2001, when they won either the Olympics or the IIHF World Championship every year. Yet with a talented veteran group here in Bratislava, including more than 15 returning players from the 2010 squad, they certainly have the potential to challenge for top spot again this year.
Goal
Tomas Vokoun, a pending unrestricted free agent after yet another season with a save percentage of more than 92.0 with the Florida Panthers, won’t be between the pipes this year after backstopping his nation to gold in both 2005 and 2010. However, his two backups from 2010 should handle the netminding duties capably.
The starter will be Roman Pavelec of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers. Big and athletic, the 23-year-old Pavelec enjoyed a breakout season with 58 starts, a 2.73 GAA, and a .914 save percentage despite suiting up for the Eastern Conference’s weakest defensive club. Jakub Stepanek, who established himself as the top goalie for SKA St. Petersburg after Evgeni Nabokov’s KHL foray didn’t pan out, should also see some action after serving as the third goalie in 2010.
Defence
While injuries limited Minnesota Wild blueliner Marek Zidlicky to 46 games this year, the 34-year-old veteran still managed seven goals, the third-highest total of his NHL career, and 17 assists. He’ll be expected to quarterback the Czech power play, along with Karel Rachunek, the KHL’s leading point-getter among defencemen during both the regular season and playoffs with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Don’t expect a ton of bone-crunching bodychecks from this group, but even ex-NHL depth D-men like Martin Skoula and Lukas Krajicek bring enough puck-moving savvy that the Czechs should be just fine in their own zone.
