ZURICH – The November break last weekend did not only involve 20 teams in five Olympic Pre-Qualification events but also many more national teams in other events. The Czech Republic started the Euro Hockey Tour by winning the Karjala-turnaus in Finland.

The United States were successful in winning four events with their U20, U18, U17 and women’s national teams.

Men: Czechs, Germans, Slovenia win

The Czech Republic won the top event for men’s national teams in this break, the Karjala-turnaus that is part of the Euro Hockey Tour, a set of four tournaments that also includes Finland, Russia and Sweden.

The Czechs remain undefeated after the first tour stop defeating Sweden 3-1 on home ice in Liberec before winning in Turku against host Finland, 1-0, and Russia, 2-1. Petr Nedved, Zbynek Irgl, Jiri Tlusty, Petr Koukal and Jakub Petruzalek each had two points for the Czechs. Sweden’s Carl Söderberg was the only player who scored two goals in the event.

The Swedes finished in last place with zero points. Host nation Finland claimed second place after defeating Russia 2-1 in a shootout and Sweden 3-1.

While the forwards had little opportunities to shine, the goalies posted some impressive save percentages: Ondrej Pavelec (CZE) 98.46%, Pekka Rinne (FIN) 97.40%, Alexander Salak (CZE) 97.97%, Konstantin Barulin (RUS) 95.08%, Sergei Bobrovski (RUS) 94.44%, Tuukka Rast (FIN) 94.12%. Only the two Swedish goalkeepers finished with low marks: Gustaf Wesslau 88.68%, Johan Holmqvist 78.57%.

The Deutschland Cup in Germany is traditionally the second-strongest event of the November break and this year saw the host nation finished atop with three wins on home ice in Munich.

It was a strong start for new coach Pat Cortina. His team defeated a Canadian selection, mostly consisting of players from the German league, 3-2 before defeating archrival Switzerland and Slovakia with the same score, 2-0.

Switzerland claimed second place thanks to wins over Slovakia, 3-2, and Canada, 6-1. Slovakia had its only victory against the Canadian selection, 5-2.

Germany’s Michael Wolf was the scoring leader with five assists, while the offensive stats were otherwise dominated by the Swiss. Kevin Romy and Denis Hollenstein had four points apiece; Simon Bodemann, Tim Ramholt, Roman Wick and Andres Ambühl three each.

Germany used three goalkeepers, with Dennis Endras and Dimitrij Kotschnew each earning a shutout. Of the goalkeepers that were used in two games, Switzerland’s Martin Gerber had the most work, saving 76 out of 79 shots for a 96.20 save percentage.

Tournament number three among the national teams that were not part of the Olympic Pre-Qualification for nations ranked 19-30 was the Euro Ice Hockey Challenge in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The host nation was able to fill the Hala Tivoli since it was a rare opportunity for Slovenian fans to see their two NHL players, Anze Kopitar and Jan Mursak. And the team fulfilled its expectations by winning three games, including a 3-1 victory over established Top Division nation France and 6-3 against Austria, a rematch of last year’s Division I final.

Ales Kranjc became the tournament’s top scorer with three goals and two assists. Kopitar and Robert Sabolic also had five points. Mursak was 1+1 after three games.

The November break also included some other exhibition games including a three-team battle of Scandinavia between host Denmark and Norway. The Norwegians succeeded in all games.

U20: Swedes succeed in Sundsvall

Sweden, the reigning U20 world champion, started its season with a clean record defeating the Czech Republic, 2-1, Finland, 5-2, and Russia, 3-1, in a four nations tournament on home ice in Sundsvall.

Finland finished in second place and Russia was third with its “B team”. The top U20 team is currently touring through Canada to play against All-Star selections of the top junior leagues, OHL, QMJHL and WHL.

A player to watch at this tournament was 17-year-old Finnish forward Artturi Lehkonen. He was the top goal-getter of the last U18 World Championship as an underage player and impressed with the same performance in Sundsvall scoring three goals and an assist to send a strong message to the coach for his selection for the U20 World Championship next month in Ufa, Russia.

Slovakia succeeded at a tournament in Norway where they finished ahead of Switzerland’s U19 team, Norway and Germany, while Belarus won an event in Austria thanks to a 3-2 OT victory over Latvia.

The annual World Junior A Challenge in Canada took place in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, this year. It included two Canadian and an American selection as well as the Swiss U20 national team and the U18 teams from Russia and the Czech Republic.

Team USA succeeded thanks to a 6-3 victory in the final against Canada West. Switzerland finished in third place after blanking the home team Canada East 6-0 on the last day. Russia won the clash between the U18 teams for fifth place, 4-1 over the Czech Republic.

U18: USA successful in Ann Arbor

In the top events among U18 national teams USA Hockey invited three teams to Ann Arbor, home of the National Team Development Program.

The Americans defeated Finland 3-1 and Sweden 1-0 in the preliminary round but lost the game against Switzerland 5-4 in a shootout. However, in the final game the U.S. won the tournament, 3-1 vs Sweden. Switzerland claimed third place thanks to a 5-2 victory over Finland.

U.S. forwards Tyler Kelleher (2+4) and Anthony Louis (3+2) ended on top of the scoring ranking. Switzerland’s Jason Fuchs, the son of former national team player Régis Fuchs, came third with three goals and an assist.

Another U18 event took place in Bobruisk, Belarus, where Denmark succeeded thanks to wins over Germany, 2-1, Slovakia, 6-1 in shootout, and Belarus, 3-0.

Women: American revenge

The nations commonly regarded as the top-four nations in women’s hockey – although Switzerland has contested this view with last spring’s bronze medal win – met at a four nations tournament in Finland.

The event was the first clash between Canada and the U.S. after the Canadians claimed back first place thanks to a win in the gold medal game on the opponent’s ice in Burlington, Vermont.

The Canadians started off well in Finland. While facing little challenge against Finland and Sweden, the Canadian women also defeated the U.S. 3-1 in the preliminary round.

However, the fortunes turned in the final. Kendall Coyne opened the scoring for the U.S. with a shorthanded goal in the first period. Two unanswered power-play goals by Hilary Knight and Anne Schlepfer followed en route to a 3-0 blanking of Canada. Veteran goalie Jessie Vetter earned a shutout 26 saves while Charline Labonté had 19 saves in the Canadian net.

Also the clash between Northern Europe’s top nations ended with different results. Finland defeated Sweden 4-2 in the preliminary round while the Swedes took revenge with a 3-1 victory in the game for third place.

American forwards Knight (6+0) and Amanda Kessel (1+5) each had six points in four games. U.S. players Brianna Decker and Jocelyne Lamoureux, and Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser have five points each. Sweden’s Erika Grahm was the most successful European with three goals.

The Czech Republic, recently promoted to the Top Division, had a good start at the Halloween Cup in Füssen, Germany. After losing the first game to Switzerland 3-2 in overtime, the Czechs defeated Germany, 2-1, and Slovakia, 12-2, to win the tournament.

The Swiss fell down from first to third place on the last day after losing the last game against Germany 3-0. The win lifted the host team to second place. No other exhibition games were played since the nations ranked 13-21 were busy in the Olympic Pre-Qualification.

An U18 women’s tournament was staged in Dmitrov in the Moscow region. In a tight contest with two games ending in overtime Sweden came out as the winner.

The Swedes defeated Germany 5-0 and Russia 2-1 and ended it first place despite losing to Finland 3-2 in overtime. Finland finished in second place with six points while Russia collected five points for third place.

MARTIN MERK