PRAGUE-OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC – The Carolina Hurricanes were represented by five players at the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship that began play on Friday.
Forwards Elias Lindholm (Sweden) and Victor Rask (Sweden), defensemen Justin Faulk (USA) and Michal Jordan (Czech Republic), and goaltender Anton Khudobin (Russia) are all competing in this year’s competition.
Carolina’s representation in the tournament also includes head coach Bill Peters on the Team Canada coaching staff and executive Don Waddell as a member of the Team USA management team.
IIHF Worlds 2015 – YouTube.com
Peters assumed his role as an assistant to head coach Todd McLellan as Team Canada was a 6-1 winner over Latvia, while Faulk posted a team-high plus-4 rating and logged just over 20 minutes as Team USA beat Finland 5-1.
(IIHF Worlds 2015 – YouTube.com)
Later in the day, Rask (1 goal) and Lindholm (1 assist) each posted points for Sweden, but suffered a heartbreaking 6-5 shootout loss to Jordan’s host Czech Republic squad.
(IIHF Worlds 2015 – YouTube.com)
Though not playing, Khudobin’s Team Russia recorded a dominating 6-2 win over Norway.
(IIHF Worlds 2015 – YouTube.com)
At the end of the day, Canada, Sweden, and Czech Republic sat in order atop Group A, and Team USA and Russia led Group B.
While Canada, Sweden, and Russia get a day to rest before returning to play on Sunday, Team USA and Czech Republic will play on Saturday.
Preliminary round-robin play in the 16-team tournament will continue through May 12, with the top eight qualifying for the medal round that begins May 14 and will culminate in the tournament gold medal game on May 17.
Games are viewable via online streaming and live stats updates per IIHF.com and NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra.
—
2015 IIHF World Championship