In a match in Group A of the men's Ice Hockey World Championships that ended last night, the Chinese team aiming to win the championship and promotion group won the key battle with a 5-1 victory over the Dutch team, the big favorite of the promotion group.
In the first round of the match, the Chinese team defeated the Israeli team that had just been promoted to Group A of the Second Division 14-1 and won the "opening red". On the evening of the 27th, the team ushered in an uphill battle. The world's 29th-ranked veteran team, the Netherlands, finished last in the last Division B World Championships and fell to Second Division for the second time in its history. The two sides were stuck in a stalemate from the beginning until the 17th minute of the match was broken by China's Jian'an, who was also selected as the MVP of the game.
No. 4 Jian'an
The Chinese men's ice hockey team participating in this World Championships is based on the lineup of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and after experiencing the tempering of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the world ranking of the Chinese men's ice hockey team has risen by 5 places, and is currently ranked 27th, which is the highest ranked team in this competition.
Due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the men's ice hockey world championship Division A match has been cancelled for the past two years, and the Chinese team ranked fifth with 1 win and 4 losses in the 2019 tournament. Due to the withdrawal of Australia, only 5 teams are left to compete for the qualification.
At present, the Chinese team has accumulated 6 points to temporarily rank first in the group, and next, the Chinese men's ice team will face the host Croatia team on April 30, Beijing time. As the host, the 31st-ranked Croatia team is determined to return to the first division after winning the world championship, retaining nearly ten veterans over 30 years old in the lineup, and the mature playing style and rich international experience are the team's advantages, and they have also won two consecutive games in the two games that have ended, 5-1 against Israel and 1-0 small victories over Spain.
Spain, currently in the transition between old and new, are 32nd in the first two matches, losing 3-5 and 0-1 to the Netherlands and Croatia respectively. Therefore, the next round of matches with Croatia will largely determine whether the Chinese men's ice team can complete the promotion group. Come on, Team China!