Olympic Winter Games 2010 / Ice Hockey (Men) / Qualification

→ Main article : 2010 Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament

The qualification for the 2010 Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament took place between October 2008 and February 2009. Previously, nine of the twelve participants had already qualified directly through their placement in the IIHF world rankings and did not have to play another qualifying tournament. The three remaining places were played in a multi-stage system and finally won by the national teams of Germany , Latvia and Norway . The Kazakh and Italian national teams, which were still represented at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , however, missed the qualification.

Overview

competition	place	date	sub- contractor	viewers total	Games	O
Group E qualification	Hanover	0Feb 5, 2009 - Feb 8, 2009 0	4th	17,929	6th	2,988
Qualification group F	Riga	0Feb 5, 2009 - Feb 8, 2009 0	4th	27,050	6th	4,508
Group G qualification	Oslo	0Feb 5, 2009 - Feb 8, 2009 0	4th	8,490	6th	1,415
Pre-qualification group B	Narva	0Nov 6, 2008 - Nov 9, 2008 0	4th	3,188	6th	531
Pre-qualification group C	Budapest	0Nov 7, 2008 - Nov 9, 2008 0	4th	26,501	6th	4,416
Pre-qualification group D	Sanok	0Nov 6, 2008 - Nov 9, 2008 0	4th	10,600	6th	1,766
Pre-qualification group A	Ankara	0Oct 9, 2008 - Oct 11, 2008	4th	1,392	6th	232

Direct qualification

The first nine nations of the IIHF world rankings qualified for the Olympic tournament directly after the 2008 World Cup :

rank	country	World Cup 2008 (100%)	World Cup 2007 (75%)	World Cup 2006 (50%)	OS 2006 (50%)	World Cup 2005 (25%)	total
1	Canada	1160	1200	1100	1020	1160	3410
2	Russia	1200	1120	1060	1100	1120	3400
3	Sweden	1100	1000	1200	1200	1100	3400
4th	Finland	1120	1160	1120	1160	1020	3385
5	Czech Republic	1060	1020	1160	1120	1200	3265
6th	United States	1040	1060	1020	1000	1040	3105
7th	Switzerland	1020	1000	960	1040	1000	3020
8th	Slovakia	880	1040	1000	1060	1060	2955
9	Belarus	960	920	1040	880	940	2845
10	Germany	940	960	800	940	840	2740
11	Latvia	920	880	940	900	960	2740
12	Norway	1000	860	920	860	800	2735
13	Denmark	900	940	880	800	860	2660
14th	Italy	820	900	860	920	780	2580
15th	Slovenia	840	800	820	780	880	2460
16	Austria	800	840	780	840	820	2445
17th	Ukraine	760	820	900	760	920	2435
18th	France	860	780	740	820	740	2410
19th	Kazakhstan	740	720	840	960	900	2405
20th	Hungary	780	760	680	700	720	2220

mode

The national teams from 10th place on the world rankings played the three remaining places in qualifying tournaments between October 2008 and February 2009. A total of 24 countries registered for the seven tournaments.

The four registered teams took part in the pre-qualification from 31st place in the world rankings after the 2008 World Cup. The pre-qualification was played out in a group. The winner and the eleven national teams in the world rankings 19 to 30 - with the exception of the People's Republic of China  - met in the first qualifying round in three groups of four teams. The three group winners reached the second qualifying round, in which they then met the nine teams that finished 10th to 18th in the world rankings. There was again played in three groups with four teams each. The respective group winners finally qualified for the Olympic ice hockey tournament.

The International Ice Hockey Federation formed a ranking among the non-qualified nations that was also included in the 2010 IIHF world rankings .

Pre-qualification

A pre-qualification was played from October 9th to 11th, 2008. The participants in this tournament were Bulgaria , Spain , Mexico and Turkey . The host was the Turkish Association, which organized the tournament in Ankara in the Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü Buz Pateni Sarayı .

Group A

Olympic qualification, group A.
Number of nations	4th
Qualifier	Spain
Venue (s)	Ankara , Turkey
opening	October 9, 2008
Final day	October 11, 2008
spectator	1,392 (232 per game)
Gates	59 (9.83 per game)
Awards
Best goalkeeper	José Luis Alonso
Best defender	Fernando Ugarte
Best striker	Alexei Jotov
Top scorer	Alexej Jotow (12 points)

After the tournament was initially supposed to take place in İzmit , the Turkish Association moved the venue to the capital Ankara at short notice. Due to the best goal difference in a direct comparison, the Spaniards prevailed against the Bulgarians and Mexicans tied on points. The narrow defeat against Mexico did not change anything, as the Iberians were able to clearly win the duel against the previously unbeaten Bulgarians in the final game. Turkey, which was the only team in World Cup Division III, ended the tournament without any chance.

The Bulgarian Alexej Jotow emerged as the best scorer with twelve scorer points from the tournament. He was well ahead of the Mexican Brian Arroyo , who had eight points.

A total of 1,392 spectators attended the six qualifying games, which corresponds to an average of 232 per game.

venue

Ankara , Turkey

Ankara Venue of the qualification

Venue

Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü Buz Pateni Sarayı Capacity: 1,150

October 9, 2008 2:30 p.m. (local time)

Mexico B. Arroyo (13:09) O. O'Farrill (49:50)

2: 6 (1: 2, 0: 3, 1: 1) game report

Bulgaria S. Muchachev (6:08) S. Muchachev (11:58) A. Jotow (26:00) A. Jotow (31:41) G. Mladenow (32:09) S. Muchachev (55:54)

Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü Buz Pateni Sarayı, Ankara Spectators: 50

October 9, 2008 6:00 p.m.

Spain A. Roshchyn (2:37) C. Santanatalia (17:54) I. Gracia (27:20) S. Barnola (30:41) A. Pedraz (33:14) J. Bernet (34:40) I. Gracia (37:20) I. Codina (38:20) A. Roshchyn (46:33) J. Muñoz (48:37) P. Muñoz (55:24) A. Pedraz (56:50) I. Codina (58:57) C. Santanatalia (59:57)

14: 1 (2: 1, 6: 0, 6: 0) game report

Turkey E. Coşkun (0:28)

Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü Buz Pateni Sarayı, Ankara Spectators: 465

October 10, 2008 2:30 p.m.

Spain G. Betran (3:45) A. Hernández (11:51) P. Muñoz (18:16) P. Muñoz (34:28)

4: 5 (3: 2, 1: 2, 0: 1) game report

Mexico B. Arroyo (6:29) A. Cervantes (15:34) J. Canseco (27:53) M. Sierra (39:08) B. Arroyo (51:05)

Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü Buz Pateni Sarayı, Ankara Spectators: 146

October 10, 2008 6:00 p.m.

Bulgaria S. Muchachev (3:30) S. Muchachev (19:41) R. Morgunow (27:40) R. Christow (31:42) S. Batschwarow (38:20) A. Jotow (51:45) R . Christow (53:49) S. Batschwarow (55:46)

8: 0 (2: 0, 3: 0, 3: 0) game report

Turkey

Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü Buz Pateni Sarayı, Ankara Spectators: 256

October 11, 2008 1:30 p.m.

Bulgaria A. Jotow (30:53) A. Jotow (47:27)

2: 6 (0: 1, 1: 4, 1: 1) game report

Spain I. Codina (4:30) A. Betran (24:43) J. Brabo (25:11) J. Muñoz (27:41) J. Muñoz (29:09) G. Betran (44:45)

Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü Buz Pateni Sarayı, Ankara Spectators: 125

October 11, 2008 5:00 p.m.

Turkey C. Akyıldız (34:48) D. İnce (41:18)

2: 9 (0: 3, 1: 2, 1: 4) match report

Mexico E. Glennie (6:06) M. Sierra (15:56) A. Cervantes (17:08) B. Arroyo (23:07) B. Arroyo (28:39) M. Zavala (44:18) JP Roberts (49:00) A. Barberena (50:22) E. Glennie (57:03)

Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü Buz Pateni Sarayı, Ankara Spectators: 350

Pl.		Sp	S.	OTS	OTN	N	Gates	Points
1.	Spain	3	2	0	0	1	24: 08	6th
2.	Bulgaria	3	2	0	0	1	16: 08	6th
3.	Mexico	3	2	0	0	1	16:12	6th
4th	Turkey	3	0	0	0	3	03:31	0

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp = games, S = victories, OTS = victories after overtime or penalty shoot-out , OTN = defeats after extra time or penalty shoot-out, N = defeats
Explanations: Qualifier for the first round

First qualifying round

The first qualifying round took place between November 6th and 9th, 2008. The three group heads enjoyed the right to determine the location of the alignment. Hungary and Poland made use of this right in groups C and D, while Kazakhstan was satisfied with Estonia as the group B tournament host.

Group B

Olympic qualification, group B
Number of nations	4th
Qualifier	Kazakhstan
Venue (s)	Narva , Estonia
opening	November 6, 2008
Final day	November 9, 2008
spectator	3,188 (531 per game)
Gates	57 (9.50 per game)
Awards
Top scorer	Andrei Spiridonow (6 points)

The group B games of the first qualifying round took place from November 6 to 9, 2008 in Narva Jäähall in Narva , Estonia .

Kazakhstan impressively underpinned its favorite position in the opening game of the tournament, when pre-qualifying winners Spain were defeated 17-0 - at the same time the highest victory of the entire first round. After another victory over hosts Estonia, which had caused a little sensation the day before with a 6-4 victory over the Netherlands, the final game of the Kazakhs against the Dutch was pure formality. With a 7-2 win over the Netherlands, the Kazakhs reached the final qualification with a flawless record of three wins and 31-2 goals. Second place went to the Baltic hosts who defeated the hopelessly inferior qualifier from the Iberian Peninsula in the final tournament game.

The Kazakhs Andrei Spiridonow , Alexander Schin and Dosschan Jessirkenow emerged as the best scorers with six scorer points each from the tournament. They were followed by another nine of their teammates and an Estonian with five points. With four tournament goals each, the Kazakhs Andrei Spiridonow and Talgat Schailauow scored the most goals.

A total of 3,188 spectators attended the six qualifying games, which corresponds to an average of 531 per game.

venue

Narva , Estonia

Narva Venue of the qualification

Venue

Narva Jäähall Capacity: 1,500

November 6, 2008 3:00 p.m. (local time)

Kazakhstan R. Startchenko (1:03) A. Shin (1:56) W. Krasnoslobodzew (2:08) A. Gavrilin (4:16) W. Smolyaninov (9:21) A. Vyatkin (12:57) A. Lakisa (15:36) S. Alexandrow (27:37) R. Savchenko (28:32) T. Shailauow (30:01) A. Spiridonow (36:11) A. Shin (36:49) T. Shailauow (39:00) J. Kostrikow (48:58) A. Gawrilin (51:36) J. Kostrikow (53:33) D. Jessirkenow (59:02)

17: 0 (7: 0, 6: 0, 4: 0) game report

Spain

Narva Jäähall, Narva viewers: 432

November 6, 2008 7:00 p.m.

Netherlands B. Smulders (4:20) M. Kars (9:52) A. van Bentem (35:23) J. Schaafsma (42:52)

4: 6 (2: 1, 1: 1, 1: 4) game report

Estonia M. Ivanov (18:55) J. Sorokin (30:27) V. Süvaoja (43:25) V. Titarenko (45:44) A. Kuznetsov (54:11) A. Sibirtsev (59:29)

Narva Jäähall, Narva audience: 560

November 7, 2008 3:00 p.m.

Netherlands E. Tummers (20:24) M. Kars (24:58) M. Postma (45:07) M. Postma (54:49)

4: 1 (0: 1, 2: 0, 2: 0) game report

Spain P. Muñoz (19:05)

Narva Jäähall, Narva viewers: 155

November 7, 2008 7:00 p.m.

Estonia

0: 7 (0: 4, 0: 2, 0: 1) game report

Kazakhstan R. Startschenko (6:21) J. Fadejew (8:56) A. Spiridonov (9:56) A. Spiridonov (12:58) S. Alexandrov (23:22) A. Litvinenko (29:21) T . Schailauow (42:04)

Narva Jäähall, Narva audience: 1,200

November 9, 2008 3:00 p.m.

Kazakhstan W. Krasnoslobodzew (3:36) T. Shailauow (12:55) J. Rymarew (22:28) A. Gavrilin (37:27) A. Spiridonov (38:52) I. Solarev (42:01) I. Solarjow (52:56)

7: 2 (2: 1, 3: 1, 2: 0) game report

Netherlands J.-J. Natte (5:21) J. Schaafsma (27:44)

Narva Jäähall, Narva viewers: 206

November 9, 2008 7:00 p.m.

Spain A. Pedraz (25:01)

1: 8 (0: 2, 1: 3, 0: 3) game report

Estonia J. Sorokin (8:43) A. Ossipov (12:33) O. Sildre (21:56) V. Titarenko (23:18) A. Jastrebov (37:27) O. Sildre (41:02) P . Sildre (46:00) A. Sibirtsev (56:39)

Narva Jäähall, Narva viewers: 635

Pl.		Sp	S.	OTS	OTN	N	Gates	Points
1.	Kazakhstan	3	3	0	0	0	31: 02	9
2.	Estonia	3	2	0	0	1	14:12	6th
3.	Netherlands	3	1	0	0	2	10:14	3
4th	Spain	3	0	0	0	3	02:29	0

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp = games, S = victories, OTS = victories after overtime or penalty shoot-out , OTN = defeats after extra time or penalty shoot-out, N = defeats
Explanations: Qualifier for the second round

Group C

Olympic qualification, group C
Number of nations	4th
Qualifier	Hungary
Venue (s)	Budapest , Hungary
opening	November 6, 2008
Final day	November 9, 2008
spectator	26,501 (4,416 per game)
Gates	45 (7.50 per game)
Awards
Best goalkeeper	Vanja Belic
Best defender	Viktor Tokaji
Best striker	Dmitrijus Bernatavičius
Top scorer	Balázs Ladányi Gábor Ocskay (7 points each)

The Group C games of the first qualifying round took place from November 7th to 9th, 2008 in the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna in the Hungarian capital Budapest .

With three significant victories of the hosts Hungary, in the previous spring when substantiated World Cup had managed to climb from the Division I in the top pool, his favorite position and qualified for the second and final round of qualifying. After the victories of the Hungarians and Lithuanians over the two participating Balkan states Serbia and Croatia, the final game day saw the "final" of the tournament victory. There, Hungary set the course for victory at an early stage in front of its home crowd. Croatia secured third place with a clear 5-1 victory over neighboring Serbia.

The Hungarians Balázs Ladányi and Gábor Ocskay emerged as the best scorers with seven scorer points each from the tournament. Both scored two goals themselves and prepared five more. Her teammate János Vas and Croatian Oliver Ciganović scored the most goals with four tournament goals each.

A total of 26,501 spectators attended the six qualifying games, which corresponds to an average of 4,416 per game.

venue

Budapest , Hungary

Budapest Venue of the qualification

Venue

Papp László Sportaréna Capacity: 9,479

Exterior view of the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna

November 7, 2008 2:30 p.m. (local time)

Lithuania K. Nekraševičius (28:21) D. Vaiciukevičius (30:23) M. Šlikas (37:01) R. Aliukonis (40:27)

4: 2 (0: 2, 3: 0, 1: 0) game report

Croatia O. Ciganović (7:33) V. Žibret (19:59)

Papp László Sportaréna, Budapest Spectators: 400

November 7, 2008 6:00 p.m.

Hungary B. Svasznek (2:37) R. Ondrejcik (12:19) B. Ladányi (13:58) K. Palkovics (16:38) R. Ondrejcik (23:04) G. Ocskay (43:08) A. . Vaszjunyin (47:28) J. Vas (47:53) A. Horváth (54:18)

9: 1 (4: 0, 1: 1, 4: 0) game report

Serbia D. Pajić (30:19)

Papp László Sportaréna, Budapest Spectators: 6,500

November 8, 2008 2:00 p.m.

Lithuania S. Ivanuskin (26:49) Š. Kuliešius (29:29) D. Bernatavičius (36:18) Š. Kuliešius (36:36) K. Šlikas (49:57) D. Kulevičius (50:55) A. Kaminskas (58:27)

7: 2 (0: 1, 4: 1, 3: 0) game report

Serbia D. Nadaški (17:03) D. Pajić (30:23)

Papp László Sportaréna, Budapest Spectators: 1,500

November 8, 2008 5:30 p.m.

Croatia O. Ciganović (45:22)

1: 6 (0: 2, 0: 3, 1: 1) game report

Hungary A. Horváth (6:06) G. Ocskay (8:40) J. Vas (25:54) I. Peterdi (28:59) R. Ondrejcik (39:34) D. Fekete (59:04)

Papp László Sportaréna, Budapest Spectators: 7,898

November 9, 2008 2:00 p.m.

Serbia M. Sretović (34:26)

1: 5 (0: 1, 1: 3, 0: 1) game report

Croatia T. Grozaj (11:01) O. Ciganović (20:32) O. Ciganović (35:42) M. Lovrenčić (38:06) D. Kanaet (56:22)

Papp László Sportaréna, Budapest Spectators: 1,683

November 9, 2008 5:30 p.m.

Hungary J. Vas (6:42) R. Holéczy (8:43) B. Ladányi (13:57) J. Vas (48:51) K. Palkovics (51:14)

5: 2 (3: 1, 0: 0, 2: 1) game report

Lithuania Š. Kuliešius (13:14) A. Kaminskas (47:23)

Papp László Sportaréna, Budapest Spectators: 8,520

Pl.		Sp	S.	OTS	OTN	N	Gates	Points
1.	Hungary	3	3	0	0	0	20: 04	9
2.	Lithuania	3	2	0	0	1	13: 09	6th
3.	Croatia	3	1	0	0	2	08:11	3
4th	Serbia	3	0	0	0	3	04:21	0

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp = games, S = victories, OTS = victories after overtime or penalty shoot-out , OTN = defeats after extra time or penalty shoot-out, N = defeats
Explanations: Qualifier for the second round

Group D

Olympic qualification, group D.
Number of nations	4th
Qualifier	Japan
Venue (s)	Sanok , Poland
opening	November 6, 2008
Final day	November 9, 2008
spectator	10,600 (1,766 per game)
Gates	41 (6.83 per game)
Awards
Top scorer	Greg Chambers (6 points)

The matches in Group D of the first qualifying round were from 6 to 9 November 2008 in Sanok Arena in Polish Sanok instead.

After the best placed team in the IIHF world rankings had prevailed in groups B and C, the Poles, who were set as the group head, missed the next round in front of their home crowd. The tendencies had already become clear on the first two match days. While the Japanese and Poles had won their games against Romania and Great Britain, it came - as in the other two groups - on the last day to the decisive game for the tournament victory, in which the Asians went by one point, as the Poles Great Britain on first matchday had only defeated in the penalty shoot-out, while Japan had won in regular time with just 2-1. The Japanese eventually defeated Poland 3-1 and advanced to the next round. Third place went to Great Britain, who relegated the hopelessly defeated Romanians to fourth place with a final 11-1 victory.

Brit Greg Chambers emerged as the best scorer with six scorer points , all of which were goal preparations. With four tournament goals, the Pole Krzysztof Zapała scored the most goals.

A total of 10,600 spectators attended the six qualifying games, which corresponds to an average of 1,766 per game.

venue

Sanok , Poland

Sanok Venue of the qualification

Venue

Sanok Arena Capacity: 3,100

Facade of the Sanok Arena

November 6, 2008 3:30 p.m. (local time)

Japan G. Tanaka (7:32) T. Yamashita (8:54) M. Domeki (19:08) Y. Iimura (22:35) M. Ogawa (36:15) Y. Iimura (38:45) T Yamashita (42:06)

7: 0 (3: 0, 3: 0, 1: 0) game report

Romania

Sanok Arena, Sanok spectators: 600

November 6, 2008 7:30 p.m.

Poland M. Urbanowicz (8:54) K. Zapała (30:53) D. Słaboń (PS)

3: 2 n.P. (1: 1, 1: 0, 0: 1, 0: 0, 1: 0) Match report

Great Britain D. Clarke (6:02) D. Meyers (56:21)

Sanok Arena, Sanok spectators: 2,500

November 7, 2008 3:45 p.m.

Japan G. Tanaka (17:50) D. Obara (27:48)

2: 1 (1: 1, 1: 0, 0: 0) game report

Great Britain J. Weaver (18:33)

Sanok Arena, Sanok spectators: 300

November 7, 2008 7:15 pm

Romania E. Moldován (15:02)

1: 9 (1: 3, 0: 3, 0: 3) match report

Poland K. Zapała (0:19) M. Łopuski (3:29) M. Kolusz (18:02) G. Piekarski (31:10) A. Borzęcki (37:05) T. Proszkiewicz (37:55) D. Słaboń (40:52) K. Zapała (47:42) P. Dronia (51:20)

Sanok Arena, Sanok spectators: 2,400

November 9, 2008 2:30 p.m.

Great Britain J. Weaver (4:55) C. Shields (5:45) R. Cowley (7:23) D. Clarke (17:12) A. Tait (22:43) G. Owen (36:15) D. . Phillips (37:43) J. Phillips (46:01) D. Clarke (48:03) M. Richardson (52:30) L. Jamieson (58:09)

11: 1 (4: 0, 3: 1, 4: 0) match report

Romania Z. Antal (25:22)

Sanok Arena, Sanok spectators: 800

November 9, 2008 6:15 p.m.

Poland K. Zapała (28:57)

1: 3 (0: 3, 1: 0, 0: 0) match report

Japan Y. Iimura (9:07) M. Domeki (9:31) D. Obara (12:44)

Sanok Arena, Sanok spectators: 4,000

Pl.		Sp	S.	OTS	OTN	N	Gates	Points
1.	Japan	3	3	0	0	0	12: 02	9
2.	Poland	3	1	1	0	1	13: 06	5
3.	Great Britain	3	1	0	1	1	14: 06	4th
4th	Romania	3	0	0	0	3	02:27	0

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp = games, S = victories, OTS = victories after overtime or penalty shoot-out , OTN = defeats after extra time or penalty shoot-out, N = defeats
Explanations: Qualifier for the second round

Second qualifying round

The second qualifying round took place from February 5-8, 2009. The three group heads enjoyed the right to determine the location of the alignment and made use of it. The group E tournament organized by the German Ice Hockey Federation took place in the TUI Arena in Hanover , while the other two tournaments were held in Oslo in Norway and in the Latvian capital Riga . There the Jordal Amfi and the Arēna Rīga served as venues.

Group E

Olympic qualification, group E.
Number of nations	4th
Qualifier	Germany
Venue (s)	Hanover , Germany
opening	February 5, 2009
Final day	February 8, 2009
spectator	17,929 (2,988 per game)
Gates	37 (6.17 per game)
Awards
Best goalkeeper	Dimitri Pätzold
Best defender	André Lakos
Best striker	John Tripp
Top scorer	Michael Grabner (5 points)

As announced by the German Ice Hockey Association in July 2008, the Group E games were played in the TUI Arena in Hanover , the home ground of the Hanover Scorpions from the German Ice Hockey League .

After the second day of the tournament, the favorite German national team of national coach Uwe Krupp was the tournament winner and thus one of the three final qualifiers for the Olympic tournament in Vancouver. After a clear 7-1 win against overwhelmed Japanese, the tenth in the IIHF world rankings from 2008 managed another, albeit narrow, victory against the Austrians who had only moved up to the top division last year. Since the Slovenes, who were also in the group , had been defeated by both Austria in extra time and the Japanese only in the penalty shoot-out, all other teams with the exception of Germany had already collected a lot of loss points, making the Germans the winners even before the final games on the last day of the game of the tournament. The final victories of Austria over Japan and Germany over Slovenia therefore only had statistical value.

The Austrian Michael Grabner emerged from the tournament as the best scorer and at the same time the most accurate goalscorer with five scorer points , all of them goals. With three tournament hits, the German John Tripp placed behind him in both ratings. Most of the goal preparations go to Grabner's compatriot Oliver Setzinger , who prepared three goals for his team. The Austrian Grabner traveled from North America to Hanover for the tournament weekend to lead his team to Vancouver. He had been released from his team, the Manitoba Moose from the American Hockey League - also the farm team of the Vancouver Canucks from the Olympic host city - for qualification. Germany's Dimitri Pätzold , who, in a duo with teammate Dennis Endras, had by far the best statistical values, was honored as the best goalkeeper . His compatriot John Tripp also received the award for best striker, while Austrian André Lakos received the nomination for best defender.

A total of 17,929 spectators attended the six qualifying games, which corresponds to an average of 2,988 per game.

venue

Hanover , Germany

Hanover Venue of the qualification

Venue

TUI Arena Capacity: 10,767

Exterior view of the TUI Arena

February 5, 2009 4:00 p.m. (local time)

Slovenia A. Hebar (21:48) M. Rodman (30:30) M. Rodman (39:44)

3: 4 a.d. (0: 0, 3: 2, 0: 1, 0: 1) game report

Austria M. Grabner (24:52) M. Grabner (35:39) T. Koch (55:01) A. Lakos (63:40)

TUI Arena, Hanover Spectators: 1,016

February 5, 2009 7:30 p.m.

Germany Y. Seidenberg (3:57) M. Wolf (6:07) P. Gogulla (15:00) M. Klinge (31:28) R. Mueller (31:57) J. Tripp (32:55) J . Tripp (53:22)

7: 1 (3: 1, 3: 0, 1: 0) game report

Japan M. Domeki (19:01)

TUI Arena, Hanover Spectators: 4,318

February 7, 2009 12:00 p.m.

Slovenia T. Razingar (0:59) I. Jan (11:37) A. Mušič (28:45) A. Kranjc (30:34)

4: 5 n.P. (2: 1, 2: 1, 0: 2, 0: 0, 0: 1) Match report

Japan M. Domeki (16:45) R. Kawai (27:02) B. Ishioka (47:00) G. Tanaka (56:12) G. Tanaka (PS)

TUI Arena, Hanover spectators: 2,380

February 7, 2009 3:30 p.m.

Austria D. Kalt (30:49)

1: 2 (0: 0, 1: 2, 0: 0) game report

Germany Y. Seidenberg (22:04) J. Tripp (33:03)

TUI Arena, Hanover Spectators: 5,034

February 8, 2009 1:30 p.m.

Japan D. Mitani (34:45) D. Obara (42:59)

2: 5 (0: 1, 1: 3, 1: 1) game report

Austria M. Grabner (13:05) M. Grabner (26:39) D. Welser (31:30) M. Grabner (31:55) P. Lakos (48:25)

TUI Arena, Hanover spectators: 1,423

February 8, 2009 5:10 pm

Germany M. Hackert (12:22) T. Mulock (21:12)

2: 1 (1: 0, 1: 0, 0: 1) game report

Slovenia A. Mušič (48:07)

TUI Arena, Hanover Spectators: 3,758

Pl.		Sp	S.	OTS	OTN	N	Gates	Points
1.	Germany	3	3	0	0	0	11: 03	9
2.	Austria	3	1	1	0	1	10: 07	5
3.	Japan	3	0	1	0	2	08:16	2
4th	Slovenia	3	0	0	2	1	08:11	2

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp = games, S = victories, OTS = victories after overtime or penalty shoot-out , OTN = defeats after extra time or penalty shoot-out, N = defeats
Explanations: Qualifier for the Olympic Winter Games

Group F.

Olympic qualification, group F
Number of nations	4th
Qualifier	Latvia
Venue (s)	Riga , Latvia
opening	February 5, 2009
Final day	February 8, 2009
spectator	27,050 (4,508 per game)
Gates	38 (6.33 per game)
Awards
Top scorer	Jānis Sprukts (7 points)

Group F games of the second qualifying round took place in the Arēna Rīga , the largest sports arena in the Latvian capital. The hall, which can hold a maximum of 11,000 spectators, was the main venue and venue for the final game at the 2006 Ice Hockey World Championship in the Baltic state.

As in Group E, favorite and host Latvia prevailed. The decisive factor for the Latvians was, in addition to the decisive 4-1 victory over Italy in the last group game, that their big rival Italy already in the first game of the tournament against the Ukrainians - the only participant from the World Cup Division I - with 2: 3 and therefore lost valuable points. After Italy and Latvia scored three points each on the second day of the tournament and the Ukrainians suffered a defeat, Latvia only had one point to qualify on the final day. The Hungarians, who had only qualified for the second round through the qualifying tournament held in their own country, landed in last place. They only managed to get a point against the Ukrainians.

As the best scorer, Latvian Jānis Sprukts emerged from the tournament with seven scorer points , including five goal preparations. With four tournament hits, his compatriot Mārtiņš Karsums scored the most goals. Both players had previously been released from their National Hockey League clubs - Sprukts from the Florida Panthers and Karsums from the Boston Bruins  - especially for the tournament. The best statistical values ​​among the goalkeepers also had a Latvian, Sergejs Naumovs .

A total of 27,050 spectators attended the six qualifying games, which corresponds to an average of 4,508 per game. This was also the best average of all three qualifying tournaments of the second round.

venue

Riga , Latvia

Riga Venue of the qualification

Venue

Arēna Rīga Capacity: 10,300

Exterior view of the Arēna Rīga

February 5, 2009 2:00 p.m. (local time)

Italy R. Ramoser (55:11) R. Ramoser (55:37)

2: 3 (0: 1, 0: 0, 2: 2) game report

Ukraine S. Varlamow (14:38) S. Varlamow (52:52) O. Materukhin (54:28)

Arēna Rīga, Riga Spectators: 1,100

February 5, 2009 6:00 p.m.

Latvia J. Sprukts (12:33) A. Reķis (25:16) L. Dārziņš (26:03) M. Karsums (30:37) H. Vasiļjevs (48:05) L. Dārziņš (57:57) M . Karsums (59:29)

7: 3 (1: 1, 3: 2, 3: 0) match report

Hungary B. Ladányi (7:06) M. Vas (29:05) B. Svasznek (37:59)

Arēna Rīga, Riga Spectators: 4,900

February 6, 2009 2:00 p.m.

Italy L. Ansoldi (13:42) A. Aquino (14:17) J. Pittis (27:29) M. Chitaroni (45:44)

4: 1 (2: 0, 1: 0, 1: 1) game report

Hungary B. Svasznek (58:49)

Arēna Rīga, Riga Spectators: 900

February 6, 2009 6:00 p.m.

Ukraine A. Srjubko (18:57) S. Klymentjew (58:48)

2: 4 (1: 0, 0: 2, 1: 2) game report

Latvia M. Karsums (24:40) M. Rēdlihs (33:38) A. Ņiživijs (47:31) J. Sprukts (59:45)

Arēna Rīga, Riga Spectators: 8,250

February 8, 2009 12:00 p.m.

Hungary G. Ocskay (21:47) J. Vas (31:28) K. Palkovics (57:25)

3: 4 n.P. (0: 0, 2: 0, 1: 3, 0: 0, 0: 1) Match report

Ukraine O. Tymchenko (51:39) O. Materukhin (54:41) W. Shakhraychuk (58:44) S. Varlamow (PS)

Arēna Rīga, Riga Spectators: 1,900

February 8, 2009 4:00 p.m.

Latvia Ģ. Ankipāns (8:48) M. Cipulis (10:01) M. Karsums (34:25) L. Dārziņš (42:59)

4: 1 (2: 0, 1: 0, 1: 1) game report

Italy G. Scandella (40:15)

Arēna Rīga, Riga Spectators: 10,000

Pl.		Sp	S.	OTS	OTN	N	Gates	Points
1.	Latvia	3	3	0	0	0	15: 06	9
2.	Ukraine	3	1	1	0	1	09: 09	5
3.	Italy	3	1	0	0	2	07: 08	3
4th	Hungary	3	0	0	1	2	07:15	1

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp = games, S = victories, OTS = victories after overtime or penalty shoot-out , OTN = defeats after extra time or penalty shoot-out, N = defeats
Explanations: Qualifier for the Olympic Winter Games

Group G

Olympic qualification, group G
Number of nations	4th
Qualifier	Norway
Venue (s)	Oslo , Norway
opening	February 5, 2009
Final day	February 8, 2009
spectator	8,490 (1,415 per game)
Gates	34 (5.67 per game)
Awards
Top scorer	Patrick Thoresen (6 points)

The matches in Group G found in the venerable Jordal Amfi of Oslo instead. The stadium, which has a capacity of 5,500 and was built in 1951, had already hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics and the 1999 Ice Hockey World Championship . In the third qualification group, the team that was best placed in the IIHF world rankings also prevailed. Despite being five points ahead, the Norwegians had to tremble for qualification well into the final and decisive group game against their neighbors Denmark. Although the Danes had a bad start to the tournament due to a surprising defeat after extra time against France, a victory over Kazakhstan saved them from premature end. After France was defeated by Norway and Kazakhstan, it was decided in a purely Scandinavian duel who should get the starting place for Vancouver. Up to half of the game, the Danes led 2-1 against the hosts. Only then did the Norwegians get the game under control and ex- NHL player Patrick Thoresen saved his team from being eliminated with a hat trick .

The Norwegians Patrick Thoresen and Tore Vikingstad emerged as the best scorer with six points each from the tournament. While Thoresen was also the top scorer of the tournament with four tournament hits, Vikingstad scored three goals. Almost single-handedly, both ensured that the Scandinavians qualified successfully. There was little difference between the goalkeepers. The Kazakh Alexei Kusnezow as well as the Norwegian Pål Grotnes and the French Fabrice Lhenry had very similar values ​​in the statistics for goals against goals against and shots saved .

A total of only 8,490 spectators attended the six qualifying games, which corresponds to an average of 1,415 spectators per game. Especially the games without Norwegian participation were only moderately attended.

venue

Oslo , Norway

Oslo Venue of the qualification

Venue

Jordal Amfi Capacity: 5,000

Exterior view of the Jordal Amfi

February 5, 2009 3:00 p.m. (local time)

Denmark D. Nielsen (8:11)

1: 2 n.V. (1: 0, 0: 0, 0: 1, 0: 1) game report

France S. Bordeleau (43:19) B. Amar (61:18)

Jordal Amfi, Oslo Spectators: 325

February 5, 2009 7:00 p.m.

Norway P. Thoresen (26:49) T. Vikingstad (33:00)

2: 1 (0: 0, 2: 1, 0: 0) game report

Kazakhstan W. Krasnoslobodzew (29:55)

Jordal Amfi, Oslo Spectators: 2,069

February 7, 2009 1:00 p.m.

Denmark L. Eller (5:34) J. Damgaard (34:54) M. Green (46:36)

3: 2 (1: 1, 1: 0, 1: 1) game report

Kazakhstan R. Savchenko (4:58) K. Kassatkin (59:59)

Jordal Amfi, Oslo Spectators: 455

February 7, 2009 5:00 p.m.

France P.-É. Bellemare (27:15) O. Coqueux (40:17)

2: 3 (0: 1, 1: 2, 1: 0) match report

Norway T. Vikingstad (17:32) T. Vikingstad (35:52) M. Ask (37:43)

Jordal Amfi, Oslo spectators: 2,313

February 8, 2009 1:00 p.m.

Kazakhstan R. Startschenko (5:50) R. Savchenko (6:13) I. Solarev (25:27) A. Ogorodnikow (26:08) K. Kassatkin (33:40) W. Rifel (48:40) A. . Gavrilin (53:42) W. Krasnoslobodzew (54:10)

8: 2 (2: 0, 3: 1, 3: 1) game report

France F. Rozenthal (37:16) L. Tardif (58:53)

Jordal Amfi, Oslo Spectators: 314

February 8, 2009 5:00 p.m.

Norway L.-E. Spets (4:09) P. Thoresen (27:54) P. Thoresen (37:26) J. Holøs (49:40) P. Thoresen (58:13)

5: 3 (1: 2, 2: 0, 2: 1) game report

Denmark M. Bødker (0:45) N. Hardt (14:43) R. Olsen (56:36)

Jordal Amfi, Oslo Spectators: 3,014

Pl.		Sp	S.	OTS	OTN	N	Gates	Points
1.	Norway	3	3	0	0	0	10: 06	9
2.	Denmark	3	1	0	1	1	07: 09	4th
3.	Kazakhstan	3	1	0	0	2	11: 07	3
4th	France	3	0	1	0	2	06:12	2

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp = games, S = victories, OTS = victories after overtime or penalty shoot-out , OTN = defeats after extra time or penalty shoot-out, N = defeats
Explanations: Qualifier for the Olympic Winter Games

Web links

• Overview of the qualifying tournaments

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IIHF World Ranking List for Men 2008
2. ↑ iihf.com, Spain advances
3. ↑ ^{a b c} iihf.com, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Japan towards Vancouver
4. ↑ iihf.com, Olympic qualifier in Hanover
5. ↑ iihf.com, Olympic qualifier in Oslo, Riga
6. ↑ ^{a b} iihf.com, Three AHL stars in Olympic race
7. ↑ stats.iihf.com, Best Players Selected by the Directorate (PDF; 60 kB)
8. ↑ ^{a b c} iihf.com, Olympic picture complete