NEWSLETTER
The IIHF World Championship tournament rolls on in Riga, Latvia today with seven of the eight Chicago Blackhawks players and prospects in action. But it won’t be just eight Blackhawks players and prospects at the IIHF World Championships for long. Earlier today, USA Hockey announced the addition of Drew Commesso to the American roster for the rest of the tournament. The 2020 Blackhawks second-round draft pick joins Team USA after Anthony Stolarz was injured in the last contest and will miss the rest of the tournament.
Slovakia def. Russia, 3-1
In the first game of the day, Russia suffered their first loss of the tournament, falling 3-1 to Slovakia. One of the most underwhelming performers from the eight Blackhawks at the tournament has been Russian forward Max Shalunov. Through three games, Shalunov has been held off the scoresheet completely. He’s coming off a run in the KHL Gagarin Cup Playoffs where he led all players in goals with 12 and finished with 18 points in 22 games.
In the loss, defenseman Nikita Zadorov led all Russian skaters with 25:33 minutes played and four shots on goal. Shalunov recorded two shots on goal and was 9-for-14 at the face-off dot in 16:10 minutes of ice time. Slovakia remains undefeated through three games in the tournament with the win and leads Group A with nine points. Russia is in action again on Wednesday as they face Denmark for an 8:15 a.m. CT puck drop.
Germany def. Canada, 3-1
Another underwhelming performance happening at this year’s tournament is collectively coming from Canada. They have lost all three of their games in regulation and have scored just two goals in those three games. Three Blackhawks are part of the Canadian side with Brandon Pirri, Nicolas Beaudin, and Brandon Hagel, but only Beaudin has found his name on the scoresheet with one assist in their game against the U.S. Today, all three were ineffective against the German side that now leads Group B with nine points and a perfect 3-0-0 record.
On the winning side for the Germans today, Blackhawks prospect Lukas Reichel had two shots on goal and lost two faceoffs in 14:21 minutes of ice time. Hagel played 10:50 minutes in the game without registering a point or a shot, as did Beaudin with 12:01 minutes played. Pirri had three shots on goal in 16:46 minutes played.
Reichel and Germany are back in action on Wednesday as they take on Kazakhstan, while Canada continues to look for their first win of the tournament as they face Norway on Wednesday.
Czech Republic def. Belarus, 3-2 (OT)
Finally, in a game where a Blackahawks player actually got on the scoresheet, the Czech Republic got back in the winners column with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Belarus. Dominik Kubalík played the overtime hero for the Czech side, scoring his second goal of the tournament with a slick backhand on a breakaway to end the game in the extra period.
Dominik Kubalík wins it for the Czech Republic in ooooooooovertime!#IIHFWorlds #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/I35UHsi3pE
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 24, 2021
Kubalík tallied the goal in overtime while registering three shots on goal in 17:55 minutes of ice time. Kubalík has two goals on 11 shots in the tournament as the Czech Republic sit in sixth-place in Group A after getting their first win of the tournament today. Kubalík and the Czech Republic are back in action on Thursday as they take on Sweden for a 12:15 p.m. CT puck drop.
