Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider scored a goal to help his Germans sustain their World Championship hopes. Joe Veleno, meanwhile, will miss the rest of Canada’s games, however far the Canadians go.
Seider was among the more productive players Sunday in a 7-2 victory over Hungary at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.
The victory, Germany’s third straight, edged Seider’s team into fourth place in the Group A standings. The Germans had been in last place with an 0-3 start, but they started the preliminary round with games against the United States, Finland and Sweden, the three toughest opponents in the group. Germany faces France on Tuesday, the last day of the preliminary round.
Germany ran up a 15-4 edge in shots in the first period but only had a 1-0 lead. It got a bit dicey in the second period when Seider took an interference penalty while the Germans were killing a penalty to Maksymilian Szuber for an illegal check to the head or neck of Karol Csanyi, setting up an extended five-on-three for the Hungarians.
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(mostly) have winning day
Seider amended for his penalty with his first goal and third point in six games, pinching in from the point to work a give-and-go with Frederik Tiffels to take advantage of an open net.
Veleno suspended
The day after Canada lost to Switzerland, 3-2, the International Ice Hockey Federation issued a five-game suspension to Veleno for violating rule 49 (kicking). The incident occurred 8:21 into the second period of Saturday’s game. Veleno wasn’t penalized during the game.
Veleno will miss Canada’s final preliminary round game on Tuesday against Norway, and the quarterfinal game on Thursday. Should the Canadians advance, Veleno will also miss the semifinal on Saturday and either of the medal games on Sunday.
Other Wings on the ice
In action in Riga, Latvia, Dominik Kubalik scored his tournament-leading eighth goal but Czechia lost, 4-2, at Arena Riga to Switzerland, whose 6-0 record has them atop Group B standings. The US stayed atop the Group A standings and improved to 6-0 with a 9-0 rout of France. Wings prospect Carter Mazur did not figure in any of the scoring.
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Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.