Quarterfinals and Relegation

Today was the start of the quarterfinals and relegation rounds.  We had our meeting in the morning, then it was off to work.  The first game in Zlin was a quarterfinal game - Sweden vs Finland.  Dina, Maria from Denmark and myself were on the game.  It was a sloppy game but very competitive, both teams were evenly matched.  It was a huge game for both teams not only because they were playing for a spot in the medal round but also because Sweden and Finland are just as big of rivals as US and Canada are.  Sweden was up 1-0 going in to the 3rd period when Finland scored to tie the game at 1 at the end of regulation.  In the quarterfinals we have a 3 minute break followed by a 10 minute sudden death OT.  If nobody scores in OT we go to a shootout.  I thought for sure the game was going to go to a shootout but Sweden was able to score with about 2 minutes left in OT.  I was happy there was a winner decided before the shootout, it would be so tough for a team to lose out on the a chance at a medal because of a loss in a shootout.

While our game was going on in Zlin the first game of relegation was being played in Prerov.  Russia and Switzerland are playing a 3 game series, with the loser moving down to Division 1 next year and the winner staying in A pool.  Switzerland won the game 4-2 and we were told it was a very competitive game.  They will play the second game Saturday and the third game, if necessary on Sunday.  The other quarterfinal game was played in Zlin after my game, Czech Republic vs Germany.  I was the goal judge for this one.  The tournament has local officials act as goal judges for every game that Czech is not involved in - if Czech is playing then linesmen have act as goal judges.  When goal judging you have to sit on a small box behind the net and flip a light on if the puck crosses the line.  It was absolutely freezing - I wore two pairs of pants, 2 shirts, a hoodie and a jacket under my jersey as well as a hat and scarf. Everyone was laughing because I looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame with my hoodie on under my jersey.  The arena was packed for the game and it was another competitive one.  Germany ended up winning 2-1, so they will move on to face the US in the semis.  When they were lined up after the game announcing the players of the game, one of the Czech girls passed out on the ice.  The medics ran out with a stretcher that you carry by hand.   They then handed the stretcher, with the girl on top of it, over the boards.  We were all holding our breath because she wasn't even really strapped on to the stretcher!  Again, they do things here a little differently than I am used to.

Tomorrow is our second day off.  We are leaving early and making the 3 hour trek to Prague via bus and train.  Ludmila is from an area very close to Prague so she is going to act as our tour guide.  We are all looking forward to it!  Speaking of everyone, it is probably about time I mention the other officials that are here and where they are all from:

Dina Allen - referee from Buffalo, NY
Malin Axelsson - referee from Sweden
Mary Anne Gage - referee from Canada (Toronto area)
Anu Hirvonen - referee from Finland
Ludmila Nelibova - referee from Czech Republic
Kyoko Ugajin - referee from Japan
Barbora Bednarova - linesman from Czech Republic
Magda Cerhitova - linesman from Slovakia
Maria Fuschel - linesman from Denmark
Stephanie Gargon - linesman from Canada (Quebec)
Cheiko Inque - linesman from Japan
Anne Majapuro - linesman from Finland
Bianca Schipper-Poeteray - linesman from the Netherlands
Michaela Stefkova - linesman from Czech Republic

Our supervisors are from Czech Republic, Germany, Finland and the USA.  Everyone is so nice and it is great to think about all the different places I could visit and would have a place to stay or a person to show me around.  The other thing that amazes me is the other officials ability to speak another language.  The official language of the IIHF is english so all meetings, supervisions and schedules are in english.  Amongst the girls here, some speak very little english but others speak better english than I do!  It really does amaze me though that they are able to communicate in a second (or 3rd or 4th for some) language for an entire week without really missing a beat.  I feel so lame that I only know one language - it is times like these that make me really wish I had learned a second language when I was younger.

Alright off to bed, looking forward to a great day of sightseeing tomorrow!  Goodnight!