Compared to other international tournaments such as the World Juniors and the Olympics, the IIHF World Championships seem to be way less competitive and – for lack of a better word – polished. That was pretty evident on Tuesday, when Switzerland managed to completely flub a 2-on-0, empty net breakaway late in the third period of their game against Latvia.
Swiss player Reto Suri started the breakout by forcing a turnover in the defensive zone before breaking up ice with teammate Thomas Rufenacht. In a decision that was probably a little bit too unselfish, Suri attempted to shuffle a lead pass to Rufenacht instead of taking an easy shot on the empty net himself.
Normally, you love to see teammates sharing the puck to set up their teammates…but only when the setup is actually effective. Suri’s pass ventures too far in front of Rufenacht, who couldn’t reel it in for a shot on net. Instead, the puck clanged off the post and Rufenact crashed hard into the net and knocked it off its moorings, blowing the play dead.
Fortunately for Switzerland, their golden opportunity to seal the victory didn’t come back to haunt them and they won 3-2 despite the embarrassing sequence. Also, still not as embarrassing as Finland’s inability to change lines.
