Another IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A tournament is in the books. As is usually the case, it was highly competitive, with 11 of the 15 games decided by one goal and six in overtime or a shootout.

Following the tournament, the Directorate awards recognized outstanding performances from the following players:

Top Goalkeeper – Tomas Fucik, Poland
Top Defender – Igor Merezkho, Ukraine
Top Forward – Danil Trakht, Ukraine

Fucik played every minute of every game for Poland, playing a tournament-high 304:27, stopping 143 of 153 shots for a tournament-best 93.46 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average. Merezhko was a tower of strength on the Ukrainian blueline and the team’s leader on and off the ice. His five points led all defencemen in the tournament. And Trakht led all players with eight points.

Other individual statistical leaders include Poland’s Patryk Krezolek, who scored five goals, Japanese captain Teruto Nakajima and Ukraine’s Olexi Vorona – Trakht’s linemate – with six assists each, and Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Breus and Artur Gatyatov, who were each plus-6.

In terms of team statistics, Kazakhstan scored 20 goals and had a tournament-best scoring efficiency of 11.53, Lithuania had the best power play at 40 percent (4 for 10), and Poland had the best penalty-killing at 88.24 percent (15 for 17).

Attendance

The tournament drew a total of 14.945 spectators to the 15 games for an average of 996 per game. Not surprisingly, host Poland was the most-watched team, with an average of 2,265 fans taking in their games at Sosnowiec Winter Stadium. Ukraine was the next, with an average of 872 spectators at their five games.