Chinese Taipei vs. Kuwait 2-12 (2-5, 0-4, 0-3)
DEHRADUN – On the second day of the 2012 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia the fans in Dehradun saw Kuwait starting into the tournament with a 12-2 victory against Chinese Taipei.
Even though the first few minutes were tied, with close fights for the puck and space, Kuwait became more and more dominant as time went on.
The players from the emirate had more than twice as many shots on goal than the team from the Far East.
Even when Chinese Taipei had two-man advantages, most attacks were smartly stopped by the Kuwaitis.
Kuwait’s 12-2 crushing gives the team a steady goal difference to have, which might come in handy as the round-robin games progress.
Chinese Taipei did have good breakaways and situations, but they were well handled by the defence and Kuwait goalkeeper Al Sarraf. As the margin grew, the Kuwaitis became more and more confident, leading the opponent to losing its patience.
Macau vs. Malaysia 1-8 (0-1, 1-5, 0-2)
DEHRADUN – The second game on the second day was played between Malaysia and Macau. Malaysia has high expectations for the tournament. The team came out with slightly mixed line-ups, trying to balance the team strength.
They started to play an aggressive and strong game, with lot of skating and offensive action. They tried to exhaust the Macau players as early as possible.
With five players short compared to Malaysia, Macau was forced to defend, which they did very well on several occasions. Malaysia played strongly throughout the game with a telling 44-6 shot-on-goal advantage.
Macau fought bravely, forcing the Malaysians to shoot from any position. With 36 saves Lou Ki was named the best player for team Macau, which he undoubtedly deserved, getting a big recognition from the Malaysians as well.
TIMO PEKKA FRONDELIUS
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