While home teams saw a lot of success at the first round of IIHF European Cup of Nations tournaments in November, the recently completed December tournaments saw only Slovakia managing to get even a win. The Slovaks won their tournament at home, barely, while ascending hockey nations Poland and Ukraine both went undefeated in Hungary and Romania, respectively.

The three tournaments were as follows – scroll down for standings and game results:

• Group F – Banska Bystrica, SVK (Slovakia, Latvia, Norway)

• Group G – Budapest, HUN (Poland, France, Italy, Hungary)

• Group H – Bucharest, ROU (Ukraine, Romania)

Group F – Banska Bystrica, SVK

At the three-team Kaufland Christmas Cup, Slovakia and Latvia each beat Norway in the first two games, setting up a de facto final on Friday, which the Slovaks won on an overtime goal by Patrik Hrehorcak. In the host team’s two games combined, Oliver Okuliar and Matej Sukel had four points each.

The big story in Banska Bystrica was the temporary return behind the bench by Craig Ramsay, the veteran coach who was forced to step aside last spring due to health reasons. These games marked his ceremonial retirement as coach of the team, and he received a standing ovation from the Slovak fans.

“It was a very special evening,” Ramsay said after the win over Latvia. “I came here to do my job and I tried my best. We all tried – my assistants, all my colleagues – they really helped me a lot. And, of course, my wife, she's always the one who supports me and does everything to make things right. I’m glad that we won this game – it was a really special evening for me and something that I will never forget.”

“I’m glad we honoured him like this for the work he did here and thanked him,” Sukel, the Slovak team captain, said about Ramsay. “Hats off to what he left for us, and I think I can speak for every single player who played under him that he helped us. For me, personally, he really did. And I’m glad that we were able to win against Latvia for him.”

Standings:

1. Slovakia – 5 points
2. Latvia – 4 points
3. Norway – 0 points

Game results:

10 December: SVK 7-4 NOR

11 December: NOR 0-4 LAT

12 December: SVK 3-2 LAT (OT)

Group G – Budapest, HUN

Poland, which has recently reasserted itself as a team that can contend for a spot in the top tier of the IIHF World Championship, took a step forward by winning three straight games against higher-ranked hockey nations Hungary, Italy and France this past weekend to win the Group B tournament in Budapest. The latter two wins came in regulation time against Olympic-bound teams.

As things turned out, the very first game of the tournament between Poland and France, which was decided in a shootout, ended up being the one that decided first place.

“Our weapon was teamwork,” said Pekka Tirkkonen, who has now won five of six games as head coach of the Polish national team. “Of course, you go to win every game you play, but to be honest, I couldn’t expect this. But when the team works hard together and for each other, many things become possible.”

With the recent retirement of veteran John Murray, the Poles used three different goalies this tournament: Maciej Miarka, Michal Kieler and Mateusz Studzinski.

“Yes, this tournament all three played well, and we have still Tomas Fucik, so four good goalies to choose from and it’s not going to be easy.”

Final standings:

1. Poland – 8 points
2. France – 7 points
3. Italy – 3 points
4. Hungary – 0 points

Game results:

12 December: POL 4-3 FRA (SO), HUN 1-2 ITA

13 December: ITA 2-4 POL, HUN 2-5 FRA

14 December: FRA 2-1 ITA, HUN 2-5 POL

Group H – Bucharest, ROU
Romania, Ukraine

Bordering nations Romania and Ukraine played three one-goal games this weekend in Bucharest, but it was the Ukrainians who came on top in all three to take this series decisively in points, despite the relatively even nature of the games.

“All the matches were intense and exciting, as the coaches changed the lineups for each game,” said Ukrainian captain Viktor Zakharov. “It is always nice to win, but the victory in the third match was especially memorable. The team showed great character: trailing 4-2 during the game, we managed to equalize in regulation time, take the game to overtime, and then secure the win in overtime thanks to a goal by Vitalii Lialka.

“We are happy to have finished this calendar year on a positive note.”

Final standings:

1. Ukraine – 8 points
2. Romania – 1 point

Game results:

11 December: ROU 2-3 UKR

12 December: UKR 2-1 ROU

13 December: ROU 4-5 UKR (OT)

Replays of all games of the European Nations Cup can be seen on IIHF TV. The next round of tournaments will be played in February, with the schedules to be announced soon.