Two Penguins Participating in 2011 IIHF World Championships

James Neal (Canada) and Zbynek Michalek (Czech Republic) have been chosen to represent their respective countries in this year's IIHF World Championships.  Zbynek's brother, Milan (who plays for the Ottawa Senators), will also be joining him on the Czech Republic's team.

The national tournament runs from April 29th through May 15th in Košice, Slovakia.

There are a total of 16 teams participating in the round-robin tournament which are placed in four groups to play in the preliminary round. The top three teams in each group will advance to the qualification round, while the last team in each group competes in the relegation round, where the top two teams will automatically qualify for the next year’s World Championships.

PRELIMINARY GROUPS:

• Group A (Bratislava) - Russia, Slovakia, Germany, Slovenia
• Group B (Košice) - Canada, Switzerland, Belarus, France
• Group C (Košice) - Sweden, United States, Norway, Austria
• Group D (Bratislava) - Finland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Denmark

VERSUS is broadcasting at least 11 games from the tournament which includes the four preliminary-round games (listed below), at least three qualification-round games, and at least one quarterfinal game.

PRELIMINARY GAMES:

• Saturday, April 30 - USA VS Austria (Live), 10 AM (est)
• Monday, May 2 - USA VS Norway (Live), 10 AM (est)
• Tuesday, May 3 - Canada VS Switzerland, TBD
• Wednesday, May 4 - USA VS Sweden, TBD