Belarus Shuts Out France to Relegate Hungary

Belarus didn't have the tournament they hoped for, but their 3-0 win over France on Tuesday was enough to keep them in the top division and send Hungary down to Division IA for next year.

With France unable to make the playoff round or get relegated, the team didn't have much to play for other than pride heading into their final match before hotsting the tournament in 2017. Due to this, France played a fairly laid back first period, while Belarus put in their best effort possible. Put in a tough situation after a surprising loss to Hungary a few days back, Belarus had to get at least a single point to avoid heading back down to Division I for the first time since 2003.

Former Stanley Cup champion Cristobal Huet was lights out for France for the most part, especially on an incredible glove save on former Montreal Canadiens teammate Andrei Kostitsyn two minutes into the second. An older netminder, Huet got roughed up a few times early in the second period, and at one point, Gregory Beron joined him in pain after getting hit in a sensitive area between the legs.

Huet eventually would allow the first goal of the game. Geoff Platt appeared to be offside on the play, beating out Andrei Stas in the zone. However, Stas' shot still managed to make it over the line after a bit of poking, giving Belarus the 1-0 lead after 5:12 of play in the second period.

The goal would make the Hungarians in the crowd very upset, but it didn't matter as much when Belarus made it 2-0. This time, Geoff Platt used tremendous speed to take a pass from fellow Canadian Charles Linglet, beating Huet with a quick wrist shot to make it 2-0 after 40 minutes of play.

Belarus' chances of staying alive were pretty much set in stone after five minutes of play in the third. Linglet and Platt both made some nice passses before the puck made it on to the stick of Stas, who scored his second goal of the night. Beron struggled on the play, giving the puck up twice in a five second span to lead to the France's third goal against. France showed no interest in trying to add something to the scoreboard, failing to score on any of the seven power play chances they had against the worst penalty killing team in the tournament to lose 3-0 on the final day of round robin action.

The match was the final contest for both teams, as neither will advance to the quarter-finals. With the win, Belarus did knock Hungary down to Division IA in what can still be considered one of their worst tournaments for the Belarussians in years. France will drop to seventh in Group B, but should show more strength when they co-host the tournament with Germany next year.

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