Evgeny Gussin was a yeoman between the pipes, and faced 17 shots on goal in the first period alone.
By LIONEL GAFFENice hockey 88(photo credit: )
The Israeli national hockey team suffered a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Japan in the third game of the International Ice Hockey federation Division I, Group A tournament being held in Amiens, France on Thursday.
The opening period was close, and Israel managed to skate well against Japan, with the only goal being scored by Japan on a power play goal at the 17:48 mark.
Evgeny Gussin was a yeoman between the pipes, and faced 17 shots on goal in the first period alone. Japan managed a total of 59 shots, while Israel was only able to test the Japanese goaler seven times throughout the game.
Defensive lapses allowed Japan to score three times in the space of just over two minutes soon after the start of the 2nd period, essentially putting the game out of reach for Israel.
Eight seconds after that initial onslaught, Alon Eisenman tallied the lone marker for Israel, assisted by brothers Oren and Ron Soreanu, ending the scoring for the period.
A schedule change due to Holocaust Day resulted in the Israeli squad having to play two games in succession while the Japanese enjoyed an extra day of rest. The exhausted Israeli team had no legs left during the closing stanza and were bombarded with 25 shots while managing only one.
Penalties only added to their woes, as Israel surrendered three power-play goals.
As coach Jean Perron pointed out after the opening game, an 11-2 blowout loss against powerhouse Germany, "this is a division with very high level of playing and that in order to stay in this Division next year, we'll have to find a way to steal a game."
Israel's remaining opponents will be France on Saturday, and will close out the tournament on Sunday against Great Britain.
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