Photo Credit: Di Miller
In a battle of the beaten comes one that shall walk away the victor. Japan and England have yet to win a contest in this years tournament and all that is going to change for one squad at the end of 4 quarters.
Japan is entering the contest with a slight edge on goals for, but give that away in goals against to team England. Andrew Lay, Wataru Tsugu, and Mikisuke Sekine leading the way for Japan offensively. The speed is there for Japan, but can they make up for their lack of size defensively against England.
Led by Samuel Russell, Adrian Bennett, and assists from Colin Clive the team sits in last place in the division with only 15 goals scored. The defense does beat out Japan by a differential of 11 goals against. The edge defensively should they be able to keep up with the speed of Japan has to go to the larger, stronger team England.
Both teams have faced the best the world has to offer, and neither team has backed down. This game is about honor, and salvaging some pride for themselves and their teammates. Both have had highlights in the tournament thus far as well. Japan with their OT loss to a tough Australia squad, and England playing them tough as well.
Fundamentally both teams spell an even matchup on paper. It will be interesting to see how things transpire on the field once the whistle is blown. One things for certain, one team will walk away with a smile to get their first win, and the other walking away with what they need to improve upon to get that illusive W, it all goes down at 2pm MDT.
