Ducks at the World Championships, Day 13.

And then there were none.

Cam Fowler and Team USA had nothing for the Czech Republic in a 4-0 loss Wednesday, ending their run at the IIHF World Championships. Jaromir Jagr had a hat trick and Ondrej Pavelec made 29 saves. The U.S. was outshot 39-29 while finishing out of medal contention for the seventh consecutive season.

Fowler was a minus-1 in a team-leading 22:51 for the Americans. He finishes the tournament with one goal, two assists, and a minus-3 rating.

Here’s a link to a PDF document of Team USA’s stats. It’s pretty clear why they failed to medal – among their leading scorers were the New York Rangers’ Derek Stepan, and University of Wisconsin sophomore Craig Smith.

The tournament ends Sunday. Check IIHF.com for the most up-to-date results.

Ducks at the World Championships, Day 11. Update.

And then there was one.

Among the Ducks participants, only Cam Fowler (and Team USA) gets to keep playing at the IIHF World Championships after the U.S. lost 5-3 to Luca Sbisa and Team Switzerland on Monday in Kosice.

Fowler had an assist, the primary helper on James van Riemsdyk’s third-period goal during a delayed penalty, in 21:42 — the second-most ice time of any American skater. Fowler was on the ice for one other U.S. goal and two Swiss goals, finishing with an even-0 rating.

Sbisa didn’t register a point but finished plus-1 in 21:06 — the second-most ice time of any Swiss skater.

Win or lose, Switzerland was playing its last game, having been mathematically eliminated from the quarterfinal round. The Swiss finished 1-1-1-2 (W-OTW-L-OTL) and had the distinction of being the best penalty-killing team in the 16-team tournament at 95.83 percent, of which Sbisa probably played a large role. Individually, he finished with no goals, one assist, and an even-0 rating in 18:21 TOI over six games.

The U.S. will play the Czech Republic for a semifinal berth on Wednesday. The winner of that game plays either Sweden or Germany in the semifinals, while the loser goes home.

Ducks at the World Championships, Day 10.

Tomorrow, Luca Sbisa figures to play his last competitive hockey game in a while.

Sbisa and Team Switzerland lost 2-0 to Sweden on Sunday at the IIHF World Championships in Slovakia. It was an all-around poor game for the Swiss, who couldn’t solve goalie Viktor Fasth and didn’t help themselves by taking a string of minor penalties – seven in all – that left them short-handed for 14 minutes.

Sbisa stayed out of the penalty box in 21:43 TOI, but was stuck with a minus-1 rating when Mikael Backlund scored into an empty net in the final minute.

Switzerland (0-1-1-2), now the fifth-place team in Group F, plays the third-place U.S. (2-0-1-1) tomorrow. By then, they will know the result of the game between fourth-place Norway (1-1-0-2) and sixth-place France (0-0-1-3). Norway has five points in the standings and Switzerland has three, but Norway beat Switzerland in the only head-to-head game between the teams. That would seem to preclude Switzerland from reaching fourth place (and thus the Quarterfinal Round), but according to the IIHF.com game recap, Switzerland still has a mathematical chance of advancing.

We’ll find out for sure tomorrow.

Ducks at the World Championships, Day 9.

Cam Fowler and Team USA breathed more life into their quarterfinal aspirations Saturday in Slovakia, while Lubomir Visnovsky and the tournament hosts met a disappointing fate.

Fowler finished plus-1 in 18:03 in a 3-2 win for the U.S. against France. Cristobal Huet (35 saves) made things tough, but the U.S. climbed out of an early 1-0 deficit on unanswered goals by Derek Stepan, Mark Stuart and Chris Kreider. The U.S. can clinch its first quarterfinal-round berth for the first time since 2009 on Monday if it beats Switzerland or loses in overtime or a shootout, or if the Swiss lose to the Swedes on Sunday.

There will be no quarterfinal round for Slovakia.

Tuomo Ruutu scored twice in the third period to lift Finland to a 2-1 win over the hosts. Visnovsky played a team-high 23:55 — a good sign considering the shoulder injuries he dealt with late in the NHL season — but was held scoreless. Slovakia concludes tournament play Monday against Denmark.

According to <a href=”IIHF.comhttp://www.iihf.com/channels-11/iihf-world-championship-wc11/news/news-singleview-2011/article/ruutu-ends-slovakias-dream.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=4926&cHash=eb98f528ce”>IIHF.com</a>, no host country has won the gold medal at the IIHF World Championship since the Soviet Union in 1986.

Ducks at the World Championships, Day 8. Update.

Historically, shootouts have been a more popular means for deciding hockey games in Europe than North America. When in Slovakia …

Canada beat the United States, 4-3, in qualification-round play in Kosice, getting shootout goals from Rick Nash and Jordan Eberle to seal the win. Ty Conklin made 48 saves between regulation and overtime, but couldn’t stop either shootout attempt he faced. Jack Johnson and Blake Wheeler missed on both U.S. shots.

Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler was a minus-1 in 19 minutes, 10 seconds on ice, including almost half (2:16) of the overtime period.

Just as they would in an NHL game, the U.S. gets a point for the shootout loss. They moved into sole possession of fourth place in Group F, from which four teams will advance into the next round. Canada leads the group with seven points.

Later Friday, Lubomir Visnovsky Team Slovakia lost 3-2 to the rival Czechs, crushing their chances of advancing out of the Qualification Round. Now, according to <a href=”IIHF.comhttp://www.iihf.com/channels-11/iihf-world-championship-wc11/news/news-singleview-2011/article/czechs-still-perfect.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=4926&cHash=5a1beca07c”>IIHF.com</a>, Slovakia needs to win its games against Finland and Denmark, and Finland shouldn’t take points in its last game against Russia.

Visnovsky assisted on Ladislav Nagy’s second-period goal that got the Slovaks on the board, but was also on the ice for Patrik Elias’ game-winning goal in the third period, finishing with an even-0 rating. 

The game was played in Bratislava, less than two hours from Visnovsky’s hometown of Topolcany.

Ducks at the World Championships, Day 7.

Luca Sbisa and Team Switzerland dug themselves a hole one game into the qualification round at the World Championships, losing 3-2 to Norway at Steel Arena in Kosice, Slovakia.

Sbisa was held scoreless and finished with an even-0 rating in 20:45 time on ice.

The Swiss have two games left in the qualification round, but might need to win both to place in the top four in a group that includes Canada, the U.S., Sweden and a surprising Norway squad. All four teams are ahead of the Swiss in the standings.

Ducks at the World Championships, Day 5.

One blocked shot wasn’t enough for Luca Sbisa and the Swiss national team on Tuesday.

Playing the Canadians in Kosice, Slovakia, Sbisa was on the ice for Alex Pietrangelo’s overtime goal in a 4-3 loss. The Ducks defenseman was doing more than taking up space. From IIHF.com:

Pietrangelo picked up his own rebound after Swiss defenceman Luca Sbisa had blocked his initial shot. The puck came right back to Pietrangelo, who buried it behind Swiss goalie Leonardo Genoni.

Sbisa also had one assist in 21:13 time on ice.

Group play is over for Switzerland. Tomorrow the Swiss will learn the opponent for their next game, which will be played Thursday.

Lubomir Visnovsky made his debut at the tournament for Slovakia, playing a team-high 22:29 and recording an assist in a 4-3 loss to Russia.

Visnovsky had been battling injuries to both shoulders, forcing him to miss the first two games of the tournament on his home soil.

Slovakia also finds out tomorrow who awaits them in their next game Thursday.

Ducks at the World Championships, Day 2.

Only one current Ducks player took the ice Saturday in Slovakia: Cam Fowler played 14:38 and collected an assist in the United States’ 5-1 win over Austria. It was the first game of the tournament for the Americans.

Swiss defenseman Luca Sbisa, the other Anaheim participant, was held scoreless Friday night in his team’s 1-0 win over France.

Fowler and Sbisa are the only Ducks players taking part in the tournament. Typically the IIHF World Championships are a bigger deal in Europe than North America, where those whole Stanley Cup playoffs are going on. Check out the list of players who suited up for the U.S. and you’ll see why the NHL playoffs are a more compelling draw.

Slovakia native Lubomir Visnovsky said he would like to take part in the tournament on his home soil, but only if his balky shoulder joints allow it. He didn’t dress in the Slovaks’ 3-1 win over Slovenia Friday night.

Former Ducks taking part in the tournament include Ryan Shannon and Mike Brown (U.S.), Evgeny Artyukhin (Russia), and Petteri Nokelainen (Finland).