Belarus keeps place in ice hockey elite
Team Belarus will keep the place in th world's ice hockey elite until the next world championship after beating France 3-0 (0-0, 2-0, 1-0) in the last game of the IIHF World Cup 2016 group stage match in Russia. Andrei Stas scored two (making it five total for him at the tournament), Jeff Platt (pictured) added the third.
Belarus has 6 points after 7 games, finishing No 6 in Group B. France with 5 points is 7th, while Hungary who sensationally beat Belarusians earlier to claim just 3 points is relagated after finishing 8th. In Group A, Kazakhstan is relegated too. They give way to Slovenia and Italy in the world's elite.
Team Belarus's performance was a failure as it is heading back home after the group stage.
The following teams have not made it to play-offs:
9. Slovakia — 8 points
10. Norway — 8
11. Switzerland — 8
12. BELARUS — 6
13. Latvia — 6
14. France — 5
15. Hungary — 3
16. Kazakhstan — 2.
