Ryan Kuwabara is a key member of Japan's national ice hockey team currently playing at the Pool A World Championships in Sweden. Kuwabara, a Japanese-Canadian who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and now stars for Japan Ice Hockey League champion Kokudo, has agreed once again to keep a journal chronicling some of the team's experiences.

April 28

Today we play the Czech Republic, a team that has won the World Championship the last two years. We know it will be a tough game but that is the only way our team is going to get better -- by playing the best teams in the world.

Our day started off with an optional practice at noon, where all the guys come to the rink and tape up their sticks, stretch or go onto the ice to shoot pucks at the goalies.

After that, we had a team meeting to go over our systems, we watched video of our game against Germany and corrected the mistakes we made in that game. Our pregame meal followed the meeting and it usually consists of pasta and some meat, but today we had a little treat as Shin Yahata's mother and sister made the guys some onigiri and inari sushi, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

After the meal, we usually have a short nap and then get up and go to the rink and get ready to play. At the rink, the guys get their injuries taped up, relax and get focused for the game. Before the first game, we were all a little tense and it showed, but today everybody was focused and ready.

In the game, we got off to a great start and I think we caught the Czechs flat-footed. I scored the first goal of the game just a minute in on a breakaway. I cut through center ice, got a pass from Takahito Suzuki and broke in on the goalie. I deked one way then went the other and put it in off the goalie's pad. What an unbelievable feeling it is to score a goal in the World Championships, especially against a team like the Czechs!

Our team was the better one in the first period. We had more scoring chances and really frustrated them in our defensive zone by making sure we were disciplined and not running around. We went into the dressing room with a 1-0 lead and lots of confidence. This was by far the best period that our team has played during our stint together, leading up to and during this tournament.

The second period started out a little tougher as the Czechs came at us with a lot more pressure. They managed to get a goal back early on the power play and then another quickly after that making it 2-1. This didn't seem to faze us though, as we continued to apply pressure and drive to their net.

Our goalie, Naoya Kikuchi, was unbelievable, making great saves when we needed them most. There were two occasions where Jaromir Jagr -- perhaps the best player in the world -- had breakaways but came up empty-handed as Kikuchi showed him nothing but pads.

Like I said, he kept us in the game on a number of occasions. We then rallied back to tie the game at 2-2 with a power-play goal by Chris Yule. This sent the fans into hysteria -- the cheering and chanting was so loud you could barely hear. What an atmosphere!

This is why hockey is so unpredictable; here we are the last-ranked team in the tournament tied 2-2 with the best team.

The Czechs managed to get one more goal from Jagr on the power play before the period ended, but down one goal after two periods isn't too bad against the world champions.

The third period started much the same as the rest of the game up to this point -- fast rushes and some good chances but no goals. At around the 10-minute mark, we kept up the pressure in their zone. The puck came out to Matt Kabayama in front of the net and he put a backhand shot over the goalie's shoulder and into the top of the net. Again, the crowd erupted.

The score stayed 3-3 until Jagr made a nice pass to an open man to make it 4-3. In the final five minutes, we weren't able to get anything going and Jagr put on a little show. He dangled through a few guys and shot a quick wrist shot over our goalie's shoulder to finish the scoring at 5-3.

After our first game, this was the kind of game we needed to get some confidence back. Being able to play head-to-head and almost win against the Czech team set the stage for our next game with the Swiss. They lost earlier in the day to the Germans 3-0, so tomorrow's game is the one that will decide who goes into the qualification round and who plays for the last four spots in the tournament.

We are going for broke. I think we have one of the best teams that we have had put together in a while and we are going to give it our best.

Gambatte Nippon!

April 29

Well, the stage is set. We play the Swiss for the chance to go on and play in the top 12 group. The last four years, we have played in the last grouping of four teams after the first round and I'm looking forward this time to playing in the top group. The Swiss have also lost their first two games against the Germans and Czechs, so this is the game that decides who goes on.

Our prep is the same with meetings, a pregame meal and a nap, and then it's off to the rink.

The first period was hard fought by both teams with us striking first, getting a goal from Masatoshi Itoh. We were doing exactly what we had discussed in our pregame meetings and not letting them get anything going. We had a small breakdown late in the period and the Swiss were able to capitalize and tie the game 1-1. We had a good period and limited their chances, so everything was going as we had hoped.

The second period was bad for us as we got away from our game plan and made some bad mistakes that cost us. The Swiss got two quick goals in the first five minutes, which set us back. We tried to get things going again by settling down and getting back to what we had set out to do in our meetings.

We then got a bad break on a call -- the referee gave the Swiss a penalty shot. Not good timing for us as they scored on it to make it 4-1 and got one more before the period ended.

This is definitely not what we were hoping for. Instead of us controlling the game and dictating it, it was slowly slipping through our fingers. We knew if we didn't get a goal early in the third, it would be tougher and tougher to get one as any team at this level will play more defensively and just eat up time on the clock.

That's the way the third period pretty much went. The more we tried to pressure and open up their defense, the more time ticked off the clock. We weren't able to score at all in the third and the game ended 5-1.

We didn't get the outcome we were looking for but we learned that we can't let up, even for a minute at this level, as you will get scored on.

So now we will probably end up playing Italy, Slovenia and Poland in the next round. Our goal for this round is to get a win, as Team Japan hasn't won a game in the Pool A World Championships yet.

There is not much we can do about the last three games, but our team is excited and even more hungry after not winning earlier. I know we can have success here -- it's just going to take us putting all the pieces of the puzzle together for 60 minutes.

So, on to the next round!