GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Tomas Tatar earned a silver medal at the 2012 IIHF World Championship, hockey’s premier annual international event that concluded Sunday in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

Tatar, a native of Ilava, Slovakia, helped his country capture its first medal since 2003 and its fourth since it began competing in the prestigious tournament in 1993. The 21-year-old forward was the youngest player on Slovakia’s roster, but he tied for sixth in team scoring with five points (2-3—5) in 10 contests. Slovakia bested Canada and the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before earning a silver medal after a 6-2 loss to Russia in Sunday’s gold-medal game.

Former Griffin Tomas Kopecky (2002-06) also won silver, leading Slovakia with five goals in 10 games. The pair were the only two of the 10 former Griffins in the tournament to earn a medal, as Valtteri Filppula (2005-07) fell just short with Finland, losing 3-2 to the Czech Republic in the bronze-medal game.

For complete results, statistics and coverage of the 2012 IIHF World Championship, visit iihf.com.

Player	Griffins Season(s)	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
Valtteri Filppula (FIN)	2005-07	10	4	6	10	1	6
Tomas Kopecky (SVK)	2002-06	10	5	1	6	6	4
Tomas Tatar (SVK)	2009-12	10	2	3	5	1	0
Justin Abdelkader (USA)	2008-10	8	1	3	4	4	4
Jonathan Ericsson (SWE)	2006-09	2	1	0	1	1	2
Niklas Kronwall (SWE)	2003-06	8	1	0	1	1	4
Kyle Quincey (CAN)	2005-08	6	0	0	0	3	4
Derek Edwardson (ITA)	2004-05	7	0	0	0	-4	2
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (NOR)	2009-10	8	0	0	0	3	20

Goalie	Griffins Season(s)	GP	W	L	OT	SO	GAA	SPCT
Jimmy Howard (USA)	2005-09	7	5	2	0	1	2.42	0.911