Czech forward Roman Pastrnak (#10) fires home his team's overtime winner against Switzerland.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
Hockey is tough enough at even strength. Take a man out of the equation, and things change rapidly. And the opening game of the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Herning proved that point. Penalties late in the first and second periods sparked big momentum swings as both teams blew leads. Then with 3:47 on the clock, Lukas Sedlak grabbed yet another power play goal to rescue Czechia and tie the game at 4-4.
The Swiss led by two, trailed by one, led again midway through the third but got dragged into overtime. Defending champion Czechia seemed to have turned everything around after a slow start, but a penalty on David Spacek late in the middle frame flipped the momentum back in Switzerland’s favour in dramatic fashion. Then came another big power play to tie the game for Czechia before Roman Cervenka snatched a 5-4 verdict in the extras.
That winner came after Karel Vejmelka made a big kick save and David Pastrnak took play down the ice. The Boston forward set up Cervenka in the circle and the Czech captain found the tightest of gaps to wire his shot to the top corner.
“Pasta did a great job,” said the scorer. “He beat the D one-on-one. I was basically by myself on the slot so I tried to hit the net. I’m happy it got in there.”
The tournament organizers wasted no time in wheeling out the big guns in Herning. Game one brought a repeat of the 2024 final – and fans were treated to a rollercoaster ride.
Switzerland, hoping that this will be the year it trades up silver for gold, made a flying start. Christian Marti opened the scoring inside two minutes, catching Karel Vejmelka unawares with a shot from the left-hand boards. The Utah goalie seemed to lose his near post and was powerless as Marti’s effort whistled past his ear and into the net.
And the Swiss thought they had a second when rookie Sandro Schmid encountered surprisingly little resistance on his way from the right-hand point to the doorstep. However, after stuffing the puck home at the second attempt his effort was whistled back when a video review ruled that Nicolas Baechler had strayed offside.
Czechia had high hopes of an offense led by Pastrnak. The Boston Bruin is rarely seen so early in IIHF play, but the star did not shine brightly at the start of the game. The Czechs struggled to generate offence, and Pastrnak’s first big chance went begging. He stepped up to take a penalty shot in the 18th minute after Marti’s slash on a goalbound Ondrej Beranek, but Leonardo Genoni had the answer. His time would come later, culminating in his assist on the winning goal.
“We know what kind of player he is,” Cervenka added. “He’s going to produce. Everyone knows that.”
Almost immediately we had a second legitimate Swiss goal and again Vejmelka seemed to lose sight of the puck following Jonas Siegenthaler’s shot. The puck rebounded off a combination of shoulder and post, and Damien Riat had a simple task to find the empty net.
Then a satisfying Swiss start changed in a flash. Two penalties in the space of a minute handed the Czechs a five-on-three power play. Pastrnak awoke: a slap pass found Matej Stransky on the dot, and he sniped it past Genoni to make it a one-goal game.
Lifted, the defending champion dominated the second period. Filip Zadina tied it up on 26:01, showing great anticipation to slide onto the rebound from Jakub Krejcek’s shot and steer the puck home off the inside of the post. The Swiss offence was nowhere to be seen in the middle frame, limited to just three shots at Vejmelka as Czechia dominated.
And the pressure paid off in the 36th minute when Filip Pyrochta marked his World Championship debut with a goal. The 28-year-old, who plays for Mlada Boleslav in his homeland, finished off a powerful spell with a shot from the centre point. Not for the first time, Daniel Vozenilek put up a screen in front of Genoni as Czechia deservedly hit the front for the first time.
“After the first period we said a few things in the locker room and it got better and better in the second period and the third,” said Krejcik.
“We didn’t want to start with a loss, so this will help our confidence.”
But remember that discipline issue? Late in the second stanza, Switzerland got its first power play of the game. Early in the third, that brought a tying goal as Schmid got to the back door to steer Tyler Moy’s feed into an open net. The puck bounced off the Fribourg forward’s skate but there was no question of any kicking motion and the World Championship rookie had his first goal in this competition.
He also had a big thumbs up from Nico Hischier. “[Sandro] played an unbelievable game, I’m very impressed with him,” said Nico Hischier of his young team-mate. “I’ve seen him in some Swiss league games but just the way he performed and played tonight, you can see a lot of maturity in his game.
“He’s very smart, and I’m very happy for him.”
That triggered a return to the pattern of play from the first period. Switzerland reassembled its effective five-man game and took the play back to Czechia. Midway through the session, Sven Andrighetto restored the Swiss lead as the Czechs wilted under pressure. Too long on defence led to exhaustion, and that saw gaps emerging in front of Vejmelka’s net. Andrighetto found one of them and skated into space in the left-hand circle before shooting home.
There were more twists to come. A delay of game call on Denis Malgin gave the Czechs another power play – and saved the 2024 champion. Sedlak got in front of Genoni, steered Roman Cervenka’s feed into Genoni then reacted superbly to bat the rebound out of the air and into the net to tie the game.
Then came overtime and the winner from Cervenka to conclude a game that sets a high standard for the rest of the tournament. “It was definitely a fun game to watch,” concluded Hischier. “Unfortunately, we didn't get it done. The Czechs are a good team. I think we battled hard, but we'll move on and look at what we did wrong and do it better tomorrow.”
Switzerland continues on Saturday evening against host nation Denmark. Czechia returns to action Sunday agaisnt Norway.
The Swiss led by two, trailed by one, led again midway through the third but got dragged into overtime. Defending champion Czechia seemed to have turned everything around after a slow start, but a penalty on David Spacek late in the middle frame flipped the momentum back in Switzerland’s favour in dramatic fashion. Then came another big power play to tie the game for Czechia before Roman Cervenka snatched a 5-4 verdict in the extras.
That winner came after Karel Vejmelka made a big kick save and David Pastrnak took play down the ice. The Boston forward set up Cervenka in the circle and the Czech captain found the tightest of gaps to wire his shot to the top corner.
“Pasta did a great job,” said the scorer. “He beat the D one-on-one. I was basically by myself on the slot so I tried to hit the net. I’m happy it got in there.”
The tournament organizers wasted no time in wheeling out the big guns in Herning. Game one brought a repeat of the 2024 final – and fans were treated to a rollercoaster ride.
Switzerland, hoping that this will be the year it trades up silver for gold, made a flying start. Christian Marti opened the scoring inside two minutes, catching Karel Vejmelka unawares with a shot from the left-hand boards. The Utah goalie seemed to lose his near post and was powerless as Marti’s effort whistled past his ear and into the net.
And the Swiss thought they had a second when rookie Sandro Schmid encountered surprisingly little resistance on his way from the right-hand point to the doorstep. However, after stuffing the puck home at the second attempt his effort was whistled back when a video review ruled that Nicolas Baechler had strayed offside.
Czechia had high hopes of an offense led by Pastrnak. The Boston Bruin is rarely seen so early in IIHF play, but the star did not shine brightly at the start of the game. The Czechs struggled to generate offence, and Pastrnak’s first big chance went begging. He stepped up to take a penalty shot in the 18th minute after Marti’s slash on a goalbound Ondrej Beranek, but Leonardo Genoni had the answer. His time would come later, culminating in his assist on the winning goal.
“We know what kind of player he is,” Cervenka added. “He’s going to produce. Everyone knows that.”
Almost immediately we had a second legitimate Swiss goal and again Vejmelka seemed to lose sight of the puck following Jonas Siegenthaler’s shot. The puck rebounded off a combination of shoulder and post, and Damien Riat had a simple task to find the empty net.
Then a satisfying Swiss start changed in a flash. Two penalties in the space of a minute handed the Czechs a five-on-three power play. Pastrnak awoke: a slap pass found Matej Stransky on the dot, and he sniped it past Genoni to make it a one-goal game.
Lifted, the defending champion dominated the second period. Filip Zadina tied it up on 26:01, showing great anticipation to slide onto the rebound from Jakub Krejcek’s shot and steer the puck home off the inside of the post. The Swiss offence was nowhere to be seen in the middle frame, limited to just three shots at Vejmelka as Czechia dominated.
And the pressure paid off in the 36th minute when Filip Pyrochta marked his World Championship debut with a goal. The 28-year-old, who plays for Mlada Boleslav in his homeland, finished off a powerful spell with a shot from the centre point. Not for the first time, Daniel Vozenilek put up a screen in front of Genoni as Czechia deservedly hit the front for the first time.
“After the first period we said a few things in the locker room and it got better and better in the second period and the third,” said Krejcik.
“We didn’t want to start with a loss, so this will help our confidence.”
But remember that discipline issue? Late in the second stanza, Switzerland got its first power play of the game. Early in the third, that brought a tying goal as Schmid got to the back door to steer Tyler Moy’s feed into an open net. The puck bounced off the Fribourg forward’s skate but there was no question of any kicking motion and the World Championship rookie had his first goal in this competition.
He also had a big thumbs up from Nico Hischier. “[Sandro] played an unbelievable game, I’m very impressed with him,” said Nico Hischier of his young team-mate. “I’ve seen him in some Swiss league games but just the way he performed and played tonight, you can see a lot of maturity in his game.
“He’s very smart, and I’m very happy for him.”
That triggered a return to the pattern of play from the first period. Switzerland reassembled its effective five-man game and took the play back to Czechia. Midway through the session, Sven Andrighetto restored the Swiss lead as the Czechs wilted under pressure. Too long on defence led to exhaustion, and that saw gaps emerging in front of Vejmelka’s net. Andrighetto found one of them and skated into space in the left-hand circle before shooting home.
There were more twists to come. A delay of game call on Denis Malgin gave the Czechs another power play – and saved the 2024 champion. Sedlak got in front of Genoni, steered Roman Cervenka’s feed into Genoni then reacted superbly to bat the rebound out of the air and into the net to tie the game.
Then came overtime and the winner from Cervenka to conclude a game that sets a high standard for the rest of the tournament. “It was definitely a fun game to watch,” concluded Hischier. “Unfortunately, we didn't get it done. The Czechs are a good team. I think we battled hard, but we'll move on and look at what we did wrong and do it better tomorrow.”
Switzerland continues on Saturday evening against host nation Denmark. Czechia returns to action Sunday agaisnt Norway.
Switzerland vs Czechia - 2025 IIHF WM
OF