Whenever the world champions take on the home team, it’s a hot ticket. Unfortunately, the hapless Danes weren't hot enough to knock off the Czechs, who prevailed 7-2 in Herning on Monday night.

The big Czech gunners came to play. Martin Necas scored twice, and David Pastrnak and Lukas Sedlak stepped up with a goal and two assists apiece. Captain Roman Cervenka, Daniel Gazda, and Daniel Vozenilek added singles. Ondrej Beranek and Filip Hronek each chipped in two assists.



"I think our first period wasn't great," Sedlak told IIHF.com. "It was too sloppy. We didn't manage the puck really well. Lots of turnovers, and I'm just happy that didn't cost us the game. But from the second period on, we were the better team. We scored two quick goals there, and I think that was the turning point in the game. We scored two more in that period, and the third period was just like finishing the game."

For Denmark, Nick Olesen had a goal and an assist and Christian Wesje also scored. Nicklas Jensen assisted twice. The hosts are still seeking their first victory and have been outscored 17-4 through three games.

"Except for the first period, we were kind of a step behind all the time," said Danish captain Jesper Jensen Aabo. "I think it was pretty obvious that we had a tough time in our own end tonight. That's a great team, but I still think the least we could do is play with more effort and more heart."

The undefeated Czechs have only conceded one point in their 5-4 overtime win over Switzerland. It's a positive sign even though they have yet to deliver the full 60-minute effort they'd prefer, starting slowly in each game.

Czech backup Daniel Vladar earned the win with 29 saves in his first start, and even got an assist. Danish goalie Frederik Dichow returned between the pipes after surrendering five goals to the U.S. on Day One, and made 26 saves.

The Danes resume play against Kazakhstan on Wednesday, while the Czechs take on Hungary on Thursday.

Denmark merited a better fate versus Czechia in the evenly contested first period. As in their 2-1 win over Norway, the Czechs endured a scoreless 20 minutes.

In a charged-up Jyske Bank Boxen atmosphere with drumming and competing chants from Czech and Danish fans, the host team killed off an early Czech power play. Past the five-minute mark, Dichow slid across to rob Lukas Sedlak with his glove on a one-timer off the rush.

The Danes thought they had opened the scoring for the first time at this tournament at 11:18. Forechecking aggressively, Oscar Moelgaard jarred the puck free with a hit in the corner and centered it to Mikkel Aagard, who put it in with a forehand move. However, the play was video-reviewed and nullified for offside.

"That was a big thing for us," said Jensen Aabo. "We felt like we had something good going in the first period. We got a nice goal, and then they took it away from us. Still, it was 0-0 after the first, so that shouldn't matter too much."

In the second period, Czechia blew the game open with two quick goals.

First, Beranek skimmed a pass from the right faceoff circle that deflected in off Necas' skate at the crease at 3:35. Just 48 seconds later, Gazda joined the rush late, took a feed from Petr Kodytek, and waltzed in to beat Dichow over the glove.

The third Czech goal at 13:52 saw Pastrnak showcasing the world-class hands that have lifted him to more than 100 points for three consecutive seasons with Boston. Bursting down the left side, he undressed blueliner Philipp Bruggisser with a gorgeous dangle before depositing the puck past Dichow with a forehand move. It was Pastrnak's second goal in Herning. His single-tournament high is seven (2022).

Denmark was giving the champs too much time and space now, and it burned them. Pastrnak was allowed to circle Dichow's cage and then dish a backhand pass to Sedlak in the slot. He in turn made no mistake with his backhander for a 4-0 lead at 16:21.

"That's one of the things we talk about a lot, actually, how we're going to cycle the puck and where we're going to skate," Sedlak said. "It was a nice play by him. He saw me open, and I had some time in front of the net. I just threw it on net. It was kind of lucky."

With 1:13 left in the middle frame, Olesen barged to the net to score on a Patrick Russell centering pass, spoiling Vladar's shutout hopes.

In the third period, Necas restored Czechia's four-goal lead at 4:32, heading to the net to convert a centering pass from Filip Zadina. Wesje cut the deficit to 5-2 less than two minutes later, but Denmark would get no closer than that.

Vozenilek added an empty-netter at 17:43. And with 59 seconds left, Cervenka went top shelf on Dichow to round out the scoring at 7-2.

The Czechs are looking to win back-to-back gold medals for the first time since their “Golden Generation” reign of 1999 to 2001. The Danes, meanwhile, have recorded decreasing placements at recent tournaments (ninth in 2022, 10th in 2023, 13th in 2024) and need to pick it up after facing tough opponents early on.

Looking ahead to facing the Kazakhs, Jensen Aabo said: "That's one of the games we want to win, especially as we want to look toward the quarter-finals. We've got to be way better defensively, and then we've got to capitalize on our chances. Mostly, though, we've got to take care of the puck better and be better defensively."

With the result, Denmark’s all-time record versus the Czechs falls to two wins and eight losses. Both Danish wins came in shootouts. Mikkel Bodker notched the winner in 2014 (4-3) and Nikolaj Ehlers in 2016 (2-1).