photo: Tim Austen/IIHF
Tomas Poletin was credited with the go-ahead goal at 18:46 of the third period, giving the Czechs a wild 6-4 win over Canada to advance to the gold-medal game against Sweden. Canada will now face Finland tomorrow afternoon for bronze. Maxmilian Curran's shot banked off the skate of Michael Misa and then Poletin, but video review determined it to be a good goal.
Vojtech Cihar scored twice, including an empty netter with 25.9 seconds remaining. Curran and Adam Benak had a goal and two assists for the Czechs.
"Obviously we wanted this win, because you heard them in the media," said Vaclav Nestrasil. "They were chirping, and they were kind of 'too good.' And I think we wanted to keep their ego down, and we did that. I think we were better. And I think if we didn't have too many penalty kills, we would have shut that game down. They're obviously super-talented."
"That group in there, I'm so proud of them," said Canadian captain Porter Martone, who tied the game 4-4 late in the third period. "They fought to the very end, and they left it all out there. So that's all I can say. It's definitely a tough loss. And Czechia is a really good team. We gave it all out there for 60 minutes, and it didn't go the way we wanted. We'll handle it like pros and bounce back tomorrow."
Tonight, it was a case of Czech emotion conquering any obstacle the Canadians threw at them.
Coming into the game, the Czechs were equally concerned about their slows starts and also Canada’s big starts, which have put more than one opponent in trouble early. In reality, though, it was the Czechs who came out flying, catching the Canadians flat-footed.
Canadian goalie Jack Ivankovic was razor sharp, however, and he kept the Czechs at bay when it mattered the most. He made a nice glove save off Tomas Poletin in the early going and then denied Tomas Galvas from in close on a rebound.
And then, late in the period, the Czechs took the game’s first penalty and paid the price. But not before Michal Orsulak made the save of the tournament. Cole Reschny fired a back-door pass to Michael Hage, and Hage wasted no time in redirecting the puck in. Except, Orsulak somehow got his pad over to keep the disc out.
Undaunted, however, the Canadians scored half a minute later on another nice pass from in tight. Jakub Fibigr couldn’t corral a loose puck in front of his goal and Misa got to it first. He got it over to Tij Iginla, who whacked it in from the blue ice at 15:14.
The Czechs bounced back and tied the score less than two minutes later. Galvas swiped a backhand towards Ivankovic, but the puck came right to Curran, who slid the puck under the goalie’s pad to make it 1-1.
It didn’t take long into the second for the Czechs to take the lead. They had sustained pressure in the Canada end right from the start, during which time Ivankovic lost his stick. Max Psenicka fired a backhand saucer pass to Adam Titlbach in the slot, and he snapped home the go-ahead goal at 3:44.
The Czechs continued to apply pressure in the offensive end thanks to a lax Canadian defensive effort, but several good scoring chances went all for naught. Canada then worked its way into a 5-on-3 advantage and tied the game 12:38. Orsulak lunged awkwardly at a Zayne Parekh shot, trying to catch it in front of his face, but he missed.
Canada then had a golden chance to go ahead again. Hage stole the puck at his blue line and raced up ice, and he was fouled before he could get a good shot off. Penalty shot. Coach Dale Hunter named Hage to take it, and he made a great move on Orsulak. The goalie tripped him, and in a rare situation the referees awarded a re-do. Hage tried the same move again, without success.
Then, in the final minute, the Czechs took a 3-2 lead off another odd-man rush. This time, Curran hit Adam Benak with a bullet pass across the ice, and Benak smoked a low shot past Ivankovic with just 42.8 seconds left in the period.
Once again, though, Canada roared to life to start the third and tied it 3:59 when Reschny barged his way to the goal unmolested and banged it home to the far side.
The Czechs were undaunted and took another lead off a great play by Vojtech Cihar. He drove hard to the net, willing his way around Caleb Desnoyers, and as he cut to the front he roofed a shot that Ivankovic couldn't react to in time.
The Canadian goalie was then sensational in keeping his team in the game, and his great play proved important late when Canada tied it at 4-4. A Harrison Brunicke shot made it to the net area where captain Porter Martone knocked it in at 17:19.
But the ever-resilient Czechs simply kept playing with heart and emotion, and the Canadaian defence proved vulnberable time and again. In the end, Poletin's goal provided a well-deserved victory for the Czchs, who are going to the gold-medal game for the second time in four years.
"We've matured as a group," Nestrasil added. "I think that's the most important thing, because nobody put their head down. We all wanted to play that game. We only wanted to win. It's so important to just keep on going because if Canada gets their momentum, they're unstoppable. And I think we got to stop that with a lucky goal."
"It's not fun at all," Ivankovic said. "They played harder than us. We can play better, and they're a good team. Now we want to finish with a win. I mean, that's what you want. Obviously it's not the medal we came here for, but hopefully we get it tomorrow."
Vojtech Cihar scored twice, including an empty netter with 25.9 seconds remaining. Curran and Adam Benak had a goal and two assists for the Czechs.
"Obviously we wanted this win, because you heard them in the media," said Vaclav Nestrasil. "They were chirping, and they were kind of 'too good.' And I think we wanted to keep their ego down, and we did that. I think we were better. And I think if we didn't have too many penalty kills, we would have shut that game down. They're obviously super-talented."
"That group in there, I'm so proud of them," said Canadian captain Porter Martone, who tied the game 4-4 late in the third period. "They fought to the very end, and they left it all out there. So that's all I can say. It's definitely a tough loss. And Czechia is a really good team. We gave it all out there for 60 minutes, and it didn't go the way we wanted. We'll handle it like pros and bounce back tomorrow."
Tonight, it was a case of Czech emotion conquering any obstacle the Canadians threw at them.
Coming into the game, the Czechs were equally concerned about their slows starts and also Canada’s big starts, which have put more than one opponent in trouble early. In reality, though, it was the Czechs who came out flying, catching the Canadians flat-footed.
Canadian goalie Jack Ivankovic was razor sharp, however, and he kept the Czechs at bay when it mattered the most. He made a nice glove save off Tomas Poletin in the early going and then denied Tomas Galvas from in close on a rebound.
And then, late in the period, the Czechs took the game’s first penalty and paid the price. But not before Michal Orsulak made the save of the tournament. Cole Reschny fired a back-door pass to Michael Hage, and Hage wasted no time in redirecting the puck in. Except, Orsulak somehow got his pad over to keep the disc out.
Undaunted, however, the Canadians scored half a minute later on another nice pass from in tight. Jakub Fibigr couldn’t corral a loose puck in front of his goal and Misa got to it first. He got it over to Tij Iginla, who whacked it in from the blue ice at 15:14.
The Czechs bounced back and tied the score less than two minutes later. Galvas swiped a backhand towards Ivankovic, but the puck came right to Curran, who slid the puck under the goalie’s pad to make it 1-1.
It didn’t take long into the second for the Czechs to take the lead. They had sustained pressure in the Canada end right from the start, during which time Ivankovic lost his stick. Max Psenicka fired a backhand saucer pass to Adam Titlbach in the slot, and he snapped home the go-ahead goal at 3:44.
The Czechs continued to apply pressure in the offensive end thanks to a lax Canadian defensive effort, but several good scoring chances went all for naught. Canada then worked its way into a 5-on-3 advantage and tied the game 12:38. Orsulak lunged awkwardly at a Zayne Parekh shot, trying to catch it in front of his face, but he missed.
Canada then had a golden chance to go ahead again. Hage stole the puck at his blue line and raced up ice, and he was fouled before he could get a good shot off. Penalty shot. Coach Dale Hunter named Hage to take it, and he made a great move on Orsulak. The goalie tripped him, and in a rare situation the referees awarded a re-do. Hage tried the same move again, without success.
Then, in the final minute, the Czechs took a 3-2 lead off another odd-man rush. This time, Curran hit Adam Benak with a bullet pass across the ice, and Benak smoked a low shot past Ivankovic with just 42.8 seconds left in the period.
Once again, though, Canada roared to life to start the third and tied it 3:59 when Reschny barged his way to the goal unmolested and banged it home to the far side.
The Czechs were undaunted and took another lead off a great play by Vojtech Cihar. He drove hard to the net, willing his way around Caleb Desnoyers, and as he cut to the front he roofed a shot that Ivankovic couldn't react to in time.
The Canadian goalie was then sensational in keeping his team in the game, and his great play proved important late when Canada tied it at 4-4. A Harrison Brunicke shot made it to the net area where captain Porter Martone knocked it in at 17:19.
But the ever-resilient Czechs simply kept playing with heart and emotion, and the Canadaian defence proved vulnberable time and again. In the end, Poletin's goal provided a well-deserved victory for the Czchs, who are going to the gold-medal game for the second time in four years.
"We've matured as a group," Nestrasil added. "I think that's the most important thing, because nobody put their head down. We all wanted to play that game. We only wanted to win. It's so important to just keep on going because if Canada gets their momentum, they're unstoppable. And I think we got to stop that with a lucky goal."
"It's not fun at all," Ivankovic said. "They played harder than us. We can play better, and they're a good team. Now we want to finish with a win. I mean, that's what you want. Obviously it's not the medal we came here for, but hopefully we get it tomorrow."