World Championship: Sedlak shoots Czechs into final
It was party time in Prague as the Czech Republic halted Sweden’s unbeaten run through the IIHF World Championship. Saturday’s 7-3 victory gives the Czechs a first final since 2010, and guarantees a home-ice medal for the first time since 1992. Tomorrow, the host nation will face Switzerland for the gold after a shoot-out verdict against Canada in the second game. The Canadians will face Sweden for bronze.
Sweden 3 Czech Republic 7 (2-2, 1-3, 0-2)
They said it would be tight. They said it would be low-scoring. They wondered whether the Czechs could find a way through Sweden’s impressive defense. Seven goals later, most of the pre-game predictions looked some way off the mark as the Czech offense went wild to the delight of an enthusiastic home crowd.
Sweden, so elegant in its progress through the tournament, never quite looked at ease here. Despite leading twice in the first period, the Tre Kronor could not hold onto its advantage through a lively opening 20 minutes.
Then, in the middle frame, the Czechs exploded. Three goals in three minutes put the hosts in complete control, and the crowd responded. This was the game that confirmed a new IIHF World Championship attendance record (with three more to play afterwards), and the noise and passion we’ve seen all week in Prague hit new heights. In the 27th minute, Ondrej Kase and Martin Necas scored twice in 16 seconds to give the Czechs the edge. Just before midway, Dominik Kubalik’s second of the game opened a 5-2 lead and had the Swedes on the brink. Joel Eriksson Ek got one back late in the frame, but the damage was done.
The Czechs finished the job in the third thanks to two breakaway goals from Lukas Sedlak. The former Traktor man might have had a hat-trick, but his late empty-net goal was called back for offside. At the other end, Lukas Dostal mopped up the Swedish pressure, finishing with 37 saves.
Canada 2 Switzerland 3 SO (0-2, 1-0, 1-0, 0-0, 0-1)
Sven Andrighetto grabbed Switzerland’s shoot-out winner, sending his country back to the World Championship final for the first time since 2018. That year, the Swiss beat Canada in a semi-final shoot-out and this time they repeated that trick.
Throughout the competition, Switzerland has excelled on the power play. Today, two PP goals in the first period laid the foundations for victory. Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, Nino Niederreiter scored the second and Canada was in trouble.
But the defending champion rallied in the second and got on the board when Brandon Tanev tapped in a loose puck after Olen Zellweger’s point shot got tangled up in traffic. The third period was all Canada, with Leonardo Genoni impressive in the Swiss net. It looked like he’d done enough to preserve the lead until a late power play saw John Tavares tie it up. Both teams had power play chances in overtime, but it took a shoot-out to decide it. Former Avangard man Andrighetto claimed the winner, with Genoni denying Dylan Cozens to end Canada’s hopes of back-to-back gold.
Main photo: Pasi Suokko / Apollo Photo / DeFodi Images / Getty Sport / GettyImages.ru
