Czech sweep! Just like U16s, Czech U23s win gold at home, edging Canada in close final

Goals and assists

2. Lhota (Macek, Vaniš), 27. Čejka (Jágr) – 17. Griffin (Matchim).

Referees

Peter Hriško, Michal Laczko

Official game sheet

Czechia U23

Křemenák – Bečka, Školoudík, Dlouhý, M. Matoušek, Vaniš, Korbel, J. Matoušek, Kubíček, Hálek – Bláha, Miksan, Stromko, Macek, Jágr, Šíma, Patera, Kábrt, Jelen, Lhota, Čejka, Macháček.

Canada U23

Hennessey – Correia, Longland, Grannitto, Pettingale, Pinksen, Griffin, Blagden, Krulicki, Duggan, Burke, Matchim – Lock, Dupperreault, Engele, Campbell, Phangura, Webster, Birkett, Oleksiuk, Shellborn, Weihs, Fontaine.

The Czech U23 national team had a dream start to the final, as shortly after the first minute, Tomáš Lhota received a perfect pass to the center of the rink and then made no mistake with his first shot to open the scoring. The Canadians responded with an offensive push, but Antonín Křemenák in the Czech goal kept his team in front for the rest of the first period. The Czechs got several opportunities to increase their lead on the power play when Canadian Nick Blagden was sent to the penalty box for holding, but the score remained 1-0 after one period.

Canada tied it early in the second period when Davin Griffin intercepted a pass and found himself one-on-one against Křemenák. The Canadian defender made no mistake with a quick wrist shot to make it 1-1. A moment later, the Canadians had a great chance to take the lead but Mason Engele missed a one-timer from the slot. After killing off a penalty midway through the middle frame, the Czechs went to the power play for the second time in the game and this time they converted. With time running out in the 5-on-4, Jan Čejka's quick wrist shot from the right circle made it 2-1. A minute before the end of the second period, Křemenák faced another breakaway, but this time he stopped Wylie Birkett with a pad save.

Right at the beginning of the third period, Petr Šíma reached for a breakaway pass, but the ball was faster than the Czech forward and the Canadian goalkeeper managed to cover it. At the other end, Křemenák had more work to do, making a brilliant glove save on a one-timer from tournament scoring leader Cole Dupperreault, which drew a loud cheer from the Czech fans. Thanks to another power play, the Czechs were able to kill off the final minutes in the Canadian half of the rink and were able to kill off the remaining time to successfully defend their title at home.

Coaches´ Quotes

Jiří Mašík (CZE): „We experienced this feeling two years ago, but this time it’s something different. Beating Canada twice in one tournament – that’s incredible. It was an emotional game – the players were chirping at each other even in the tunnel, there were a lot of slashes and battles on the field. But I take my hat off to how we handled it. Most importantly, we didn’t let them intimidate us, and our guys showed real strength – the Canadians were clearly surprised by that. In my opinion, it was all about teamwork. Everyone knew their role, every line fought hard and did exactly what they were supposed to. We also managed to put egos aside – for example, on the third line we have guys who regularly score in the Extraliga, but here they worked for the team and selflessly blocked shots. The same goes for Honza Čejka – he scored the game-winner today, but then dove headfirst into a shot during a penalty kill. Those are the game-changing moments. And then there’s the fourth line – we told them exactly what we expected from them, and they delivered to the letter. On top of that, our goaltenders were outstanding – today it was Tonda Křemánek who came up big for us at the end."

Paul Kastes (CAN): "I’m incredibly proud of my team. The final was extremely tough — the boys fought until the very last minute, but unfortunately it just didn’t go our way. We had plenty of chances, but couldn’t convert them. Still, we left everything out there, and I really appreciate that. Once again, I want to thank all the players and the coaching staff for their hard work."