Illustration photo – Czech hockey goalkeeper Petr Kváča, November 8, 2021.
Malmö (Sweden) – The match of the Czech hockey players at the Swedish Games in Malmö against Finland will be intercepted by Petr Kváč, as previously announced by the coaches led by Karim Jalonen. Vojtěch Mozík figures in the defense, who joined the team later due to illness. Defender Ondřej Vála and forwards Kryštof Hrabík and Lukáš Jašek were given time off. The match will start at 12 o'clock.
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Photo gallery: Hockey national team 2022/23
While Aleš Stezka defended the goal in the match against the home team of Sweden on Thursday (2:1 in overtime), this time Kváč will be given the space, who will make his sixth national team start. The last time the goalkeeper from Liberec caught in the national team was last April in the Euro Hockey Challenge match in Spišská Nová Ves, where the Czechs lost to the Slovaks 1:3.
Compared to the fight with the selection of Tre kronor, the coaches made only a small adjustment in defense, where Mozík replaced the debutant Vála. In the attack, the formation Hrabík, Jašek, Michal Kovařčík is missing, while Kovařčík will fulfill the role of the thirteenth attacker. With the Swedes, this role was played by Jan Bambula, who is fully involved in the game, just like Adam Musil and Oscar Flynn.
Bambula will be in the third attack together with Jiří Černoch and Ondřej Beránek. He will replace Jakub Flek, who will form the fourth formation together with Musil and Flynn. The coaches left the first two formations in their original composition.
While the Czechs defeated the home Swedes 2:1 in extra time on Thursday, the Finns had a dramatic shootout with the Swiss. The reigning world champions and Olympic champions were already losing 1:4 in Zurich, but they managed to turn the tide and celebrate a 6:5 victory after separate raids. In both duels of the season so far, the Czech hockey players had the upper hand – they won 5:2 at the Karjala tournament and 3:2 at the Swiss Games.
“We have to be patient. We can expect excellent skating from the Finns, they have perfectly mastered the middle zone , but we must mainly be strong in personal duels. Thirty-forty percent of the entire match – and these are statistics that do not lie – takes place around the goalposts. We must be strong there and win those duels,” said assistant head coach Libor Zábranský.
< p>Predicted CR: Kváča – Zámorský, Jordán, J. Jeřábek, Kempný, L. Zábranský Jr., Klok, Mozík, Pýcha – Chlapík, Jan Kovář, H. Zohorna – Lakatoš, Sobotka, Smejkal – O. Beránek, Černoch , Bambula – Flek, A. Musil, Flynn – M. Kovařčík.
