The hockey players lost to Canada 1:3 and will finish third or fourth in the group

World Hockey Championship Group B match: Czech Republic – Canada, May 23, 2023, Riga. From the left, Jack McBain from Canada, goalkeeper Karel Vejmelka from the Czech Republic and Michal Kempný from the Czech Republic.

Riga – The Czech hockey players lost to Canada at the World Championship in Riga and will finish third or fourth in the basic group B. In Thursday's quarter-finals, they will face Sweden or the United States of America. It is not yet clear whether they will play in the Latvian capital or in Tampere. Canada will head to Finland, where they will face the defending champions and reigning Olympic champions on Thursday at 19:20 CEST.

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Canada took the lead with 48 seconds left in the first period on the power play thanks to Peyton Krebs, but Martin Kaut equalized in the 23rd minute. At 44:09, defender Tyler Myers made the decision, and 36 seconds before the end, during a power play, he gave the final form to the result with a questionable goal by Lawson Crouse.

In the beginning of the game, the game was played for a long time without clear chances, and the shooting attempts were easily covered by the Vejmelek goalkeepers and Montembeault, who dealt with Smejkal's flow in the 6th minute. As time went by, the Canadians gained a significant shooting advantage and outshot Jalonen's team in the first part 19:4.

In the middle of the opening act, during Smejkal's penalty, Vejmelka blocked Toffoli's shot with the stick handle. At 19:12 during Kempné's stay on the penalty bench, the Canadians already opened the scoring. Glass found Krebs on the left circle, who headed straight for the opposite post.

It was tied after 126 seconds of the second half. Flek passed to a free Kaut, who beat Montembeault with a backhand bluff between the concretes to celebrate his first goal of the tournament. Immediately, Krebs could answer with a shot from the left circle. In the continuing rotation, the entire third formation gradually had chances. Kaut shot from the right circle, Smejkal tried to insert the puck from behind the goal from the left post, but Blais stopped it in front of the goal line, and from a difficult position from the air he missed the open goal of Zohorn.

In the 27th minute, after Kempný's shot, he hit from the stop Lenc right bar. Vejmelka also solved the series of shots, but the Czechs were more dangerous. Montembeault dealt with Zohorn's shot, and on the first power play of Jalonen's team during Hunt's penalty, Kempný hit the crossbar through Smejkal's screen.

At the beginning of the third period, the Canadians were more active for a change and returned to the lead in the 45th minute. Vejmelka was shot from the right circle between the concrete by the defender Myers. Flek tried to answer, but the Canadian goalkeeper covered his shot. Then Špaček complained to judges Ansons and Stolec about Hunt's intervention with a high stick, which caused a bloody scar on his face. Due to a stained jersey, he continued in another with the number 58 instead of 52.

The Czech team failed to equalize with Fantilli's penalty and 38 seconds before the end, he hit an empty Crouse goal on a power play from the middle zone. Jalonen and his team unsuccessfully requested a previous interruption of the game after Černoch touched the puck in offside.

Voices after the match:

Martin Kaut (forward of the Czech Republic, author of the goal at 1: 1): “We thought we would play it more through the backs. The back (Tomáš Dvořák) played it to Flíček (Jakub Flek), I shouted, he saw me, he gave it to me beautifully. As soon as I got the puck, I knew that I'll make this loop. Fortunately, it fell there. Then I had another substitution chance right away, it should have been a goal too, but what if it wasn't played. We have to forget about this match, take positive things from it. And I'm looking forward to the quarterfinals. Every hockey player they dream about him, I'm really looking forward to it.”

Roman Červenka (captain of the Czech Republic): “We had a bad start, Canada clearly dominated in the first period. The second period was much better, we picked up the pace, held on to the puck and equalized. But in the third period, we stood stupidly on a throw-in again and got a goal from it. Canada had knowing that after losing the game against Norway they jumped into it. They were everywhere. We improved from the second period and then it could have gone either way. I felt that we could have gotten more out of the game because, especially in the second period, we didn't finish a lot of promising actions .”

Michal Kempný (defender of the Czech Republic): “The first period from our side was not good at all. We were under pressure, we didn't get shots and put constant pressure on them. In the second half it picked up, we were the better team. In the third period we didn't do much either. Canada had more of the game, more pressure. It's a shame. We wanted to win to go on with a good mood, which didn't happen. We have to put everything behind us and prepare as best we can to handle him.”

< strong>Ondřej Beránek (forward of the Czech Republic): “We didn't play a bad match. In the second period it broke down, we should have added another goal and the match could have looked different. We scored a goal in a weak position, we have to take care of that. We didn't give a power play and that decided it. We can play (in the quarter-finals) with every team, if we fulfill the things we have. If we fight and leave our hearts there, I believe we will make it.”

Jiří Černoch (forward of the Czech Republic): “Unfortunately, we conceded two goals again after our small mistakes. And of course Canada played excellently. They outplayed us extremely in the first period. From the second period it was an even match, we were even better in the second. It was decided that we scored only one goal. Uncalled for offside ? At that moment I was very angry, now I put it behind me, there's nothing we can do and we won't bring it back. It just happened. Mainly, I saw that the lineman was two meters away from me, so I touched it to stop time and we still had a chance. He claimed he didn't see it. That's how it is.”

Czech Republic – Canada 1:3 (0:1, 1:0, 0:2)

Goals and assists: 23. M. Kaut (Flek, T. Dvořák) – 20. Krebs (Glass, Hunt), 45. Myers (J. Quinn, Laughton), 60. Crouse (Laughton). Referee: Ansons (Latvia), Štolc (Switzerland) – Synek (SR), Zunde (Latvia). Exclusion: 2:2. Usage: 0:1. Viewers: 6420.

Lineups:

Czech Republic: Vejmelka – Kundrátek, Kempný, Košťálek, T. Dvořák, J. Zboril, Jordán, Němeček – D. Kubalík, Sobotka, Červenka – O. Beránek, Černoch, Flek – M. Kaut, R Zohorna, Smejkal – Lenc, M. Špaček, D. Voženílek. Coach: K. Jalonen.

Canada: Montembeault – Weegar, Middleton, Hunt, Bear, Joseph, Myers, Barron – Fantilli, Glass, Lucic – J. Quinn, Laughton, Crouse – Blais, Krebs, Neighbors – Toffoli, McBain, Carcone. Coach: Tourigny.

Table:

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