The Czechs were able to recover from the 0:6 debacle by Canada. From the start, they played focused with a solid defense and were able to counter the Swedes with good movement. In the 13th minute, Poletín on the edge of the goal area even got the puck into the Swedish net during a numerical advantage. But a review of the situation on the video showed that it happened with an obvious kick of the skates, so the goal could not be recognized.
The score changed only in the second half. When Eliasson sat on the penalty bench for illegal defending, the three-year-old striker Sikora was able to open the scoring from a pass by Curran. Jecho was responsible for increasing the lead, who leveled the puck on his stick and fired over the lying defender exactly over Härenstam’s catcher.
Even though the opponent had more shots on his account, his goal deficit was already two goals and time worked against the Swedes. Only 22 seconds were left to play in the second period, when they managed to overcome the excellent catching Milota, and it was clear that the third act would be very exciting.
Reassurance for the Czech 18 could have come a quarter of an hour before the end, but Titlbach did not outwit the Swedish goalkeeper from the break.
In an attempt to equalize, the opponent opened up the defense a lot, so in the 49th minute, Curran also got into an independent escape and was stopped only at the cost of a foul. However, Benák did not convert the ordered penalty shot. The missed goal opportunities must have made the juniors sad, because the Swedes needed 31 seconds from the power play to equalize.
Curran could have saved extra time, but he only hit the post. The five-minute setup did not determine the winner, so it had to be raids.
Right from the start, the Czech executor Sikora converted with a quick shot and was also imitated by Titlbach, Milota eliminated three Swedish attempts out of four. Only L. Eriksson was able to match him, but soon after that he succeeded with his sidekick Benák and it was over.
| World Hockey Championship under 18 in Vantaa (Finland): |
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| Group B: |
| Czech Republic – Sweden 3:2 after sam. raids (0:0, 2:1, 0:1 – 0:0) |
| Goals and assists: 26. Sikora (Curran), 33. Jecho (Titlbach), decisive sam. raid Titlbach – 40. Eklund (Lindberg, Eriksson), 54. Eriksson (Zetterberg, Wallenius). Referees: Burzminski (Can.), Druseiks (Lat.) – Bedard (Can.), Mäkinen (Fin.). Exclusion: 4:5. Usage: 1:1. Viewers: 904. |
| CR squad: Milota – Fibigr, Zielinski, Mrtka, T. Galvas, Hlinský, A. Král, Švec – Jecho, Benák, Titlbach – Kubiesa, Sikora, O. Kos – Drančák, Curran, Daníček – Poletín, Heš, Vaculík – Lisner . Coach: Cermák. |
