The Czech hockey players took second place in Group B at the Under-18 World Championship in Finland, and in Thursday’s quarter-finals they will face Slovakia in a derby, which saved progress to the playoffs with a crushing 11:1 victory over Norway.
Sweden could have moved ahead of the Czech Republic in the group table in the event of a full point gain in the duel with Switzerland, but they only won 3:2 in overtime.
In the last game in the group, the Czech youngsters unexpectedly lost 3:4 in extra time to Kazakhstan on Monday, and they were in danger of encountering one of the most difficult opponents from Group A in the quarter-finals, namely the USA and Finland.
Sweden, over which coach David Čermák’s team won 3:2 after separate raids, but did not take advantage of the chance and the Swiss lost a point. The Northerners managed to reach the Czech Republic, but due to the defeat in the mutual match, they remained third.
The Slovaks lost the first three matches at the championship with a score of 3:18 and needed to beat Norway by at least three goals to progress. They fulfilled this condition to a great extent and outclassed their opponents with a double-digit result.
Tomáš Pobežal scored four goals. The third period of the game had to be played in the training hall in Espoo because the ice skate broke down in the main stadium during the second break and damaged the ice when the organizers tried to remove it. The break thus extended to more than an hour.
Under-18 Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland:
Group A (Espoo):
Slovakia – Norway 11:1 (5:1, 3:0, 3:0),
17:00 Finland – USA.
Table:
| 1. | USA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24:3 | 9 |
| 2. | Finland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14:1 | 9 |
| 3. | Slovakia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2:19 p.m | 3 |
| 4. | Latvia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10:18 a.m | 3 |
| 5. | Norway | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8:29 am | 3 |
Group B (Vantaa):
Sweden – Switzerland 3:2 in overtime. (1:1, 1:1, 0:0 – 1:0)
18:00 Canada – Kazakhstan.
Table:
| 1. | Canada | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20:4 | 9 |
| 2. | Czechia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9:12 a.m | 6 |
| 3. | Sweden | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3:12 p.m | 6 |
| 4. | Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8:16 a.m | 4 |
| 5. | Kazakhstan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7:15 a.m | 0 |
Tags: Czech under18 ice hockey players face Slovakia quarterfinals World Cup
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