Czech Republic – Italy 4:1, Czech para-hockey players entered the WC with a win over Italy

“We have had a decent start to the tournament and of course we are happy to have won. It’s good that we played on the puck and didn’t allow the Italians to enter our zone too much. It’s just a shame about the conceded goal, which we got in a weakened state, when we couldn’t throw the puck away in the middle zone and they got outnumbered,” coach Jakub Novotný said in a recording for the media.

His charges took the lead after 39 seconds of the game, when Hečko opened the scoring. Goalkeeper Martin Kudela, who faced only five shots, conceded in the 39th minute when the Czechs were leading 3:0.

The next match in Group B awaits the Czech Republic on Monday night European time. They will face Japan, who initially lost to Canada 0:19. A win will advance them to the semi-finals.

“We will want to enter the match just as actively, forecheck and give the opponent as little time as possible on the puck,” said Novotný. He believes that his charges will be more effective in the end. “We had 32 shots against Italy, which is quite a lot in para hockey. Every eighth shot hit us there. I hope we will improve because the better teams won’t let us have so many shots and chances,” he added.