“I’m glad we won. It is not easy to play a match against such an opponent. The Japanese have always been unpleasant when we have played against them in history and we have always struggled to get better results against them. Fortunately, we confirmed the role of the favorite,” said coach Jakub Novotný. “It was a good match and it showed us what we have to work on,” added the coach, whose players are defending bronze medals at the tournament.
The Czechs already led 3:0 in the 10th minute. Martin Žižlavský, Václav Hečko and Zdeněk Hábl were also among the scorers. The team’s second win ensured advancement to the medal fights. The final match in the basic group B awaits the Czechs at night on Wednesday, European time, when they will face the Canadian world vice-champions. “We are delighted to have confirmed the role in the group. We took the opening two matches as preparation for Canada and were able to try out some variants in the lineup,” said Novotný. In the first match, the Czechs beat Italy 4:1.
| World Para Hockey Championship in Calgary: |
|---|
| Group A: |
| China – Slovakia 10:0 (2: 0, 6:0, 2:0) |
| USA – Korea 11:0 (8:0, 3:0, 0:0) |
| Order: |
| 1. USA 2 games/6 points score (21-0) |
| 2. China 2/6 (20:0) |
| 3. Slovakia 2/0 (0:20) |
| 4. Korea 2/0 (0:21) |
| Group B: |
| Czech Republic – Japan 5:0 (3:0, 1:0, 1:0) |
| Goals: 5. and 38. Veselý, 4. Žižlavský, 10. Hečko, 21. Hábl. |
| Canada – Italy 10:0 (2:0, 5:0, 3:0) |
| Order: |
| 1. Canada 2/6 (29:0) |
| 2. Czech Republic 2/6 (9:1) |
| 3. Italy 2/0 (1:14) |
| 4. Japan 2/0 (0:24) |
