Czech Republic takes down Sweden

Press Release

It took a few periods for them to get going but the Czechs came back from a one goal deficit to take their opening game against Sweden 2-1.
The game started a bit rough, as Czech forward Tomas Hertl was given a ten-minute misconduct for checking a Swedish player from behind. Midway through the first period, Sweden broke the deadlock with a goal from Leksands forward Filip Forsberg.

Through the first two periods it looked like Sweden was the superior team, as Tre Kronor outshot the Czechs 34-18 through the first two frames. However, Czech Republic goaltender Matej Machovsky kept his team in the game while the offence tried to find its legs, making 44 of 45 saves as the Swedes outshot the Czechs nearly two to one.

Each of Machovsky’s 44 saves turned out to be crucial, as the Czechs seized two power play opportunities in the third period to put themselves in front 2-1. First, defenseman Tomas Kvapil scored his team’s first goal of the tournament after Mikael Vikstrand was banished to the penalty box for interference. Later on, Swedish forward Joachim Nermark was called for slashing, leaving the door open for Czech star Dmitrij Jaskin to score the goal that put his team ahead for good.

Russia vs. Slovakia 8-2 (3-0, 2-1, 3-1) Game Sheet Photos

It could have been a closer match between Russia and Slovakia, but early mistakes and costly penalties proved to be too much for the Slovaks, who fell 8-2 to the Russians in their opening game.

Russia’s power play got going early as Slovakia’s Vladimir Dolnik was penalized just over two minutes into the game for holding. Halfway into the man advantage, Russian forward Nikita Kucherov was left all alone beside the net. Teammate Mikhail Grigorenko found him with a pass and he promptly shot in in the glove side of goalie Patrik Rybar for the 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Emil Bagin was sent to the penalty box for two minutes on an interference call. The Slovaks once again left a Russian player open down low, this time it was Anton Ivanyuzhenkov, who took a pass from Maxim Shalunov and put it on the net. Rybar was able to stop the initial shot, but the ensuing rebound went straight onto the stick of Vladimir Tkachev, who shot it past Rybar to put the Russians up by two goals.

Despite the power play goals by Russia, Slovakia still could not avoid taking penalties, and the bench of the Slovak penalty box remained warm for most of the first period. The refs finally called a penalty on Russia after the Slovaks had taken their fourth, but the 4-on-4 play seemed to suit the Russians just fine, as Grigorenko took a pass down the middle, split the defenders and below Rybar’s glove to increase the lead to 3-0.

Slovak frustrations boiled over in the second period. Defender Peter Bezuska was given a ten minute game misconduct for checking from behind, and the weakened Slovak defensive corps allowed Russia two quick goals, the first from Shalunov and another by Anton Slepyshev off of a breakaway. While Slovakia was able to notch a power play goal courtesy of Filip Vasko and another in the third, the Russians didn’t look back, potting three more goals in the third period to seal the game

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)