The Czechs took the lead in the 42nd second of play, courtesy of Petr Sikora. It already smelled like hot soup.
A few minutes later, Cole Beaudoin wanted to wake up his team by applying a good body check in center ice. However, he received a five-minute major penalty for knee strike.
Against all odds, it was Canada that benefited. After missing a breakaway, captain Brayden Yager passed the puck to Tanner Howe who completed it nicely.
The tie only lasted a few minutes as defenseman Sam Dickinson redirected the puck into his own net. The goal was credited to Jakub Stancl.
With less than three seconds left in the first period, Eduard Sale doubled the Czechs’ lead from a surplus.
Canada responded on the power play at the end of the second period. Inserted into the lineup for this duel, Porter Martone deflected a shot from the blue line on a power play to give his team hope.
The crowd favorites got off to a flying start in the third round. They generated several excellent scoring chances. Quebecer Mathieu Cataford even thought he had scored the equalizing goal, but it was refused due to obstruction on the goalkeeper.
With just over three minutes left, Bradly Nadeau rocked the Canadian Tire Center by tying the score.
With 40 seconds left in the match, Adam Jecho played the hero by giving the Czechia a 4-3 victory on a power play.
More details and comments to come…
