Olympics men’s hockey: Czech Republic downs Canada in shootout
After staying tied, the Canada v Czech Republic men’s hockey game came down to a shootout. Here’s your recap of Canada vs. Czech Republic.
Canada jumped out to an early lead over the Czech Republic at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Czechs answered to tie the game, sending it to overtime. In the end, it was the Czech Republic that came away with a 3-2 win on a shootout. With the win, the Czech Republic takes the lead in Group A.
Team Canada’s Mason Raymond put Canada up 1-0 1:13 into the game with assists from Linden Vey and Marc-Andre Gragnani. Dominik Kubalik answered with a goal seven minutes into the game, putting the Czech Republic on the board. Canada came back with a Rene Bourque goal with assists from Maxim Noreau and Gilbert Brule.
The Czech Republic tied the game at 2-2 when Michal Jordan sent the puck into the net with assists from Michal Birner and Roman Hornak.
From that point forward, the score remained tied despite both teams trying to score. At one point early in the second period, Canada was outshooting the Czech Republic 17-9.
The game went into overtime, but even when it was three on three, no goals were scored, leading to a shootout. The Czechs won the coin toss and elected to go second. Canada’s Wojciech Wolski scored, followed by Czech Republic’s Petr Koukal. Jan Kovar added another shot for the Czech Republic, and he added another one to win the game. The Czech Republic took a 3-2 win over Canada on a shootout despite never having a lead through the entire game. The win gives the Czech Republic the lead in Group A.
Off the pipe! The Czech Republic beats Canada in a shootout at the #WinterOlympics. pic.twitter.com/zb7sLxo6Uu
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) February 17, 2018
Men's Hockey: Czech Republic beats Canada 3-2 in a shootout to move into first place in Group A at #PyeongChang2018. pic.twitter.com/5vDkvLb5CM
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) February 17, 2018
Canada had 33 shots on goal compared to Czech Republic’s 20, though the Czechs led with 31 saves and a 93.94 save percentage. Canada spent 7:58 on power plays while the Czech has 6:00.
Somewhat ironically, the loss for the Canadians came almost exactly 20 years after the Czechs defeated them in the semifinals of the men’s hockey tournament in Nagano, one that demoralized the Canucks to the point where they lost the bronze medal game and failed to medal. However, it’s also a sign of Canadian Olympic men’s hockey dominance that the loss on Saturday was the nation’s first in Olympic play since 2010.
Next: Best Olympian from each state
Next up for the Czech Republic is a Group A preliminary game against Switzerland, while Canada takes on South Korea in the Group A prelim.