#Bitter #quarter #finals #18team #hockey #team #lost #Slovakia
The Czech under-18 hockey players lost 2:3 to Slovakia in the quarter-finals at the World Championship and, just like last year, they will be missing from the fight for medals.
Coach David Čermák’s wards advanced to the knockout stage from second place in the group and were paper favorites for the duel, but they were unable to confirm their position. Striker Ondrej Maruna contributed two goals to Slovakia’s victory.
The last time the Czech Republic won a medal at the top event for 18-year-old players was in 2014, when the selection was led by coach Jakub Petr stríbrný. The Slovaks advanced to the semi-finals for the second time in a row, having finished fourth last year.
“It’s very regrettable, it’s a big disappointment for us. We came here to win a better result than we won,” he said Čermák in an interview on the Czech hockey YouTube channel. “We didn’t convert the chances and unfortunately we didn’t play as collectively as the opponent,” he admitted.
The Czech team did not enter the match in Finland ideally. In the first substitution, Galvas made a mistake in passing, Mrtka then fouled and the Slovaks quickly took advantage of the power play. At 1:36, after a numerical advantage of 17 seconds, Tomík opened the scoring with a shot from the blue.
Kubiesa could equalize, but goalkeeper Lenďák managed to save his shot. The Czechs did not use their premier power play, but before the expelled Beluško could join the game, Titlbach equalized with a quick stop. In another numerical advantage, Čermák’s selection could have pushed Jecho into the lead, but he was unable to hit the open goal.
In the 19th minute, the defender Mrtek received a higher penalty for a foul on Tomík, but the Czechs defended themselves thanks to several good saves by Milota. “The foul affected the match a lot, but everything was preceded by the loss of the puck on the blue line. It wasn’t even a knee, but the referee said that’s how they should punish it. We put the Slovaks back in the game,” Cermák said.
Even with an even number of players on the ice, Daníček and Švec got promising opportunities, but they failed just like Liščínský on the other side.
In the 35th minute, Slovakia took the lead when, after Švec’s hesitation in the play-off and being outnumbered, Milota beat Maruna for the second time. Titlbach could answer quickly, but he could not equalize. The Czech goalkeeper subsequently kept his team at Straka’s chance.
The Czech chances of advancing decreased at the beginning of the third period, when Milota made a mistake and let Marun’s throw from the bar behind him. In the 47th minute, the active Titlbach could equalize, but this time he did not beat Lenďák either. Milota immediately eliminated Pobežala’s independent raid.
Nine minutes before the end, the Czech Republic was brought back into the game by Fibigr, who lowered the goal with a precise shot under the crossbar. However, the team led by captain Hlinský could not equalize even in the final power play. The Czech Republic thus said goodbye to the tournament with a balance of two wins and three defeats, the Slovaks claimed their second victory today. Before that, they only managed to beat Norway.
“The overall assessment of the tournament is difficult now. I think we did not play as a team as we did in the summer. We went into it with the fact that in the previous (big) tournament in Canada the team did not score a single point. I felt respect for the opponents and determination from the boys that we will pull it off with a team performance. We didn’t manage to get back to it the whole time. Last August, the Czechs took second place at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Břeclav.
Under-18 Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland:
Czech Republic – Slovakia 2:3 (1:1, 0:1, 1:1)
Goals and records: 8. Titlbach (Zielinski, Benák), 52. Fibigr (T. Galvas, Benák) – 2. Tomík (Pobežal, Radivojevic), 35. Maruna (Chovan, Šatan), 43. Maruna. Referee: Österberg (Sweden), Wuorenheimo (Fin.) – Bedard (Can.), Davidonis (Lat.). Exclusion: 2:3, in addition Mrtka (ČR) 5 min. and until the end of the matches. Usage: 0:1. Spectators: 380.
CR squad: Milota – Zielinski, Fibigr, Mrtka, T. Galvas, A. Král, Hlinský, Švec – Kubiesa, Sikora, O. Kos – Jecho, Benák, Titlbach – Daníček, Curran, Drančák – Poletín, Heš, Vaculík. Coach: Cermák.
