Czechia U23 narrowly edged USA in fierce battle

The game looked lopsided at first as Czechia U23 dominated the first period, both on the field and on the scoreboard. The hosts transferred the constant pressure into a three-goal lead and the game seemed over, however, it was anything but. In the second period, the Americans looked almost like a new team, their game constantly improved and they started to turn the momentum over. Just before the second intermission, the USA scored two goals within a one-minute span. This resulted in an extremely entertaining, fast-paced, physical, and emotional third period which could easily be used in an ad campaign promoting ball hockey. Both sides were inches from another goal, but neither was able to actually score it despite their best efforts. Therefore, the Czechs got a valuable win 3-2 further rewarded by a very loud and active home crowd.

Svijanska Arena 1

2-3

(0:3, 2:0, 0:0)

USA U23 - Czechia U23

Penalties

6:4

PPG

0:0

SHG

0:0

Shots on goal

14:39

Goals and assists

27. Callahan (Ferris), 28. Mellilo (Geatens) – 6. Langr (Čejka), 12. Stupka (Macháček), 14. Lhota (Jágr)

Referees

Hriško, Bogáň

Official game sheet

USA U23

Snyder – Albert, Miller, Drew, Holman, Andes, Tolman, Crousy (A), Callahan, Malloy, Mellilo (C), Geatens, Ferris, Bujdos, Dorsey, Chernetskiy, Albright, Steinberg, DIckhut, Garneau (A), Anesin

Czechia U23

Foršt – Teinitzer, Geisler, Vaniš (A), Školoudík, Kastner, Procházka, Štěpánek, Stupka (C), Chramosta, Kaňák, Jágr, Kucharčík, Janeček, Kamenář, Laurinc (A), Kovárník, Licek, Lhota, Čejka, Macháček, Langr

COACHES´ REACTIONS

Dan Gaetens (USA): „Dissapointed by the outcome but I was proud of the guys and how they got back. We were 0-3 down early in the game but in the end we made it a one goal game. The difference is penalties. We took more penalties than they did so that's a difference in the game. Congratulations to them, we played a good game.“

Jaroslav Procházka (Assistant Coach, CZE): "In the first period, it was a fantastic performance from us. We came out strong against America and simply dominated them. Unfortunately, we only scored three goals, despite the tremendous effort from our players. Then we let them back into the game a bit, partly due to some power plays. The American goalie made excellent saves. If he hadn't been so good, we could have scored seven or eight goals, and the game could have been decided earlier. The Americans never give up and don't sell their skin cheaply, and they scored two goals against us. Our guys deserve credit for their fighting spirit. They are experienced, and I believed throughout the game that we would win. Of course, it can happen that a balloon deflates somewhere and something goes wrong, but we have confidence in ourselves, and we are a strong team. In the third period, we started dominating again, and even though there was some nervousness towards the end of the game, we managed to handle that crucial match. Many thanks to the fans for coming to watch us in this beautiful environment. Liberec is a beautiful city, and the support from the people here is absolutely fantastic. I would like to invite everyone to come tomorrow at six for the Canada game. It will be a theater of dreams here."