Czechia U23 top the group after beating Slovakia

The battle for first place in the round-robin phase is finished, and it was a thrilling one! The first period went scoreless, but the second period proved decisive. The Czechs got on the scoresheet first after a successful penalty shot by Nicholas Langr, but Slovakia quickly equalized. However, the home team kicked the tires, quickly regained the lead, and just before the second intermission extended the margin to two goals. The Slovaks weren't able to come back from that deficit as both teams only netted one more in the last period. Therefore, Czechia U23 won 4-2 and will go into the play-offs as the first-seeded team.

Svijanska Arena 1

2-4

(0:0, 1:3, 1:1)

Slovakia U23 - Czechia U23

Penalties

3:2

PPG

0:1

SHG

0:0

Shots on goal

20:24

Goals and assists

21. Polák (Černák, Solník), 39. Hryzák (Jenčuš) – 16. Langr (TS), 22. Macháček (Procházka), 29. Kucharčík (Macháček), 33. Vaniš (Stupka, Macháček)

Referees

Trevor Jarvis, Matthew Wass

Official game sheet

Slovakia U23

Fedor (33. Richter) – Černák, Gajdoš, Jenčuš, Kaščák, Solník, Muráň, Cifranič, Horváth, Lopušan – Korbáš, Pisařovic, Prna, Kolenčík, Longauer, Hryzák, Straka, Tomkovič, Polák, Zummer, Béreš, Čirč, Štefanka

Czechia U23

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

COACHES´ REACTIONS

Marián Longauer (SVK): "First and foremost, we set our minds to taking a breather, which was reflected on the field. The opponent simply had easy access to chances, played very straightforwardly, and didn't press. It was almost like a third-tier quasi-preparation match. Nobody cared about the result. Tomorrow, the final match is being played; today was just a practice."

Radek Mašík (CZE): "It was a peculiar match, knowing that we have the final with the Slovaks tomorrow. But in the end, we decided to play it to the fullest. We simply didn't want any speculations, so that no injuries would occur. We didn't want to be overly aggressive. The guys played excellently, we controlled the game, and we added goals. It's pleasing to see how we can change the rhythm of the game. We worked diligently on both ends, which are additional attributes useful for the final."