Fight until the last breath! Canada U21 defeated resilient Czechs

The Canadians opened the scoring early on when Jenni Simpson demonstrated her determination and scored a rebound. The Czechs fought relentlessly, putting their opponents under pressure, despite being down by one. And they were rewarded by Martina Landová's goal in the middle of the second period. Canada regained their lead, however, when Alyson Thomas beat Hořínková from the slot. Mya Irvin then scored the insurance goal during a power-play to secure the Canadian victory. The closely contested match went better for Canada, beating the Czechs 3-1.

Svijanska Arena 1

3-1

(1:0, 0:1, 2:0)

Canada U21 - Czechia U21

Penalties

4:6

PPG

2:1

SHG

0:0

Shots on goal

19:31

Goals and assists

3. Simpson (Vigneau Sargeant), 34 Thomas (Hawryshko), 43. Irvine (Hawryshko) - 20. Landová (Ondrová)

Referees

Erica Simpson, Deana Cuglietta

Official game sheet

Canada U21

Jones - Guy, Payment, Hawryshko, Tuba, Brownridge, Eaton, Lannon (C), Pugosa, Simpson, Thomas (A), Dzikowicz, Meunier-Geoffroy, Faulkner, Wilson, Hayley, Butler, Vigneau Sargeant (A), Drover, Irvine, Carnegie

Czechia U21

Hořínková – Procházková (A), Petrášková, Šlemarová, Ondrovi, Štěpková, Konečná, Kotyrová, Plecerová, Červíková (A) – Hasíková, Kantorová, Procházková (A), Škropíková (C), Pangerlová, Mikulová, Kotlíková, Zavoralová, Becková, Landová, Krásová, Ištoková

COACHES´ REACTIONS

Chris Sirovyak (CAN): Great game, both teams competed hard. I think it could go another way. But a good match for our team. We hope to meet them again in the medal game.

Michal Broulík (CZE): After the match against the United States, we faced another overseas opponent, which was Canada. When we saw their game against Slovakia, we expected a different style of play, and that proved to be true. Canada approached the game with much more physicality, and their overall pace was different from the United States. In my opinion, the girls played a good match. There were several positive aspects. Of course, there were also negatives, but I think the girls fought until the very end. Our penalties were a pity. The exclusions actually determined the outcome of the match. We scored a power-play goal, and Canada also executed their power plays well. They simply outplayed us and emerged victorious. We need to learn from this because there is a high probability that we will face them again. If we want to win, these things need to change.