Menu
The Canadians started in the best way possible - in less than a minute they had a two-goal lead. Carson Wickie opened the scoring, and a few seconds later Nicholas Moore finished an individual run with a well placed shot. However, the Czechs soon got back into the game, and it was Tomas Lhota who surprised the Canadians with a great shot, top shelf. Canada East was able to crush the Czech dream once again before the first siren thanks to Sean Baker and his perfect finish, but Miroslav Halek narrowed the Canadian lead just few moments later.
Early in the middle period, Canadians took the ball under their control and were keeping him in safe - in front of the Czech net. However, the Czechs soon caused them trouble. Lhota´s second of the game tied the score, and really shuffled the cards. But the Czechs weren´t done yet. Just a minute later, Lhota made the arena go crazy with his another hat-trick! However, the Canadians had to say something as well, and it didn´t take long before Wickie scored his second to even the game once again. But the hero of the game was Lhota, scored yet another goal, putting the Czechs back in the lead. The European train wasn´t about to stop, and Lukas Novotny sent the hosts closer to victory. The Canadians called a time-out, and that came in handy, because Brendan Mairs narrowed the Czech lead to 6-5. Canada East then made the game even once again thanks to the second by Nicholas Moore.
After the sixth Canadian goal, the Czechs made a goaltending change, with Ondrej Baus being replaced by Miroslav Nistor between the pipes. In the last period, the game was really tight for a long time, both teams had their ups and downs, and both goaltenders played great. The game went to the overtime, in which Miroslav Halek stepped up and decided this fabulous game!
Reactions
Coach of Czech U15: Absolutely fantastic! We knew our team could play with teams like Slovakia or Canada, and they just confirmed it today. We are pleased, and the results is just the icing on the cake of the work in the recent two-year cycle.
Coach of Canada East: The Czech team played a tactical and very smart game. They were very patient, and our boys gave it a strong effort, but we could not get the bounce we were looking for. I would definitely give the Czech team the full marks for being well disciplined, and staying in with their game plan. Our boys had some good chances, but the Czech goalie played very well in critical situations. Hats off to both teams, it was a great match, and very exciting for me to be on the bench.
