GANGNEUNG, Korea, Republic Of – Goalie Pavel Francouz was the shootout star as the Czech Republic beat Canada 3-2 on Saturday at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Wojtek Wolski scored for Canada in the shootout while Maxim Lapierre, Derek Roy, Rene Bourque and Maxim Noreau missed. Noreau actually beat Francouz with Canada’s final shot but the puck bounced off the goalpost.
Petr Koukal and Jan Kouvar were successful for the Czechs against Ben Scrivens.
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The OT was good entertainment with good scoring chances. Roy made some nifty rushes but couldn’t finish it off. And Mat Robinson broke up a two-on-one before coming close at the other end. It ended with the Czechs pressing.
Tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, the teams played a cagey third period. The Czechs survived a late penalty for too many men on the ice and then, with 65 seconds left, Scrivens used his arm to deflect high a blast by Jiri Sekac.
The game was more intense and physical than Canada’s 5-1 opening win over Switzerland. The Czechs, with an effective forecheck, proved to be a stubborn opponent who twice came back from deficits.
Canada coach Willie Desjardins had asked for more consistency from his team and didn’t get it. While the Canadians mounted some effective attacks, they were at sea in their own end at other times.
Mason Raymond and Bourque scored for Canada in the first period, which wraps up preliminary-round play Sunday against South Korea. Bourque now has three goals at the tournament.
Dominik Kubalik and Michal Jordan scored in regulation time for the Czechs, who edged South Korea 2-1 in their opener.
Canada outshot the Czechs 33-20 through overtime,
The three group winners and the best second-ranked teams qualify directly to the quarterfinals. The remaining eight play with the four winners advancing to the quarters.
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The Gangneung Hockey Centre, the bigger of the two Olympic rinks, was almost full with plenty of Canadian supporters including the women’s hockey team. Big rushes – and an exploding stick – drew oohs from the crowd during the game.
A third-period wave was taken up enthusiastically by the fans.
Coach Josef Jandac’s Czech roster featured 14 KHL players plus former longtime NHLer Martin Erat. The 36-year-old Czech captain, a four-time Olympian who now plays in his homeland, collected 163 goals and 318 assists in 723 games with the Nashville Predators from 2001 to 2013.
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Goalie Francouz was one of those KHL players. Scrivens, with his black pads and Canada’s black uniform, looked like Darth Vader at the other end.
For the second game in a row, Canada scored on its first shot. The Canadians showed good puck movement on the power play with Linden Vey spotting fellow former Vancouver Canuck Raymond for a slick tip-in in front of goal at 1:13.
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The Czechs came close on a power play of their own but the puck bounced off the post during a goal-mouth scramble. And they kept the pressure up, pulling even at 6:52 after Chris Lee failed to clear a bouncing puck. Kubalik was Johnny-on-the-spot, burying the puck off Scrivens’ arm on the short side from in-close.
Canada continued to wobble in the first period, harried by the Czechs in their own end. But another power-play goal settled the nerves.
Roy opened up the Czech defence with a nifty rush. He went down but the puck went to Noreau at the point and his shot found its way to Bourque who, finding a seam between two defenders in front, put it away at 13:30.
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Canada, recording the last six shots of the period, outshot the Czechs 12-6 in the first.
The Czechs tied it up 35 seconds into the second period. Scrivens, who had mishandled the puck seconds earlier, stopped a Michal Birner shot but Jordan banged in the rebound.
The Canadians upped their physical game in the second period, flooring several Czechs. The Czechs did not help their cause late in the period when Canada defenceman Chris Lee ended up in their bench, prompting an interference call.
That made for a brief 5-on-3 that saw Canada hit the crossbar.
Forward Andrew Ebbett limped off midway through the third, favouring his leg after being sandwiched by a pair of Czechs near centre ice. Scrivens came up big later in the period, stopping a Lukas Radil shot from the slot.
Canada came into the game 13-13-1 against the Czech Republic in Olympic and world championship play but had won the last five meetings and eight of the last 10.
Past form means little in a tournament devoid of NHL players, however. The Americans and the team from Russia have already suffered upsets.
Goaltender Justin Peters, defenceman Karl Stollery and forward Quinton Howden did not dress for Canada with defenceman Stefan Elliott and forward Brandon Kozun drawing in.
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