photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Chris Tanouye
Penalty trouble caught up to Switzerland on the opening day of the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship.
Swiss forward Jamiro Reber was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct at the end of the second period and Czechia made the Swiss pay in the third period. Three and a half minutes into the final frame, Tomas Poletin’s powerplay goal gave Czechia a 2-0 lead, one it would not relinquish en route to a 3-0 win.
Poletin’s goal came following a Czechia faceoff win. Adam Jecho was first on the puck after the faceoff win and made a perfect pass to Matej Kubiesa, who fired a shot at the Swiss goal. Although Swiss goaltender Christian Kirsch made the initial save, Poletin was parked in front of the net and jammed in the rebound.
Earlier in the game, the Swiss took a pair of minor penalties but were able to kill those off. But the continuous trips to the sin bin eventually caught up to them.
Later in the third period, Maxmillian Curran set up Marek Danicek on a 2-on-1 and Danicek – who finished with a goal and an assist – made no mistake to put home his first goal of the tournament to make it 3-0.
Curran opened the scoring at 4:44 of the first period when he found open ice a few feet in front of Swiss goaltender Christian Kirsch. Curran, who plays for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League, took a perfect feed from Danicek and wasted no time in firing the puck past Kirsch. Samuel Drancak also picked up an assist, starting a nice passing play when he won a battle in the corner and got the puck to Danicek behind the Swiss net. Drancak ended the game with two assists.
Jakub Milota made 17 saves for the shutout while Kirsch turned away 22 of 25 shots in a losing cause.
Last year, Czechia finished a disappointing seventh place following a tournament in which it won just one round-robin game, lost one in a shootout, and lost two others in regulation. The good start should give Czechia some momentum heading into its next game, April 26 against favoured Canada. Switzerland, meanwhile, will need to quickly turn the page as it faces Kazakhstan next.
Swiss forward Jamiro Reber was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct at the end of the second period and Czechia made the Swiss pay in the third period. Three and a half minutes into the final frame, Tomas Poletin’s powerplay goal gave Czechia a 2-0 lead, one it would not relinquish en route to a 3-0 win.
Poletin’s goal came following a Czechia faceoff win. Adam Jecho was first on the puck after the faceoff win and made a perfect pass to Matej Kubiesa, who fired a shot at the Swiss goal. Although Swiss goaltender Christian Kirsch made the initial save, Poletin was parked in front of the net and jammed in the rebound.
Earlier in the game, the Swiss took a pair of minor penalties but were able to kill those off. But the continuous trips to the sin bin eventually caught up to them.
Later in the third period, Maxmillian Curran set up Marek Danicek on a 2-on-1 and Danicek – who finished with a goal and an assist – made no mistake to put home his first goal of the tournament to make it 3-0.
Curran opened the scoring at 4:44 of the first period when he found open ice a few feet in front of Swiss goaltender Christian Kirsch. Curran, who plays for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League, took a perfect feed from Danicek and wasted no time in firing the puck past Kirsch. Samuel Drancak also picked up an assist, starting a nice passing play when he won a battle in the corner and got the puck to Danicek behind the Swiss net. Drancak ended the game with two assists.
Jakub Milota made 17 saves for the shutout while Kirsch turned away 22 of 25 shots in a losing cause.
Last year, Czechia finished a disappointing seventh place following a tournament in which it won just one round-robin game, lost one in a shootout, and lost two others in regulation. The good start should give Czechia some momentum heading into its next game, April 26 against favoured Canada. Switzerland, meanwhile, will need to quickly turn the page as it faces Kazakhstan next.