CZE18 1:3 CAN18 | Czech Republic U18 - Canada U18 (Hlinka Gretzky Cup)

Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Finland U18 – USA U18	5:1 (end)	\|	Sweden U18 – Switzerland U18	4:3 (end)	\|	Slovakia U18 – Russia U18	2:5 (end)
Czech Republic U18 – Canada U18	1:3 (end)

final

Czech Republic U18

1:3 (1:2, 0:0, 0:1)

Canada U18

Monday 10.08.2015, 19:10 • Breclav, Czech Republic • Hlinka Gretzky Cup • Group A

		Welcome. Game starts at 19:10.
		The home side is going to enter the Hlinka Memorial Cup with an evening game against Canada. Last year, both of these teams encountered in the final, where Canada won 6-2 over the Czechs.
		Both teams played some test games just before the tournament and both of them managed to get a win out of them. Czech Republic – USA 2-1 (1-0, 0-0, 1-1) Goals and assists: 19' Kurovský (Kachyňa), 54' Kodýtek (Najman, Hrdinka) – 48' Gettinger (Crone, Perunovich). Slovakia – Canada 1-12 (0-3, 0-4, 1-5) Goals and assists: 56' Rajnoha (Solenský, Studenič) – 7' Clague, 10' Clague (Benson), 19' Jost (Bean, Dube), 23' Quenneville (Bitten, Jost), 29' Patrick (Girard, Jost), 31' Steel (Mete), 32' Bitten (Quenneville), 44' McLeod (Malenstyn, Poirier), 55' Fabbro (Patrick), 58' Benson (Patrick, Kyrou), 58' Steel (Howden), 60' Clague (Benson).
		Starting lineups: Czech Republic U18: Brizgala (Korenar) – Vala, Hajek, Doudera, Hrdinka, Novak, Budik, Kachyna – Zachar, Reichel, Kofron – Pavlik, Kodytek, Najman – Smerha, Psenicka, Kurovsky – Kacirek, Karafiat, Havelka Canada U18: Hart (Wells) – Bean, Fabbro, Mete, Clague, Girard, Quenneville, Haura, Poirier – Kaspick, McLeod, Malenstyn – Benson, Patrick, Dubois – Howden, Steel, Bitten – Dube, Jost, Kyrou Referees: Hradil, Sir – Hlavaty, Tosenovjan.
		Minute of silence and anthems of both countries will take place now.
	00:01	Game started.
	00:27	Malenstyn got the puck straight through the offensive zone behind the Czech goal.
	00:53	Bean's shot as the first attempt of the game went wide.
	02:00	Another shot by the Canadians ends wide. Now deflected away by Smerha.
	02:56	Jost lost balance and crashed into the boards. Fortunately, he appears to be all right.
	03:18	Goal for Team Czech Republic! Great start for the home side! Hajek took the puck deep into the zone and put it back in front of goal, where Canada lost control of the game. MATYAS KANTNER found a rebound for himself and slapped the puck just beneath crossbar – 1:0! Assists: Kristian Reichel, Ondrej Kachyna.
Matyas KANTNER - 1:0
	04:06	Budik and Novak have some trouble with aggressive fore-checking of the opposition.
	05:20	Jake Bean (CAN) gets called for high sticking. First power play for the Czechs.
	06:06	Goal for Team Canada! McLeod did some fantastic job reading the pass of Vala, got the puck and put it through on DILLION DUBE into a solo breakaway. Dube performed a nice deke into backhand and scored over Brizgala's left pad to equalize it – 1:1! Assist: Mike McLeod.
Dillion DUBE - 1:1
	07:20	Visiting team is at full strength.
	07:52	Psenicka tried to find one of his teammates from the corner but couldn't get the puck through traffic. Now Canada goes into offense.
	08:30	Dubois' shot ends in the net above the Czech goal.
	08:40	Vala's attempt from blue line goes straight to Hart's glove.
	09:09	Nice passing play by the visiting side in the offensive zone. Brizgala had to be careful, but Bitten's backhanded shot went above his goal eventually.
	10:51	Canada puts some pressure on the Czechs right now.
	11:20	Steel appeared alone just between the circles, but Brizgala made a great save against his attempt.
	12:49	Crossing pass of the Canadians gets deflected out of the rink. Face-off in front of Brizgala.
	13:31	Hajek showed his skills as he got past two players in front of Hart, however, he couldn't finish it from the sharp angle anymore.
	14:40	The Czechs won a face-off in the neutral zone and can go forward.
	15:11	Goal for Team Canada! NOLAN PATRICK stood just in front of Brizgala who couldn't see a piece of Dubois' snap shot. On top of it, Patrick deflected it a bit just in front the crease which made it impossible to stop for the Czech goalie. Canada goes ahead 2-1. Assist: Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Nolan PATRICK - 1:2
	16:13	Icing Czech Republic.
	16:39	First power play for team Canada as Petr Kodytek (CZE) slashed Bitten and gets a minor penalty.
	16:53	Brizgala makes a save and pauses the game.
	17:15	Fabbro's shot gets deflected into the corner.
	17:45	The Czechs cleared the zone. Canada have to start from behind their goal.
	18:15	Girard went unnoticed just in front of Brizgala, but couldn't finish a quick crossing pass.
	18:39	Home team at full strength.
	18:49	Kodytek got the puck and went straight into a breakaway from the penalty box. He didn't have the right speed so he decided to fire one up from distance and Hart had some work to do.
	19:30	Offside Canada.
	20:00	1st period finished.
		Czech Republic scored the opener thanks to Kantner in 4th minute of the game, but made a crucial mistake on a power play and Dube punished it with an immediate equaliser. Then Patrick turned the game in Canada's favour with a deflection just in front of Brizgala.
		Next period begins at 19:58 CET.
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
	20:17	Dubois dived after a long pass behind Czech defence but missed it by inches anyway.
	21:06	Hart paused the game after catching a dump-in from the neutral zone.
	21:59	Budik gets fouled in front of his own goal. Advantage for the home side.
	22:08	Brett Howden (CAN) gets a minor penalty for hooking.
	22:33	Hajek lost the possession just behind the blue line. Canadians cleared the zone immediately.
	23:10	The home team have some trouble getting inside the zone.
	23:24	Hrdinka's attempt gets blocked into the safety net by Hart.
	23:54	Budik's snap shot from blue line was too slow to surprise Hart.
	24:08	Visiting team at full strength.
	24:28	Libor Hajek (CZE) called for cross-checking. Power play for team Canada.
	25:21	Fabbro's blast stopped by Brizgala. Canada still on puck in offensive zone.
	25:48	Penalty shot for team Canada!
	25:48	Brizgala made a save but lost his stick in the end of it and referees gave the penalty shot.
	25:48	Patrick lost the control of puck in the very last second and Brizgala had no problems stopping it.
Brizgala saved penalty shot
	26:28	Home team at full strength.
	26:37	Girard passed the puck in front of an open goal, but missed all of his teammates. The Czechs had a chance with a counter-attack, but their shot went just wide.
	26:48	It was Najman who broke away and tried to score with a shot on far post. He missed it by inches.
	28:10	Dubois got the pass into a scoring position, but missed the puck during his shot. Brizgala covered it and stopped the clock.
	29:00	Zachar tried to find Reichel in mid-ice, but he got marked by the defenseman.
	29:37	Brizgala makes a great mask save on a high puck descending into the crease and possibly behind his back.
	30:49	Canada still hold the puck around Brizgala's goal.
	31:07	Budik's long pass on Pavlik was too quick and Hart covered it.
	31:54	Kacirek was on a great move while crossing the blue line, but then lost balance and slid over the zone behind Canada's goal where he stopped with the puck on board.
	33:03	The Czechs can't get the puck far enough to make a line change. Hrdinka has a really long shift right now.
	33:30	Icing Czech Republic.
	33:38	Jake Bean (CAN) had to trip Pavlik so he wouldn't cut loose. Power play for the home side.
	34:30	Girard broke his stick but still managed to clear the zone.
	34:59	And again the Czechs have to start over from their own zone.
	35:20	Smerha caught a nice through pass between three players of Canada and got into a great opportunity! He went for a backhand shot, but couldn't get the puck high and Hart kicked it away. Brilliant save!
Great save by Hart
	35:38	Visiting team at full strength.
	36:07	Brizgala makes a good save against a close range attempt. Then Nolan Patrick (CAN) slashed him over the glove and got a minor penalty.
	36:11	Reichel got hit in face by a shot from one of his teammates. Hopefully, he will be okay.
	37:32	Canada's PK is still very good. The Czechs are looking for a way into the zone.
	37:45	Now Hrdinka gets the puck in and dumps it onto Hart.
	37:58	Brizgala made a bad mistake when he tried to help out with a pass, but put just on Kaspick's stick. However, he managed to kick out the upcoming shot, so he made up for his fault.
Brizgala made a mistake
	38:43	Smerha forces Hart into another great save on a 3-on-1 breakaway.
Smerha's chance
	39:10	What a pace. We've seen maybe four or five breakaway inside last minute. None of them turned into a goal however.
	39:57	Pavlik's crossing pass didn't get past Clague. That will be all for now.
	40:00	2nd period finished.
		No goals in the second part, but lots of chances indeed. Both teams had some power plays and breakaways. On top of it, Nolan Patrick executed a penalty shot, but failed. Both goalies made some stunning saves and kept the game interesting for the crucial final period.
		Next period begins at 20:45 CET.
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
	40:27	Offside Canada.
	41:10	Third power play in a row for the Czechs. Jordan Kyrou (CAN) gets a minor penalty for tripping.
	41:26	Pavlik suffered some thigh injury and gets treatment on the bench.
	42:15	Still the same old story. Home side struggle on a power play.
	42:48	Now Zachar got into a shooting position in the zone, but couldn't get it through the traffic.
	42:59	Hajek's blue line attempt ends on Hart's pads. Reichel came late with a rebound.
	43:10	Visiting team at full strength.
	43:51	Girard's long range attempt gets blocked away by Kacirek.
	44:17	Icing Czech Republic.
	44:36	Kantner, Najman and Kodytek put some pressure on Canada's defence right now.
	45:49	Smerha didn't slip through the neutral zone.
	46:19	Mete's attempt blocked into the safety net above the goal.
	46:32	Zachar didn't make his way in front of Hart's goal and crashed into it.
	47:09	Fabbro tried his luck against Brizgala with a quick snap shot.
	47:27	Howden in a great chance, but he missed the goal from a close distance.
	47:38	Then Clague hits a crossbar! What a chance for Canada!
Shot hits crossbar
	48:42	Dube's shot was topped by Brizgala. Nice save.
	48:56	Goal for Team Canada! Great goal by BECK MALENSTYN, who fired a quick shot from sharp angle. Brizgala stopped it on a goal line, but Malenstyn managed to flick it in with one hand from air. Great skills. 1:3. Assist: Jake Bean.
Beck MALENSTYN - 1:3
	49:44	Brizgala makes a great stop and another one for a rebound. Canada doesn't give the Czechs much of the game right now.
	50:21	Puck got deflected on Canada's bench. Face-off in front of Hart will follow.
		Today's attendance is 1,846.
	51:30	Reichel tried to surprise Hart with a shot from behind his goal.
	52:28	Najman's nice dekes got the Czechs into the zone.
	53:16	Beck Malenstyn (CAN) gets a minor penalty for tripping.
	53:51	This power play looks finally better for the home team. Vala's blast from blue line seemed nice, but Hart saw it clearly and caught it.
	54:42	Budik's shot came in the right time as Kodytek was crossing in front of Hart. However, the Canadian goalie managed to cover the puck.
	54:50	Now Canada clears the zone.
	55:08	Another long range shot from the Czechs, now it's been Doudera, saved by Hart.
	55:32	Malenstyn appeared alone in front of Brizgala, but the Czech net minder managed to stop his shot with an amazing blocker desperation save!
Fantastic save by Brizgala
	56:08	Another save in stats for Brizgala.
	56:21	Clague suffered some leg injury and went straight into locker room. That's it from him for today.
	57:21	Psenicka didn't get past Canada's defence. Now he has to turn back.
	58:21	Benson turned around the goal and tried to surprise Brizgala on short post.
	59:19	The ice is in a pretty bad condition as there is C 24 inside the arena. The players have some hard time to keep their balance now.
		Game over.
		That's it, Canada wins their opener over the Czechs by 3 goals to 1. The Czechs scored first thanks to Kantner in 4th minute of the game, but then Canada turned it around already in the first period. Dube and Patrick scored for the North Americans and Malenstyn added the third one with 10 minutes to go in third. Both goalies performed well, but especially Brizgala for the home side. Thanks to him, the gap between both teams is not as wide as it might be. Best players of the game are Dillion Dube for Canada and Adam Brizgala for the Czech Republic. (21:21:34)

Commentary by

Marek Kratochvíl

@marekratochvil

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 4. Kantner (Reichel, Kachyna) – 7. Dube (McLeod), 16. Patrick (Dubois), 49. Malenstyn (Bean)

Czech Republic U18: Brizgala (Korenar) – Vala, Hajek, Doudera, Hrdinka, Novak, Budik, Kachyna – Zachar, Reichel, Kofron – Pavlik, Kodytek, Najman – Smerha, Psenicka, Kurovsky – Kacirek, Karafiat, Havelka

Canada U18: Hart (Wells) – Bean, Fabbro, Mete, Clague, Girard, Quenneville, Haura, Poirier – Kaspick, McLeod, Malenstyn – Benson, Patrick, Dubois – Howden, Steel, Bitten – Dube, Jost, Kyrou

Referees: Hradil, Sir – Hlavaty, Tosenovjan

Attendance: 1,846

1st period
	03:18
	05:20
	06:06
	15:11
	16:39
1st intermission
2nd period
	22:08
	24:28
	33:38
	36:07
2nd intermission
3rd period
	41:10
	48:56
	53:16
Final