Czechs beat Slovaks in overtime

Both Central European rivals opened their tournament with this game and early on in the first it looked like the Czechs weren't only stronger on the paper, but on the ice as well. That soon reflected into the score soon after a two-man-advantage against the Slovaks. Juraj Mikuš got a double-minor for high-sticking and Martin Marinčin joined him in the box with a slashing call and right after the former exited the sin bin, Ondřej Němec ripped one from the blue line and it flew all the way past Ján Laco to open the scoring.

By the midpoint of the first period, the shots were 10-0 for the Czechs and so it was about time for the Slovaks to start putting some pucks on the net of Alexander Salák. Team Slovakia sure had more opportunities in the second half of the frame, but Salák stayed perfect and soon the Czechs were on a powerplay again and their opponents were back under pressure. So the one-nothing score after twenty was pretty much showing what the game actually looked like on the ice.

The second period saw a turn of events at the Chizhovka-Arena as the Slovaks were much better and it seemed much more difficult for their rivals to put a shot on Laco. Early on, Michel Miklík put a shot right past Salák to tie the score at one apiece. The calls also started going the way Team Slovakia wanted and suddenly the easter of the two nations was on top of the game with tons of momentum going its way.

Later on, Czech rearguard Roman Polák had to leave the game due to an injury and was replaced by Extraliga rookie Ondřej Vitásek. That didn't change much, but the Czechs fell behind in scoring anyways. The second goal of the Slovak team was scored by Marek Viedenský, a farm team forward for San Jose, who beat Salák on a one-timer from the left side. One of the assists was given to Martin Reway, a Prague native who plays for Slovakia and spent the season in juniors in Gatineau, Quebec.

"They played well defensively and relied on breakaways, which was a good plan," said Czech goaltender Salák after the game. The Czechs knew, going into the third, that they had to score. The shots were 24-9 after forty and so it looked like a fun third period was in order.

And it sure was. There weren't too many shots on goal by each team in the final part of regulation, but a lot of chances and a lot of effort given into the game by all the players. The Slovaks not only defended their lead, but also managed to outshoot the Czechs, but Salák prevailed and then a heroic finish by a legend decided the score after sixty. 

With just little time left on the clock, Jaromír Jágr was on the receiving end of a feed by Němec, the scorer of the first goal, and just redirected it in on the doorstep and past Laco to tie the game in dying minutes. 

It was time for some overtime fun and this time, it didn't go all the way to shootout. However, the game-winner came out of the blank and Jakub Klepiš was the hero following a wrist shot that just flew past Laco. "I didn't want to get too creative so I just shot the puck and I'm thankful that it flew in perfectly," said Klepiš about his crucial goal. And so the Czechs take their game one of the event and, with two points, are tied with France for the lead in their preliminary round group.

"We don't have time to build up chemistry, we just have to give it all, go to the net and win games," said Klepiš after the game as now the team is getting ready for a critical Sunday battle against Sweden.

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