Canada Scores in OT Against Czechs, Move on to WJAC Finals

Canada East will play in the World Junior A Challenge finals on Saturday evening thanks to a win against the Czech Republic 2-1 on Thursday.

The Czech’s, fresh off of two shocking victories over the United States and Canada East earlier in the tournament, came out hungry in the first period, taking the 9-8 lead in shots after one period of play. Canada, however, had the most dangerous chance in the opening frame, with Jack McBain breaking through two defenders before getting stopped in close by goaltender Petr Kvaca to keep the game tied.

The second period of the game didn’t feature any goals either, meaning the third period would be required to decide the contest. Stefano Cantali was the big star early in the game, making 26 saves in the first 40 minutes of play. At the other end, Petr Kvaca wasn’t as busy having to stop 19 shots, but still put on a very strong performance in his effort to win the top goalie award in the tournament.

Nobody found the back of the net until there was just 8:24 left in regulation, and Canada wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. After Oakville Blades star Bryce Misley was stopped, Vincent Chapleau jammed in the rebound after immense Canadian pressure to give the home nation the 1-0 lead.

For the second straight night, the Czech’s found themselves down a goal late in the contest. In hopes of scoring, they pulled the goalie in favour of an extra attacker. It worked out for them against Canada West on Wednesday, scoring a goal with 1.5 seconds remaining in the game to force overtime.

On Thursday, it happened again. With 1:44 left, Kristian Reichel, the son of former NHLer Robert Reichel, tied the game up at one each after a wrist shot from far away beat Cantali, forcing the game into overtime once again.

But fortunately for Canada, they would finish off with the victory. With  just under three minutes complete in the extra frame, Lucas Thierus broke down the ice on the right side and blasted a hard wrist shot in the back of the net, a goal that would see Canada East take the 2-1 victory and advance to the finals.

With the win, Canada East will meet up with the United States on Saturday night at 5:00 PM local time for the gold medal game. The game will be a rematch of USA’s 3-1 victory over Canada to end the preliminary round earlier in the week.

The Czech’s will meet up with the Russians for the first time in the bronze medal game, set to take place on Friday night at 9:30 PM.

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