Author: Dominic Tiano

Scores

Czech 4 Finland 3

Canada 8 Switzerland 2

Sweden 3 Slovakia 2

USA 4 Russia 2

Belarus 4 Denmark 5 (best of 3 relegation round, Denmark leads 1-0)

Upcoming games (Medal rounds begin)

January 4, 2018

Belarus vs Denmark (relegation round)

Sweden vs USA

Canada vs Czech

January 5, 2018

Belarus vs Denmark (if necessary)

Winner of Sweden/USA vs Winner of Canada/Czech for gold medal

Losers meet for the silver medal

Necas scores SO winner

It was another uninspired start for Finland, and today it cost the team dearly. They rallied and took the lead, but the Czechs scored late to tie the game.

Kristian Reichel and Martin Necas then scored in the shootout for the Czechs while only Kristian Vesalainen scored for Finland.

Shots favoured Finland, 54-30, but that stat didn’t matter after the game. Josef Korenar was great in goal for the Czechs.

“It feels awesome,” Reichel, the son of Czech legend Robert, said. “We worked so hard for this. We deserved it. They were better but we were luckier in the shootout. Now we’re celebrating.”

Reichel channelled family history into his shootout goal. “When we were at the bench before the shootout, the coach asked us who wants to shoot first and who doesn’t,” Reichel explained. “I said I want to go first. I want to score a goal for everyone in Czech Republic. After I scored, I remembered it was 20 years ago that my dad scored on the first shot against Canada in the semi-finals at the Olympics.”

“We did it! It’s unbelievable,” enthused Filip Zadina, who scored twice for the Czechs. “We played great. I’m so happy. We owe a big thanks to our goalie. He played so well.”

“We had plenty of chances to put the puck in the net, but the Czechs kept going and their goalie was amazing,” said Finland coach Jussi Ahokas. “He played a great game, and we didn’t score. That was the difference.”

The win ends a long semi-finals drought for the Czech Republic. The team hadn’t made it as far as the semis since 2005 when it won bronze. Finland, meanwhile, won gold in 2014 and 2016 and is going home early. The Czechs will now play the winner of Canada-Finland in one semi-finals on Thursday.

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Canada rolls along, 8-2

It took Canada 48 seconds to confirm Swiss coach Christian Wohlwend’s prediction of what would happen in today’s quarter-finals.

That is, Maxime Comtois fired a hard pass to Brett Howden on a two-on-two, and Howden buried the shot to give Canada a 1-0 lead.

It would be unfair to say that the game was over at that point, but the goal confirmed what Wohlwend had predicted – that Canada was bigger, faster, stronger. Better. Plain and simple.

“That was a bit of reverse psychology,” captain Dillon Dube suggested. “But that got us focused to playing our own game. It helped a bit. We came out strong. That first one helped settle us down, and then the floodgates opened.”

The dominating 8-2 win gives Canada a place in the semi-finals on Thursday and a date with the Czech Republic. The winner of that game plays for gold.

“They’re a good team, and they’re fast,” defenceman Cale Makar said of the Czechs. “We’ll turn our focus to them now. We’re excited to play them. We haven’t played our best yet. I know we can step our game up.”

“We played the Czechs before the tournament, so we know a little bit about them,” said Brett Howden, who had a goal and three assists tonight. “They’ve changed a few things, I think, but we’ll address that tomorrow on our day off and get ready for them.”

The Swiss go home now after an 8th-place finish.

“I think we had a good team here,” offered Swiss captain Nando Eggenberger. “We won the deciding game in the preliminary round and wanted to get further, but we have to realize that they were simply stronger. Now we have to start preparing for next year. Every player must become stronger, more disciplined and smarter.”

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Swedes hold off Slovaks

Isac Lundestrom scored twice as unbeaten Sweden edged a gutsy Slovak side 3-2 at HarborCenter on Tuesday to advance to the 2018 World Junior semi-finals.

The Swedes will take on the winner of the USA-Russia quarter-final on Thursday. The result guarantees they will play for a medal for the 12th straight year. “I think we still need another level or two coming up in the next games,” said Alexander Nylander. “We’ve just got to step it up and play playoff hockey.”

Fabian Zetterlund also scored for Sweden, and Tim Soderlund had two assists. Captain Martin Bodak scored both goals for Slovakia. Sweden last medaled on home ice in Malmo in 2014 (silver) when Tomas Monten was an assistant coach. Now the 40-year-old is hoping to win gold in his second stint as head coach. The Swedes have only won gold twice before (1981, 2012).

In a showdown between two of the tournament’s top-performing goalies, Filip Gustavsson prevailed over Slovakia’s Roman Durny. Sweden outshot Slovakia 39-22. Of Durny, Bodak said: “He was all the time outstanding in this tournament. He’s a really good guy in the locker room and on the ice.”

It was Sweden’s fourth quarter-final victory over Slovakia in the last five years, but it was a much tighter result than usual. The Juniorkronorna won 6-0 in 2014, 6-0 in 2016, and 8-3 in 2017.

The Slovaks’ last quarter-final victory was 3-0 over the Czech Republic in 2015, when they marched to an unexpected bronze medal in Montreal. Despite seeing their 2018 medal hopes go up in smoke, they can be proud of what they accomplished in Buffalo, including a 3-2 upset over the United States.

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USA back to semis

Dylan Samberg fired a shoot-in into the corner at just the right angle, and as the puck caromed back into the slot Bellows tore in and one-timed a blistering shot over Vladislav Sukhachyov’s shoulder at 12:31.

This kind of goal was made famous by Gordie Howe-Ted Lindsay-Sid Abel with the Detroit Red Wings when goalies rarely roamed from their crease.

“I think it was just simple hockey,” Bellows offered. “He put the puck deep and I knew the boards are lively back there, so I thought I could just forecheck and put the puck on net. Lucky enough it went in.”

Bellows scored twice for the winners and now leads the tournament with six goals. Teammate Casey Mittelstadt had an assist and continues to lead the points race with 10.

With the win the United States will now play Sweden in the semi-finals on Thursday afternoon. Canada and the Czechs face off in the other semi.

“Obviously our goal is a gold medal, and going through Sweden right now is our focus,” said Adam Fox. “They’re a skilled team. They have a lot of great players. We’ll do our pre-scout and be ready for them.”

Russia, meanwhile, had the longest active medal streak in U20 play, reaching the podium each of the last seven years. Tonight’s result, then, can only be seen as a disappointment.

The game was chippy and emotional, and the Americans were at a disadvantage in that they dressed only 18 skaters (the Russians had the standard 20).

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Scores

Switzerland 3 Czech 6

USA 5 Finland 4

Slovakia 5 Denmark 1

Russia 3 Sweden 4

Upcoming games (Medal rounds begin)

January 2, 2018

Belarus vs Denmark (relegation game)

Czech vs Finland

Canada vs Switzerland

Sweden vs Slovakia

USA vs Russia

January 4, 2018

Denmark vs Belarus (relegation game)

TBD

January 5, 2018

Belarus vs Denmark (relegation game)

TBD

STANDINGS

Group A

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	4	3	0	1	0	10	15
USA	4	2	1	0	1	8	10
Finland	4	2	0	0	2	6	3
Slovakia	4	2	0	0	2	6	-4
Denmark	4	0	0	0	4	0	-24

 

Group B

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	4	4	0	0	0	12	13
Czech	4	3	0	0	1	9	3
Russia	4	2	0	0	2	6	4
Switzerland	4	1	0	0	3	3	-10
Belarus	4	0	0	0	4	0	-10

 

Fox saves U.S. 

Adam Fox broke a 4-4 tie with a goal at 18:23 of the third period to give the United States a dramatic 5-4 win over Finland. The U.S. led at one point, 3-0.

The Americans also led 4-2 but Finland rallied with two quick goals in the third to tie the score.

Fox took a pass down the right wing in full flight and beat goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with a shot through the pads to give the U.S. a win to close out the round robin for both teams. The U.S. finished with three wins (one in a shootout) and a loss while Finland had two wins and two losses.

Captain Joey Anderson had two goals today; Fox and Casey Mittelstadt had a goal and two assists each; and, Brady Tkachuk had three assists. Mittelstadt now leads all scorers with nine points.

Both teams had already qualified for the quarter-finals, though their opponents won’t be known until later tonight once all round-robin games have been completed.

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Rise of the Roman Empire 

Like a conquering hero, Milos Roman scored twice to lift Slovakia to a 5-1 win over Denmark on Sunday and a 2018 World Junior quarter-final berth in Buffalo.

“I think Denmark started very well,” said Roman. “We had problems in the first five minutes, but after that our game got better. I am happy with my team. We won 5-1 and we’re in the quarter-final. It’s great.” Finishing fourth in Group A, the Slovaks will battle the first-place Group B team on 2 January. It would have been tragic to squander this opportunity in their round-robin finale after hitting an emotional high with the 3-2 upset over the defending champion United States. “It wouldn’t have meant anything if we lost tonight,” said Samuel Bucek, who leads Slovakia with six points.

Bucek and Martin Fehervary added a goal and an assist apiece for Slovakia, and Adam Liska also tallied. Joachim Blichfeld replied for Denmark.

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Sweden prevails, 4-3

Sweden will now play Slovakia in one quarter-finals while the Russians will have the tougher task of facing the Americans at 8pm on Tuesday night.

Steen and Linus Lindstrom scored in the shootout for Sweden while only Vitali Abramov scored for Russia.

That continues Sweden’s extraordinary success in the preliminary round of the World Juniors. Their last loss was to the United States on December 31, 2006. Since that game, they have won ridiculous 44 games in a row (four in overtime) over the last eleven years.

Three times Sweden held a lead in the game, and three times the Russians rallied to tie the score.

“We played okay,” offered Steen, assessing the team’s play tonight. “It was an up and down game, but I think we deserved to win. I think we’ve played better and better in the last week, but I don’t think we’ve played our best yet. We can do better.”

“I think we played a pretty solid game all the way through,” agreed Timothy Liljegren, one of Sweden’s goal scorers. “We were playing against a Russian team that is really good offensively, so it feels good to get the win.”

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Scores

Czech 6 Belarus 5

Sweden 7 Switzerland 2

Finland 5 Slovakia 2

Denmark 0 Canada 8

Upcoming games

December 31, 2017

Switzerland vs Czech

Slovakia vs Denmark

USA vs Finland

Russia vs Sweden

January 2, 2018

Medal round begins

STANDINGS

Group A

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	4	3	0	1	0	10	15
Finland	3	2	0	0	1	6	4
USA	3	1	1	0	1	5	9
Slovakia	3	1	0	0	2	3	-8
Denmark	3	0	0	0	3	0	-20

 

Group B

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	3	3	0	0	0	9	12
Czech	3	2	0	0	1	6	0
Russia	3	2	0	0	1	6	5
Switzerland	3	1	0	0	2	3	-7
Belarus	4	0	0	0	4	0	-10

 

Czechs outgun Belarus

Captain Marek Zachar, who had the eventual winner with 6:37 left, and Filip Chytil each added a goal and an assist. Libor Hajek and Filip Zadina had the other Czech goals, and Vojtech Budik had two assists.

“We really underestimated the game,” said Hajek. “Everyone wants to score, everyone wants to play just for himself. That’s why we almost lost. We had good luck today. But it was kind of a terrible game.”

The Czechs trailed 2-0 early in the second period. After pulling goalie Josef Korenar in favor of Jakub Skarek, they stormed back with five unanswered goals, but then almost blew their hefty lead.

Yegor Sharangovich scored twice, Ivan Drozdov had a goal and an assist, and Igor Martynov and Vladislav Gabrus added singles for Belarus, which also swapped out goalies. Captain Maxim Sushko, Vladislav Yeryomenko, and Viktor Bovbel recorded two assists apiece.

Shots favored the Czechs 39-21.

“Sometimes we need to play an easier game,” said Zadina. “We’re trying to find hard passes. It was a tough game. I’m happy we won today.”

The Czechs have one more chance to shore up their quarter-final seeding when they face Switzerland on New Year’s Eve. Both nations are enduring long World Junior medal droughts. The Czechs last won bronze in 2005 and Switzerland in 1998.

It was a gutsy effort by the underdog Belarusians, but they came away with nothing to show for it. Winless in all four group games, they will play in the relegation round. The Belarusians have been outscored 20-10 so far.

“It was our best game so far, but we had a bad second period,” said Drozdov. “We played well for 30 minutes and we have to build on this.”

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Sweden beats Swiss, 7-2 

The win gives Sweden a 3-0 record and first place in Group B. With the loss, the Swiss are 1-2 and stuck in fourth place, but that’s as low as they can go. Belarus, winless in all four games, will be the Group B representative in the relegation round, and the Swiss will qualify for the quarter-finals.

Perhaps the nicest goal was the last of the game. Elias Pettersson danced around defenceman Simon le Coultre, cut in on goal, and swept the puck in the far side to make it a 7-2 game.

Pettersson and Lias Andersson both had two goals and an assist for the winners, who outshot the Swiss, 42-22.

“Switzerland started pretty fast today, but we got better as the game went on,” said Alexander Nylander, who played on a line with Pettersson and Linus Lindstrom. “Our third period was really strong. We showed how we can play when we’re playing well. They were forechecking hard in the first two periods, and we had to just simplify our game, which we did.”

“We played very well,” echoed defenceman Rasmus Dahlin. “We were strong out there, but we also played well against the Czechs. Those were different games, but we are playing well right now.”

The Swedes got one power-play goal and another short-handed. They opened the scoring in the first with the extra man. Nylander made a perfect slap-pass to Andersson cutting in front, and Andersson made a nice deflection past Mattheo Ritz.

Switzerland tied the game on a brilliant little play from Nicolas Muller. He noticed that Swedish defenceman Linus Hogberg cut dangerously close to his goalie heading up ice and slapped Hogberg’s stick. In the process, the puck went into the net past an unsuspecting Filip Larsson.

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Finns overcome Slovaks 

Markus Nurmi added a goal and an assist, and Joona Koppanen, Aapeli Rasanen and Henri Ikonen also scored for Finland. Martin Bodak and Samuel Bucek replied for Slovakia.

“Even though we are kind of the bigger country in hockey, Slovakia is a good team too,” said Finland’s Olli Juolevi. “They were a tough opponent for us today. I’m happy we got the win.”

Finland and the U.S. will face off in a likely showdown for second place in the group on New Year’s Eve. Finland has won two straight since dropping its Boxing Day opener to Canada.

“After the Canada game, we’ve improved our play and have the two wins,” said Finnish goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. “Of course, we could have been better against Canada, but we can’t do anything about that now. We have to get ready now for tomorrow and play well against the U.S.”

Could the Slovaks maintain the extraordinary focus and emotional level they reached in their 3-2 win over the defending champion Americans? Heading into this game, that was the question on everyone’s mind. Slovak goalie Roman Durny got his second straight start after his upset debut, and he was busy as Finland outshot Slovakia 39-26.

“We have already put the U.S. game behind us,” said Slovakia’s Filip Krivosik. “Today was a new day. We wanted to take at least one point from today’s game to make sure we got into the playoffs, but we didn’t do that.”

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Canada finishes first 

Canada now has two days off before the quarter-finals on January 2. It will not play Sweden, but could still potentially play any of Russia, Czech Republic, or Switzerland.

“We knew if we won tonight we’d finish in first place,” said Sam Steel, “so we wanted to play the right way and be prepared for the quarter-finals. Yesterday was a crazy day, and we were all a little exhausted last night, physically and mentally, but we re-focused and came to the rink ready to play today.”

“We wanted to come out and play hard, play the Canadian way, so it’s good to get back in the win column,” said defenceman Kale Clague. “But I think we still have more. Our goal is to build our game throughout the tournament, and I think going forward we’re going to get better.”

The loss leaves Denmark winless ot 0-3 and puts the team in a must-win situation tomorrow in its final round-robin game against Slovakia. If the Danes don’t win in regulation, they are off to the relegation round. If they do win in 60 minutes, the Slovakians will be off to the best-of-three survival series.

Over and above this fact is that Denmark has scored just once in three games while surrendering 21.

Carter Hart got the shutout for Canada by stopping 18 shots while Canada peppered Emil Gransoe with 44.

Brett Howden had two goals while Cal Foote had three assists in the game.

“it was a good overall effort by everyone,” enthused Hart. “Our goal was to come out flying, and we played that way the whole game. Now we have to get ready and prepare for the quarter-finals.”

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Scores

Belarus 2 Russia 5

Canada 3 USA 4 (shootout)

Upcoming games

December 30, 2017

Czech vs Belarus

Sweden vs Switzerland

Finland vs Slovakia

Denmark vs Canada

December 31, 2017

Switzerland vs Czech

Slovakia vs Denmark

USA vs Finland

Russia vs Sweden

January 2, 2018

Medal round begins

STANDINGS

Group A

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	3	2	0	1	0	7	7
USA	3	1	1	0	1	5	9
Finland	2	1	0	0	1	3	1
Slovakia	2	1	0	0	1	3	-5
Denmark	2	0	0	0	2	0	-12

 

Group B

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	2	2	0	0	0	6	7
Russia	3	2	0	0	1	6	5
Czech	2	1	0	0	1	3	-1
Switzerland	2	1	0	0	1	3	-2
Belarus	3	0	0	0	3	0	-9

 

Juolevi rides again

Let’s recap. 2016 was a dream year for this Helsinki native. After earning U20 gold and a tournament all-star berth in his hometown on a team featuring Patrik Laine, Sebastian Aho, and Jesse Puljujarvi, Juolevi won the Memorial Cup with the OHL’s London Knights. He was also selected fifth overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL Draft.

But the following season proved painful. Juolevi was named the captain of the Finnish U20 national team at the World Juniors in Montreal, but losses to the Czechs, Danes, and Swedes doomed his team to the relegation round and a ninth-place finish. Critics also claimed the development of his low-key, puck-moving game had stalled.

Now, as the lone returnee who played for both the 2016 and 2017 Suomi squads, Juolevi seems to have found stability. The Canucks loaned the Jokerit-schooled player to TPS Turku this season, and he’s put up 14 points in 20 games. His World Junior defence partner, Henri Jokiharju of the Portland Winterhawks, has nothing but praise.

“Of course, you can see the experience he has,” said Jokiharju. “He’s a role model for me. He’s a year older than me and did the same thing, going to the Canadian Hockey League and stuff like that. I enjoy playing with him a lot and I think we have good chemistry.”

We chatted with Juolevi after Finland’s dominating 4-1 win over Denmark on Thursday. This evening they will play Slovakia.

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Russians down Belarus

“I can’t talk about myself personally,” said Kostin. “I can just talk about my teammates, who made sure that I scored. I think their performance was 100 percent today.”

German Rubtsov and Artur Kayumov notched a goal and an assist apiece, and Alexei Polodyan also scored for Russia. Artyom Manukyan and Andrei Svechnikov both chipped in two assists.

For Belarus, Sergei Pishuk led the way with a goal and an assist, and Dmitri Deryabin had the other goal.

Russian coach Valeri Bragin doesn’t have as much talent to deploy as in recent years, but his team seems to be getting back on track after a surprising 5-4 loss to the Czechs and a 5-2 win over Switzerland that was harder than it needed to be.

“We play together as a fist,” said Kostin of suiting up for Bragin. “His teams are always extremely close-knit, like a family, and I always enjoy playing for him.”

Russia has medaled at every World Juniors since last winning the tournament in Buffalo in 2011 under Bragin. It took bronze last year.

The Russians often experience peaks and valleys during the preliminary round. They will get a better test of their mettle against the talented Swedes on New Year’s Eve in a game that will likely decide first place in Group B.

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USA wins Snow Bowl, 4-3

Aesthetics aside, the U.S. rallied from 3-1 down in the third to send the game to overtime, then scored the only two goals of the shootout to defeat Canada in an outdoor classic.

Kieffer Bellows and Brady Tkachuk scored in the shootout while all three Canadians missed the target. The first Canadian shooter, Sam Steel, hit the post, but that was as close as they got.

“I just came down the left side,” Bellows described of his shootout. “I kind of analyzed what I was going to do, depending on the goalie’s position. I just thought five-hole was the best opportunity for me, and I tried to shoot it as quick as possible.”

Buffalo Sabres 2017 draft choice Casey Mittlestadt followed up his sensational goal yesterday with three assists today and now leads all scorers with six points in three games.

“The game, the crowd, everything was amazing,” Mittelstadt enthused. “The snow came down hard especially in the second period. At the same time, it made it that much more fun. It was a little different than a normal game. It felt like you’re back outside on the pond.”

“I think the biggest thing was just staying positive throughout this whole game,” suggested American defenceman Mikey Anderson. “We didn’t lose any belief in our room that we were going to come back, and we knew that if we got that first one, we were going to get the next one. We just stuck with it and kept plugging away.”

The game was played before a record crowd for a World Junior Championship game, and fans were treated to another North American classic that included a magnificent snowstorm as the backdrop to events at New Era Field in Buffalo.

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Scores

Finland 4 Denmark 1

Russia 5 Switzerland 2

Sweden 3 Czech 1

USA 2 Slovakia 3

Upcoming games

December 29, 2017

Belarus vs Russia

Canada vs USA (outdoors)

December 30, 2017

Czech vs Belarus

Sweden vs Switzerland

Finland vs Slovakia

Denmark vs Canada

STANDINGS

Group A

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	2	2	0	0	0	6	8
USA	2	1	0	0	1	3	8
Finland	2	1	0	0	1	3	1
Slovakia	2	1	0	0	1	3	-5
Denmark	2	0	0	0	2	0	-12

 

Group B

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	2	2	0	0	0	6	7
Russia	2	1	0	0	1	3	2
Czech	2	1	0	0	1	3	-1
Switzerland	2	1	0	0	1	3	-2
Belarus	2	0	0	0	2	0	-6

 

Kayumov rescues Russia

Kayumov took a nice pass from Klim Kostin and snapped a shot over the glove of Philip Wuthrich to beat a stubborn Swiss team that twice rallied to even the score. Two late goals sealed the Swiss fate, but it was a good game for both teams.

Nonetheless, after outshooting Switzerland by a 37-13 margin, the Russians were full measure for the win. They had lost to the Czechs 5-4 on opening day but played a determined game today.

The Swiss, winners in their debut yesterday, fell to 1-1 with the loss.

“We played more of a team game and made some adjustments,” Kayumov said. “The score was tied in the third period, I think, because of our own mistakes. We gave them good chances, and they scored. But we played better today than in the first game.”

“We played better defensively and created more offensively,” agreed forward Vitali Abramov. “They played a good game, and their goalie played really well today.”

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Sweden holds off Czechs

Alexander Nylander had a goal and an assist for Sweden, and Marcus Davidsson and Elias Pettersson chipped in singles for Sweden, which cashed in twice on the power play. Rasmus Dahlin added two assists.

“I think we played well in the first and third periods,” said Pettersson. “The second period was the Czechs’ period. But overall, it was a great game.”

Swedish coach Tomas Monten continued to ride the phenomenal Dahlin, who logged a team-high 24:05. The 17-year-old Frolunda Gothenburg defenceman also led the team with 20:50 in the 6-1 win over Belarus.

“I play hockey because I love it,” said Dahlin. “I’m having fun out there. Why not have fun?”

Filip Zadina replied for the Czechs.

“The first period was bad,” said Zadina. “We received penalties and we didn’t compete. That’s the reason why we were down 2-0. We got up in the second period and we tried to play better. I think we did. It’s tough to play against this team. They are so good.”

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Bucek masterpiece stuns U.S.

Bucek roared down the left side, went behind the American goal when Joseph Woll over-committed, and tried to tuck the puck in the back side. Woll made a great lunging save, but Bucek got the rebound and found the net.

Bucek also assisted on the other two Slovakian goals, both scored by Filip Krivosik.

The Americans got goals from Brady Tkachuk and Casey Mittelstadt.

“I drove in and faked a shot, and the defenceman dived in,” Bucek described. “I went wraparound and the goalie made the save, but then I saw the loose puck there, and I just put it in.”

One thing must be made clear. Yes, the Americans were heavy favourites coming into the game. Yes, their loss was stunning. But, the Slovaks deserve all the credit in the world for the win. They got timely scoring, played great defence, and got the better goaltending.

It was the first Slovak win over the U.S. at the World Juniors since the 2009 quarter-finals, a string of six losses in between.

“I remember that game,” Bucek recalled. “I was a kid watching with my parents, and you know, something was going through my head. I’m like, ‘I want to be here one day and want to accomplish the same as what the Slovakians did in 2002 [winning World Championship gold].’ We did it tonight. And it’s just something amazing. It’s a big moment for our country and our hockey.”

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