CZECH REPUBLIC 6 GREAT BRITAIN 1
Matthew Myers found the net for Great Britain, but it was a mere consolation as Czech Republic ran out 6-1 winners to help their knockout round prospects.
One more, the Brits didn’t disgrace themselves with another creditable performance against a team who can go far in this competition.
In any respects, like the opening game with Russia, the scoreline may didn’t truly reflect the effort made. What was clear was the quality the Czechs had in moving forward.
Jackson Whistle was given a second start, but had to be replaced by Ben Bowns in the third period as he suffered cramp and dehydration, allowing Jordan Hedley to get his first cap as back up for the remainder of the game.
Czech Republic went one up after eight minutes when Lukas Klok cut inside and delivered a shot in at the top shelf to leave Whistle beaten.
GB started to find their way forward as the period went on, with Liam Kirk going close, but Whistle was called upon to deny Matej Stransky at the back post.
The second period was only 33 seconds old when Filip Ronek’s low backhand finish found its way in to give the Czechs a two-goal lead.
Libor Sulak added a third to finish a well-worked move and GB were well behind in the face of some ruthless offensive play from their opponents.
A fourth came after 32 minutes when Filip Chytil found his way into the offensive zone, cutting in from the right and executed a good finish.
As time ticked down on the second period, GB got on the board through Matthew Myers, who was on hand to force the puck in after Czech goalie Roman Will saved a powerful shot from Mark Richardson.
Kirk again looked dangerous moving forward, including one coast-to-coast move that certainly concerned the Czech defence.
But Whistle had to come off, which meant Bowns filled for the rest of the game. However, three minutes later, Czech Republic had found the net again as Radan Lenc fired in from the slot.
Sulak’s second of the game – courtesy of a deflected shot – completed the scoring with a couple of minutes to go, but it was job done for the Czechs.
Afterwards, co-coach Corey Neilson preferred to look at the positives and put the game in perspective in terms of GB’s progress.
“I think the Czechs played fantastic,†he said. “They were flying around, moving their feet and they are a great team.
“We just didn’t seem to have that extra jump to be able to create a whole lot up the ice.
“Lets be honest, we played against the fourth-best team in the world yesterday and then very little rest before facing another top-ranked team today.
“But our players – as they do at all times – battled as hard as they could and I think, at times, we did some good things.â€
