Friday, August 19 | 2 p.m. MT | Edmonton, Alberta | Semifinal
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. CZECHIA (AUG. 19)
With a spot in the gold medal game on the line,
Canada’s National Junior Team looks to remain undefeated in Edmonton when it meets Czechia on Friday in
the semifinals of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.
LAST GAME
Canada advanced to the semifinals after
doubling up Switzerland 6-3 on Wednesday night. Tyson Foerster needed only 67 seconds to open the scoring, starting a
wild first period that saw Jack Thompson, Logan Stankoven and Nathan
Gaucher score in a span of 4:30 to help Canada to a 4-2 lead after 20
minutes. Will Cuylle scored in the second period and Stankoven finished the
scoring into an empty net. Dylan Garand made 23 saves in between the pipes
for Canada.
Czechia pulled off the upset of the tournament in its quarterfinal,
downing the previously unbeaten United States 4-2. Jan Mysak scored in the first period before Petr Hauser and Matyas
Sapovaliv counted in the second to give the Czechs a 3-1 lead after two.
The Americans made things interesting in the third, scoring as part of a
five-minute power play, but Jiri Kulich potted an empty-netter to put
Czechia in the semis for just the second time since its last medal in 2005.
LAST MEETING
The two teams last faced off Saturday night in prelim play, with
Canada earning a 5-1 win. The Canadians fell behind early thanks to a shorthanded goal by Martin
Rysavy on a five-minute power play, but Mason McTavish tied the game with
under four minutes to go in the first period, and Kent Johnson
netted a highlight-reel lacrosse-style goal to send Canada to the dressing room with the lead. Ridly Greig scored a
power-play marker, McTavish added his tournament-leading sixth goal in the
middle frame and Tyson Foerster capped the scoring in the third. Canada
pounded Czech goaltender Tomas Suchanek with 57 shots.
WHAT TO WATCH
He may have had a quieter start to the tournament, but Logan Stankoven is
finding his groove in Edmonton. After his three-point night in the
quarterfinals, the reigning CHL player of the year is tied with Olen
Zellweger and Connor Bedard for second in Canadian scoring with seven
points, trailing only Mason McTavish and his tournament-leading 14. The
line of Stankoven, Foerster and Johnson has been Canada’s most consistent
in the tournament, combining for six points in the win over the Swiss.
On the Czech side of the puck, how about Jiri Kulich? The 18-year-old has
already had success on an international stage this year, netting nine goals
in six games during the IIHF U18 World Championship. The Buffalo Sabres’
first-rounder in the 2022 NHL Draft (28th overall) has a high hockey IQ and
is great at finding open space. And let’s not forget Tomas Suchanek. The
goaltender made 28 saves against the Americans and has fashioned a .921
save percentage across his three starts, good for third among all
puck-stoppers.
A LOOK BACK
As Czechoslovakia (1977-92), the Czech/Slovak Republics (1993) and the
Czech Republic/Czechia (1994-present), the Canadians have faced the Czechs
37 times since the first IIHF World Junior Championship in 1977, fashioning
a 22-7-8 (W-L-T) record.
Against the current iteration, Canada has lost just a single game in 21
tries since 1994, and none in regulation time. Prior to the now-unofficial
meeting in December (which isn’t included in the 21 meetings), the
Canadians posted a
3-0 quarterfinal win in the Edmonton bubble in 2021, anchored by a 29-save shutout from Devon Levi, and were
7-2 winners on New Year’s Eve 2019 on the back of four-point efforts from Barrett Hayton and Dylan Cozens.
All-time record: Canada leads 19-1-2 (Czechia leads 1-0 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 102
Czechia goals: 34
