BUFFALO – Same teams, same matchups. The 2015 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship semi-final round will look a little like last year’s edition, as the Czech Republic joined Canada, Russia, and the U.S. in the semi-finals after defeating Sweden.
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Czech Republic – Sweden 4-3 (3-0, 0-1, 1-2)
The Czech Republic defeated Group B winners Sweden in the quarter-final game and will move on to the semi-final round for the third straight year. Michaela Pejzlova had the game winner and goaltender Blanka Skodova made 40 stops in the team's first win of the tournament.
“We’ve had some really challenging games in the preliminary round,” said Michaela Pejzlova, whose team faced the United States, Canada, and Russia in Group A. “It prepared us pretty well and today we were able to play our game and score some goals early which worked out for us.”
Sweden made things interesting in the third period, cutting the Czech lead to 3-2 early in the third. A bad clearing attempt by Anna Zikova was intercepted at center by Hanna Olsson in the middle of the slot, where Olsson lifted the puck past Skodova with a backhand.
On a day in which Finland blew a 3-0 lead to Russia in the final seconds of the game, the Czechs refused to let the same thing happen to them. Just over five minutes following the Swedish goal, Michaela Pejzlova stole the puck away from Felicia Linder in the Swedish zone, moved towards the Swedish net and beat Emma Soderberg with a shot to the far side, scoring a huge goal to put her team back up by two with ten minutes to go in the game.
Penalties in the dying minutes hampered the Swedes’ chances at a comeback, while Skodova capped a strong performance with a glove save on a breakaway by Celine Tedenby. Tedenby did come back to score a goal with 2:29 to go, but Skodova held the fort the rest of the way as the Czechs mobbed their goalie after the final whistle to celebrate a return to the semi-finals.
“The penalties they took really helped us get back into our game, because I felt that sometimes they had us backed up in our own zone and we wouldn’t know what to do, but then they’d take a penalty and allow us to get back into the game at key moments,” said Pejzlova.
The game started out slowly with neither team able to produce quality scoring chances. But a penalty to Maja Wessling for tripping gave the Czechs a chance to pressure the Swedish defence. Forward Klara Hymlarova threw the puck on the net with two of her teammates flanking Swedish goaltender Emma Soderberg. The puck came to Noemi Neubauerova who slotted it home for the game’s first goal.
Penalty trouble continued for the Swedes in the second period, preventing the team from getting any momentum offensively. The Czechs on the other hand gained more confidence as the game went on and started to put pressure on Tre Kronor in the neutral zone, leading to their second goal when Veronika Bucifalova stole the puck near center ice, made a nice cut past the Swedish defender and fired a high shot that Soderberg was not able to get across in time to block.
The Czechs then struck again just under two minutes later when Martina Zednikova’s seemingly harmless shot from near the left circle squeezed through between Soderberg and the left post, giving the team a 3-0 lead.
The third goal seemed to wake up the Swedes, who seized an opportunity to get on the board during a power play thanks to a shot from the blue line by Frida Gradin that found its way through to shave the Czech lead to 3-1. But teh offence never really got going, and after a promising start to the tournament the Swedes will finish out of the medal round for the second year in a row.
The Czech Republic’s victory means they will face the powerhouse United States team in the semi-finals, who defeated the Czechs 3-0 in their preliminary round game, while Canada will play Russia in the other semis. Both matchups are the same as in Budapest last year, which finished with the Czechs claiming a bronze medal over Russia after losing 3-1 to the States. Each semi-final game will take on Sunday.
ADAM STEISS
