Czechia crushes Switzerland to advance to world juniors semifinal
The Czechs will play for a medal for the second time in less than a year after beating Switzerland 9-1 on Monday.
It was a convincing win for the Czechs, who will await their opponent following the remainder of the quarterfinal matchups. Switzerland has only made it out of the quarterfinal twice since 2010, finishing fourth on both occasions.
Despite the win, the Czechs started things off on the wrong foot. Just 22 seconds in, Louis Robin created a breakaway opportunity and fired it past Tomas Suchanek for the surprising 1-0 lead.
That was short-lived, as Buffalo Sabres prospect Jiri Kulich answered back at 2:41 to make it 1-1. At 7:09, Marcel Marcel’s first goal of the tournament – a short-handed effort – made it 2-1 after outmuscling two defenders for the go-ahead goal. Petr Hauser then made it a three-goal first-period effort for Switzerland, with Marcel crashing the net before Hauser finished the play.
An early period goal for the Swiss in the second could have done a ton to switch the momentum. Instead, Kulich got the puck to defenseman David Jiricek, who continued his hot play with the 4-1 goal. Kulich then scored at 25:42 or his second before Gabriel Szturc made it 6-1 at 33:10. Kulich’s hot game continued, setting up top 2023 draft prospect Eduard Sale for the 7-1 goal.
It started to seem like the Czechs were scoring on nearly every shot – and after scoring their ninth goal after 21 shots, the math almost worked out that way. At 34:18, Marcel Marcel grabbed his second of the game after tipping in Ales Cech’s point shot, only for Szturc to add his own second of the contest.
Three Stars
- Jiri Kulich, F (Czechia, Buffalo): With four points, Kulich’s fantastic tournament continues. The Sabres will be thrilled to have him with the big club in the future.
- Eduard Sale, F (Czechia, 2023): After serving as the 13th forward in Czechia’s last game, Sale’s two-point effort was a huge bounce-back moment for the top 10 projected pick.
- Stanislav Svozil, D (Czechia, Columbus): Svozil’s pursuit of the tournament’s top defender award continues with a two-assist effort.