The Czech Republic continued its shootout sorcery over Canada at the Olympics, rallying twice for a 3-2 victory in the men's hockey preliminary round Friday night.
Nearly 20 years after beating the Canadians in a shootout in the semifinals of Nagano '98, the Czechs summoned the spirit again in Pyeongchang to take control of Group A.
Jan Kovar scored the game-winning goal with a nifty move in the fourth round of the shootout to give his team a 2-1 advantage and goaltender Pavel Francouz made it stand up, but was left watching as Maxim Noreau's final effort trickled through his pads and pinged back off the post.
While he may have gotten lucky on the last shootout attempt, Francouz played a major role in his team's win as Canada outshot the Czech Republic 33-21 on the night.
Canada led twice in the first period as it once again took advantage of a strong performance from its power play. Mason Raymond opened the scoring on the man-advantage 73 seconds into the game and Rene Bourque grabbed his third goal of the tournament on the power play 12 minutes later to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead after one.
Michal Jordan caught the Canadians napping after the intermission, tying the game at 2-2 in the first 25 seconds of the second period. It remained that way through the rest of regulation and overtime, before the Czechs conjured up their magic in the shootout.
Dominik Kubalik also scored for the Czech Republic, who moved into first place in Group A with five points. Canada now sits one point behind the Czechs and will finish off preliminary round play against the Republic of Korea on Sunday at 7:10 a.m. ET.
Here's how it went down Friday night as Sporting News Canada provided live updates throughout Canada's shootout loss to the Czech Republic.
12:46 Round five: Canada must score... And Maxim Noreau makes a great move, puts the puck between Francouz's legs, but the puck bounces out agonizingly off the iron. The Czech Republic never lead in the game, but beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout.
12:45 Round four: Bourque is stopped, Scrivens makes a save to extend it.
12:44 Round three: Derek Roy denied on the forehand, Jan Kovar makes a nifty move to slip the puck past Scrivens. 2-1 CZE
12:43 Round two: Wolski scores, but Petr Koukal does too. 1-1
12:42 Czechs win the toss and will shoot second. Round one: Maxim LaPierre goes first for Canada and is stopped. Martin Ruzicka is stopped by Scrivens
12:41 Reminder: The shootout format is the best of five rounds. If the game is still tied after five, players that have already shot can go again in sudden death.
Shootout
12:38 Scrivens makes a right pad save (on a shot that might've been going wide) and then denies Sekac's backhand from close range in the final seconds. Canada and the Czech Republic will settle things in a shootout.
12:35 End-to-end stuff as both teams trade odd-man rushes, but neither can convert. Just over a minute of overtime remaining to decide this before the shootout.
12:34 Derek Roy has had the best two chances for Canada. He sent a spinning shot wide and then had a forehand blast tipped into the crowd by Francouz.
12:33 Good early chance for Lukas Radil, who cut past his defender and across the goalmouth, but had his backhanded effort stopped by Scrivens.
Overtime
12:29 Canada get a little bit of zone time following an icing, but the Czechs do well to block a couple of attempted shots and clear the zone as time expires. The teams will play a five-minute period of 3-on-3 sudden death overtime.
12:25 Off the pipe! Jiri Sekac nearly wins it for the Czech Republic, but Scrivens and Canada breathe a sigh of relief as his shot from the left circle hits the crossbar and flies out of play.
12:19 The Czechs kill off the penalty again with relative ease as we head into the final three minutes of play in regulation. Canada leading in shots 30-16.
12:16 Canada back to the power play as the Czech Republic get a bench minor for too many men on the ice just seconds after the referees miss likely offsetting minors for tripping and embellishment.
No embellishment was called on this play #Olympics pic.twitter.com/OWHPdMd0Wy — Alec Gearty (@gearty83) February 17, 2018
12:15 Big pad save for Scrivens on Lukas Radil out in front after the Czech forward received a left wing pass from Petr Koukal. Less than seven minutes to play in the contest.
12:12 Canada kills the penalty with ease, keeping the Czechs from attempting a shot on goal in the two-minute span.
12:09 Czechs to the power play as Derek Roy takes a tripping penalty to negate an odd-man rush.
12:06 Huge open ice collision as Jan Kolar lays out Ebbett near the center circle. Ebbett limps to the bench, but it actually almost worked for the Canadians as no Czech covered for Kolar and Canada ended up with 3-on-1 break. They failed to convert on a give-and-go as Brandon Kozun put the puck wide.
12:02 Not a lot of whistles in the opening six minutes of the period. Both teams trading chances, but the Czechs have the advantage in shots so far 3-0. Canada has come close though, as Ebbett found a loose puck in front of the net, but sent it wide of Francouz's goal.
11:54 The puck is dropped and the third period is underway. Canada is outshooting the Czechs 23-11, but we're still tied 2-2.
Third Period
11:41 The final seconds run off the clock in the second period. Canada and the Czech Republic remain tied 2-2 heading into the third.
11:40 The Czechs manage to kill off both penalties, but Canada comes close as Linden Vey strikes Francouz's post with a drive from the left point.
11:35 It's a 5-on-3 now for Canada as Czech goalscorer Michal Jordan is escorted to the box for interference.
"He doesn't even go here!"
Chris Lee gets shoved onto the wrong bench by #CZE 's Michal Jordan 😂 https://t.co/YKLcpouC9P pic.twitter.com/PrQp1JxH7M — CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 17, 2018
11:32 Canada heading back to the power play for the third time, having scored on their previous two. Jan Kolar whistled for a relatively soft hook.
11:30 Canada kills off the penalty without too much trouble. Scrivens only needed to make one save on the man-advantage, denying Martin Ruzicka on the rush. Five minutes to play in the period, still tied 2-2.
11:26 The Czechs are headed back to the power play as Cody Goloubef is given two minutes for slashing.
11:23 Lots of zone time now for the Candians, who have clearly responded to giving up the goal early in period. Maxim Noreau played a beautiful seam pass to Andrew Ebbett, whose slap shot from the left circle is stopped by Francouz.
11:18 Good series of sustained pressure in the offensive zone led by Wolski and Raymond, the latter of whom gets stopped on a wrap-around attempt. Less than 12 minutes to play in the period.
11:11 Hockey Canada is well represented in the crowd tonight, as the women's team has come out to support their colleagues.
11:05 Goal Czech Republic. We're tied up at 2-2 as Michal Jordan picks up a rebound in front and buries it 25 seconds into the period. Michal Birner and Roman Horak get the assists.
Second period
10:50 An entertaining first period of play ends with Canada leading 2-1 over the Czech Republic. Raymond and Bourque with the goals for Canada, who outshot the Czechs 12-6 in the frame.
10:42 Goal Canada! They lead 2-1 and make it 2-2 on the power play tonight as Rene Bourque scores his third goal of the tournament. Derek Roy entered the zone with a nice move, got pushed off the puck, but Canada didn't give up on the play. The puck rotated to the point and Bourque fired home his own deflected effort from Maxim Noreau's point shot.
10:35 Canada headed back to the power play as Jakub Nakladal picks up two minutes for holding.
10:34 Marc-Andre Gragnani makes a pass from the corner to Mason Raymond in front of Canadian net, Roman Cervenka picks his pocket and nearly scores. Strong stop by Ben Scrivens as Czechs continue to apply the pressure.
10:27 Goal Czech Republic. Dominik Kubalik makes amends for his early penalty and takes advantage of a poor Canadian clearance, sneaking the puck through Scrivens. It's now 1-1 at 6:52 mark.
10:25 Here's a look a the Canada goal. Linden Vey gets the assist as Raymond redirects the puck in from the center.
#CAN gets on the board first just over a minute into the game https://t.co/YKLcpouC9P pic.twitter.com/beWTt9aQlz — CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 17, 2018
10:22 Lots of Czech pressure during the man advantage, but Scrivens stands tall (and gets lucky with a post) and the Canadians complete the kill.
10:18 The Czechs head onto the man-advantage for the first time tonight as Derek Roy is whistled for tripping.
10:16 After a Canadian turnover, Scrivens makes a nice save on Dominik Kubalik, who took the early penalty for the Czechs.
10:12 Canada gets an early power play and makes it count! Mason Raymond beats Francouz to ease the pressure and give Canada a 1-0 lead after just 73 seconds.
10:10 The puck is dropped and away we go! Canada and the Czech Republic battle for first place in Group A.
First period
Pre-game
After stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced against Switzerland, Ben Scrivens will make his second consecutive start in net for Canada. His opposite number Pavel Francouz will also make his second start of the Winter Games for the Czech Republic.
Canada's men's hockey team will be getting the pucks in deep against the Czech Republic today. Here are their lines for the game.
Ben Scrivens gets the start in net for the second straight game. pic.twitter.com/nQKR8VQxEO — Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) February 17, 2018
After winning the opener in their traditional red and white, it looks like the Canadians will bring out their black and red sweaters for Friday night's contest.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Jan Kovar scored the game-winning shootout goal for the Czech Republic in a 3-2 victory over Canada in men's hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Friday night (Saturday in South Korea).
With the win, the Czech Republic took sole possession of first place in Group A, while Canada dropped to second.
Although Canada won the shots battle by a 33-21 margin, Czech goaltender Pavel Francouz made 31 saves and allowed just one goal in the shootout en route to victory.
Canada had a chance to extend the game in the shootout, but Maxim Noreau hit the post, which clinched the triumph for the Czech Republic.
Remarkably, the Czechs' win marked the 20-year anniversary of goalie Dominik Hasek and the Czech Republic beating Canada in a shootout in the semifinals of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
Sportsnet's Arash Madani alluded to Canada's struggles against the Czech Republic in shootouts:
Things looked good early for Canada, as it jumped out to a 1-0 lead just over one minute into the contest on a goal by former Vancouver Canucks forward Mason Raymond.
As seen in this GIF courtesy of CBC Olympics, Raymond beat Francouz with a low shot that he likely should have handled:
The Czechs made up for Francouz's miscue less than six minutes later when Dominik Kubalik netted the equalizer.
Canadian netminder Ben Scrivens didn't close the five-hole quick enough, and Kubalik took advantage:
Canada did enter the first intermission with a lead, however, thanks to a power-play goal by former Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque.
Off a pass by Noreau, Bourque bullied his way to the front of the net and deposited the puck past Francouz:
Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun put Bourque's Olympic success in perspective after he scored a pair of goals in Canada's opening win over Switzerland:
Darren Haynes of the Canadian Press marveled at what the lack of NHL participation had led to in Olympic hockey for Canada:
Canada's lead was fairly short-lived, as the Czechs came flying out of the gates to start the second period.
Just 25 seconds into the second frame, former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Michal Jordan beat Scrivens on assists from Michal Birner and Roman Horak to tie the game.
After a scoreless third period and overtime, the teams went to a shootout with each side having five shooters, unlike the NHL's version, which features three.
Former Colorado Avalanche forward Wojtek Wolski put Canada on top with a beautiful hesitation goal, but Petr Koukal answered right back for the Czechs.
Kovar then roofed one over Scrivens, and that proved to be the winning marker.
Although the Czech Republic won its opener over South Korea, it entered the Canada game with plenty of doubters since it only beat the Koreans 2-1.
The Czechs will now have a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed out of Group A if they can beat the Swiss on Sunday, while Canada will look to take its frustrations out on the host Koreans.
GANGNEUNG, South Korea – A stiff test from the Czech Republic ended in a 3-2 shootout loss for Canada on Saturday afternoon at the Pyeongchang Olympics. Jan Kovar scored the winner for the Czechs to break a 2-2 tie through 65 minutes.
Pavel Francouz was beaten by Wojtek Wolski but stopped Maxim Lapierre, Derek Roy and Mason Raymond before Maxim Noreau hit the post for Canada. Ben Scrivens was beaten by Petr Koukal and Kovar.
Raymond and Bourque scored in regulation for Canada while Dominik Kubalik and Michal Jordan replied for the Czech Republic. Canada outshot the Czechs 33-20 during regulation and a bonkers 3-on-3 overtime in which each team could have won the game multiple times.
Scrivens made some strong stops to keep the game 2-2, throwing up his right shoulder to rob Jakub Nakladal in the second and kicking out his left leg on a Lukas Radil one-timer from the slot in the third.
The iron helped him, too, when Jiri Sekac hit the crossbar with 1:05 left.
The game was physical and chippy throughout, comically so at one point with Canada on a power play late in the second. Chris Lee got mixed up with Jordan who pushed the Canadian defenceman into the Czech bench, leading to an interference penalty.
On the ensuing 34-second, two-man advantage, Linden Vey ripped a shot off the crossbar but that was the closest Canada got on that power play.
The Canadians opened strong when Kubalik took a slashing penalty just 42 seconds into the game. On that power play, Vey made a clever pass in front to Raymond who in one motion shoveled the puck past Francouz at 1:13.
But the Czechs started throwing around the body, particularly down low in the Canadian zone and some scrambled play allowed Kubalik to redeem himself. After Scrivens deflected a centering attempt high up in the air, Chris Lee couldn’t corral the bouncing puck and Kubalik pounced on it to even the score.
The Czech pressure also led to some questionable decisions with the puck, as later in the first Marc-Andre Gragnani made a pass from his own corner to Raymond in front of the Canadian net, but Roman Cervenka intercepted it and nearly scored.
Canada retook the lead at 13:30 of the first when Bourque picked up the rebound of a Noreau point shot and swiped it past Francouz on the power play for his third at the Games.
The Czechs had the run of play for the rest of the period and were rewarded for it 25 seconds into the second. After some more sloppy play from the Canadians in their own end, a loose puck squirted out to Jordan, who snapped it home to make it 2-2.
