Czechia stunned Canada in the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC) on Tuesday (Jan. 2), winning 3-2 over the reigning gold medalists and the team that beat them in the gold-medal game in the 2023 WJC. After having a bad start to the tournament, Czechia was counted out by some but slowly pushed their way back up enough to make the knockout round. This game showed similarities to the USA vs Czechia matchup in the preliminary round where Czechia put a lot of pressure on the USA and would only lose 4-3. The Canadians were exactly in that position at the beginning and eventually pressured Czechia after the second period. Without Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, and Shane Wright on their roster this year, Canada would have to manage and fight off the Czechs as they did last year.
In the first period, Czechia put pressure on Canada, scoring the opening goal at 7:51 on a nice feed by Dominik Rymon to Jakub Štancl — who sniped it past Mathis Rousseau — and then defenseman Tomáš Cibulka potted one, making it 2-0 near the end of the first period at 18:01. However, Matthew Wood got the first goal of the game on a breakaway for Canada at 3:43 in the second period and then Jake Furlong tied it at 2-2 from the point.
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A majority of the third period was in Canada’s favor, but Czechia was still finding chances in the cracks. Štancl was fortunate enough to get the game-winning goal off a deflection on Oliver Bonk’s stick with 11 seconds left.
Štancl Gets Two for Czechia
Going into the tournament Jakub Štancl was nothing more than a third-line checking forward for Czechia but he seemed to be a top performer in games against big teams like Canada and the USA (his only three goals of the tournament have come against those two teams.) Štancl was selected in the fourth round by the St. Louis Blues in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and is showing why he deserves a spot on their roster in the future with his ability to lead on the wing. He made his presence known in this game by getting in perfect position for one-time chances and finding the space for multiple shots on the net. Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 198 pounds, Štancl’s frame was useful this game and contributed mostly to winning puck battles on the boards. He was also ready to take as many hits as possible against an aggressive Canadian team.
The highlight of the game for him was scoring game-winning goal to push Czechia into the semifinals and earn some redemption for his country after playing for the first time at U-20 level. He played it simple and got shots on the net and with Canada blocking Czechia’s chances, he did a great job at testing their luck. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t on the roster next year because he’s played with a lot of tenacity and could be worth adding again considering how great he’s been with their penalty kill as well. Moving forward to the semi finals he’ll have to keep up the same style of play heading into the semifinals where grit and grind will be needed the most.
Too Much Pressure on Czechia
The only problem with Czechia in this matchup was their ability to defend the slot and prevent scoring opportunities for Canada. In the first period, Czechia was leading in shots 9-7 but then got outshot in the second and third periods to end the game with a 30-22 shot total in Canada’s favor despite ending up with the victory. Canada was able to get in their zone and continue to play the puck for a good 30 seconds or more. At one in the third, there was a chance for Canada to score but it was knocked away from goaltender Michael Hrabal and hit the post on the way out. Hrabal was also a big factor in keeping Czechia alive and preventing Canada from gaining any more headway in the game.
However, by the third period, Czechia began to pick up the slack and take on Canada when they were tired from attacking. They forced Canada’s shifts to delay and out-skated them right when they got the puck, playing the counter-attack like they had the entire tournament. The blocked shots also helped in the third, as they blocked 11 in that period alone. Defensive breakdowns on the penalty kill have been a tough thing to fix for Czechia since their opening tournament game against Slovakia which saw too many breakouts and lots of space for Slovakia to pass the puck and create chances on net.
Hrabal Shuts Down Canada
I talked about Hrabal being the only reason Czechia survived this game and it was clear he was a factor, considering he made 28 saves while being pressured by Canada in his zone for several minutes. However, he was able to track Canada’s plays very well and made several key saves late in the game to keep the game tied 2-2. His size also played a factor in some dangerous chances for Canada that would’ve given them more of an edge, including a shot to the top left corner from Macklin Celebrini which Hrabal stopped in the third period. His performance was enough to get him a Player of the Game award in the end and should give him some confidence going into the semifinals.
Related: 2024 Guide to the World Junior Championship
At the beginning of the tournament, Hrabal struggled, starting against Slovakia but allowing several weak goals and finished that game with 28 saves on 34 shots. Hrabal quickly picked himself up and played amazingly against Norway, USA, and Switzerland. Despite that, he let in a few loose goals against Switzerland which may be a concern for Czechia if they want gold in this tournament. Overall, as a goalie who was selected in the second round by the Arizona Coyotes, Hrabal has been playing up to that calibre for most of the tournament and has shown up when needed. He will most likely get to start in the semifinals for Czechia against Finland on Thursday (Jan. 4).
