Dmitrij Jaskin's overtime goal gave the Czech Republic a 3-2 tournament-opening win over neighbouring rival Slovakia. Slovak goalie Marek Ciliak was outstanding with 39 saves, although he conceded the tying Czech goal to Martin Necas with just 10 seconds left.
On the winner at 2:09, Jaskin rushed in, put the puck off Slovak captain Andrej Sekera, and collected his own rebound to beat Ciliak on the backhand. Dominik Kubalik added a goal and an assist for the Czechs, and Andrej Nestrasil had two assists.
"It was a tough game for us," said Cervenka. "We were always a goal behind, so it was hard mentally."
Sekera led the way with a goal and an assist for Slovakia, and Michal Kristof also scored. Ladislav Nagy added a pair of helpers.
Neither nation has medalled at the last four Worlds, but that hasn’t diminished their fans’ hunger for hockey. Copenhagen's Royal Arena was rockin’ with a sell-out crowd of 12,490, with a million white, red, and blue Pavol Demitra and Jaromir Jagr jerseys. It was pure Saturday night jubilation.
"The atmosphere was perfect," said Slovakia's Martin Fehervary. "I was expecting this because we are rivals and our games against the Czechs are always really great."
Czech goalie Pavel Francouz brought the 2018 Olympic pedigree and a freshly signed NHL contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Yet even in defeat, it was Slovakia’s Ciliak -- a 28-year-old who has backstopped HC Kometa Brno to consecutive Czech Extraliga titles -- who grabbed the spotlight in his World Championship debut. Shots favored the Czechs 42-17.
The Czech Republic took a psychologically important first step toward medaling in Denmark for the first time since the 2012 Worlds (bronze). They face the defending champion Swedes next on Sunday.
"At this tournament, we want to play our best hockey every time," said Cervenka. "Sweden are the favourites for the whole tournament. They have a very good team. Now we have a quick recovery and prepare for tomorrow."
After finishing ninth annually from 2014 to 2016, the Slovaks slumped to 14th last year – their worst placement ever since entering the top division in 1996. Clearly, they’ve got something to prove this time, even if they’re unlikely to repeat 2012’s surprising silver. The last time Slovakia beat the Czechs was 3-1 in the semi-finals on 19 May, 2012. Despite falling short here, they must take heart from their overall performance.
"Maybe we don't have the most skilled roster, but I think today we showed that we can play some good hockey," said Slovak blueliner Christian Jaros. "We just want to do that in each game and see where it can take us."
The Royal Arena boards were rockin’ too, as the two brotherly rivals came out hard. In the first minute, Jaskin smacked Juraj Mikus into the side boards in the Slovak zone.
The Czechs looked stronger in the opening moments, but after rough-and-tumble blueliner Radko Gudas took the game’s first penalty on an ill-advised blindside hit, it took just four seconds for Slovakia to cash in. Nagy won the faceoff, Sekera took the shot, and Kristof deftly tipped it past Francouz at 7:33.
The Czechs had better fortune in the middle frame. As the Slovaks struggled to clear the puck out of their end, Jaskin got the puck to Nestrasil, who fed Kubalik down low, and the 22-year-old forward cut to the net and slid a backhander through Ciliak’s pads to tie it up at 1:04.
"We want to try and play as a team," said Cervenka. "We have many young guys but they are very talented."
The tough play continued as Jaskin went off for boarding at 4:53. The Slovaks made him pay just 35 seconds later as Sekera lofted a centre point shot that eluded Francouz through traffic for a 2-1 lead.
Right at the end of the second period, the Czechs came heartstoppingly close to equalizing when the puck squeaked through Ciliak’s legs with Nestrasil in front. But it slid wide of the right post as the goalie flung himself back in desperation.
It looked like the Slovaks might keep their 2-1 lead. They killed off a mid-third period Czech power play with Marek Daloga off for holding, and Ciliak came up big against Jaskin on a partial breakaway. Michal Repik whiffed on a wide-open net with under four minutes to play, and looked skyward with disgust.
The Czechs pulled Francouz for the extra attacker with 2:45 remaining. The Czech fans went bananas when Necas busted through the neutral zone, cut right, and powered a wrister through Ciliak's pads to knot the score at 19:50.
Necas nearly scored the winner in overtime, but crashed into the end boards after losing the handle on his deke. Ciliak immediately waved for medical assistance, and although the stretcher was summoned, the young Czech forward managed to skate back to the Czech bench.
It was an exciting and hard-fought game. From 2000 to 2003, either the Czechs or the Slovaks (or both) medalled at the IIHF World Championship. If this is the kind of atmosphere they get for a round-robin game, one can only imagine the euphoria if they ever rebuild their programs and meet as gold-medal contenders again, like in the 2000 IIHF World Championship final that the Czechs won 5-3.
"It was a great experience for me," said Fehervary. "I enjoyed the game, but of course I'm sad that we lost, we couldn't hold on with a couple of seconds left. That's hockey, we need to be better in the next game."
Slovakia's next game is against Switzerland on Sunday.
