photo: Andre Ringuette/IIHF
Tereza Gildainova backhanded a loose puck over the glove of Swiss goalie Norina Schrupkowski at 18:11 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie and send the Czechs on to the semi-finals.
"I told her after the first period, you are the scorer of the game," said coach Dusan Andrasovsky. "And she did it. It's nice because she's playing her third world championship of the U18 tournament, and we need these experienced girls. They need to give it on the ice."
"To be honest, I went for my last shift," Gildainova explained. "There was two minutes left, and I was like, 'We have to score now, or that's gonna be end of the game.' I was kind of high, and I saw the puck, so I just shot it. It went in, so I was happy!"
The game was end-to-end and tight from start to finish, and although the Czechs had the advantage in shots, 42-14, Schrupkowski was sensational throughout, making big saves and keeping her team in the game time and again.
The Czechs don't know their opponent yet, but they will be playing for a medal for the third year running. The Swiss are likely finished for this year pending the expected results of the later games. But for now, nothing is set in stone.
"Third time in a row, which is nice for our small country. It's good," Andrasovsky added. "The young girls are watching games and they they are coming to play hockey. They love it and love the game. I think we did good job, good advertising for women's hockey."
"We had a good game plan, and we prepared very well," offered Swiss coach Melanie Haefliger. "It was going how we wanted, but we needed a lot of patience also. That's not easy at this age, but they handled that brilliantly. It's tough when you lose the game in the last two minutes for the girls, too. They can learn, now, a lot, but at the moment, it's pretty hard."
Captain Norina Muller, who was the hero two nights ago against Hungary with the only two goals in a 2-0 win, almost got the Swiss on the board early. She got a clear break on goal but fired the puck high over the cage.
Later in the period, Czech Adela Krenkova slid the puck through the crease and out the other side, a dangerous moment but ultimately harmless. The Swiss, however, finally connected at 13:40 when Jill Baker got the puck at the top of the circle, took a look, and wired a hard shot over the glove of Lili Chmelarova for the opening goal.
Five minutes later, the Czechs thought they had tied the game. Gildainova cut to the middle and backhanded a shot off the crossbar. As she raised her hands in celebration, the goal horn sounded, but the puck bounced behind Schrupkowski and stayed out.
The Czechs had a great opportunity to tie early in the second. Andrea Kantorova built up some speed cutting in on the left wing, but she lost an edge before she could get a shot off.
Lorie-Lou Besson countered for the Swiss, getting a couple of whacks at a puck from the blue ice, but Chmelarova held her post and kept the puck out. Midway through the period, though, the Czechs finally got to Schrupkowski. Johanna Tischler cut to the middle of the ice and snapped a screen shot over the goalie’s glove at 10:12 to tie the game.
Both teams had great chances in the third to get that game winner. Adela Pankova made a nice move to get in alone on Schrupkowski, but the goalie kicked out her right pad and nulliufied that opportunity. Baker then was sent in alone and was foiled by the glove of Chmelarova, and as the clock ticked down, overtime seemed inevitable.
And then Gildainova struck, and the game was over.
"It's hurting in my heart, and I'm really sad about it," Schrupkowski admitted. "But I think I can be proud of what I did in all of the games here."
"I told her after the first period, you are the scorer of the game," said coach Dusan Andrasovsky. "And she did it. It's nice because she's playing her third world championship of the U18 tournament, and we need these experienced girls. They need to give it on the ice."
"To be honest, I went for my last shift," Gildainova explained. "There was two minutes left, and I was like, 'We have to score now, or that's gonna be end of the game.' I was kind of high, and I saw the puck, so I just shot it. It went in, so I was happy!"
The game was end-to-end and tight from start to finish, and although the Czechs had the advantage in shots, 42-14, Schrupkowski was sensational throughout, making big saves and keeping her team in the game time and again.
The Czechs don't know their opponent yet, but they will be playing for a medal for the third year running. The Swiss are likely finished for this year pending the expected results of the later games. But for now, nothing is set in stone.
"Third time in a row, which is nice for our small country. It's good," Andrasovsky added. "The young girls are watching games and they they are coming to play hockey. They love it and love the game. I think we did good job, good advertising for women's hockey."
"We had a good game plan, and we prepared very well," offered Swiss coach Melanie Haefliger. "It was going how we wanted, but we needed a lot of patience also. That's not easy at this age, but they handled that brilliantly. It's tough when you lose the game in the last two minutes for the girls, too. They can learn, now, a lot, but at the moment, it's pretty hard."
Captain Norina Muller, who was the hero two nights ago against Hungary with the only two goals in a 2-0 win, almost got the Swiss on the board early. She got a clear break on goal but fired the puck high over the cage.
Later in the period, Czech Adela Krenkova slid the puck through the crease and out the other side, a dangerous moment but ultimately harmless. The Swiss, however, finally connected at 13:40 when Jill Baker got the puck at the top of the circle, took a look, and wired a hard shot over the glove of Lili Chmelarova for the opening goal.
Five minutes later, the Czechs thought they had tied the game. Gildainova cut to the middle and backhanded a shot off the crossbar. As she raised her hands in celebration, the goal horn sounded, but the puck bounced behind Schrupkowski and stayed out.
The Czechs had a great opportunity to tie early in the second. Andrea Kantorova built up some speed cutting in on the left wing, but she lost an edge before she could get a shot off.
Lorie-Lou Besson countered for the Swiss, getting a couple of whacks at a puck from the blue ice, but Chmelarova held her post and kept the puck out. Midway through the period, though, the Czechs finally got to Schrupkowski. Johanna Tischler cut to the middle of the ice and snapped a screen shot over the goalie’s glove at 10:12 to tie the game.
Both teams had great chances in the third to get that game winner. Adela Pankova made a nice move to get in alone on Schrupkowski, but the goalie kicked out her right pad and nulliufied that opportunity. Baker then was sent in alone and was foiled by the glove of Chmelarova, and as the clock ticked down, overtime seemed inevitable.
And then Gildainova struck, and the game was over.
"It's hurting in my heart, and I'm really sad about it," Schrupkowski admitted. "But I think I can be proud of what I did in all of the games here."
Quarter-finals #2: Czechia vs Switzerland - 2026 IIHF U18 Women's Worlds Championship
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