The U.S. attacked Czech goalie Karel Vejmelka's net relentlessly in a 5-2 win to sew up second place in Group B at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Herning, Denmark.
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
In a penalty-laden and heated affair, Frank Nazar scored two third-period power play goals to lift the U.S. to a 5-2 win over Czechia on Tuesday. The Americans finish second and the defending champion Czechs third in Group B at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
Particularly dominant in the first and third periods, the U.S. outshot the Czechs by a whopping 56-27 marging on the night. Czech goalie Karel Vejmelka was strong to give his team a chance.
The result leaves Switzerland in first place in the group with 19 points ahead of Thursday's quarter-finals.
Josh Doan, Logan Cooley, and Andrew Peeke had the other goals for the Americans. The game featured three lead changes.
"I think we had some games where we let some leads get away, and there's some games we want back," said Cooley. "But obviously, playing a team like Czechia, it's an unbelievable team. They play the right way and have a lot of skilled players. Obviously to beat them like that, it gives us a lot of confidence going into the next game too."
Top Czech scorer David Pastrnak added a goal and an assist and leads the tournament with 14 points. Martin Necas also scored for the Czechs. It was a rude awakening for the defending champs as they lost their first game of this Ice Hockey World Championship.
"I think we didn't play that badly," said Czech defender David Spacek. "We had a couple chances to score, but we didn't score on them, and they went back the other way and scored on us. So that's kind of how it went today. "
This was an all-NHL affair in net. In addition to the Utah Mammoth's Vejmelka, Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins made 25 saves for the Americans.
In front of a packed, heavily pro-Czech crowd at Jyske Bank Boxen, the teams came out with intensity. Scrums broke out between whistles. Pastrnak was assessed the game’s first minor for roughing to the crowd’s great displeasure, but Vejmelka was ready with the glove when U.S. assistant captain Conor Garland tested him from the left faceoff circle.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky’s squad picked up the pace. The Czech netminder couldn’t corral the rebound when Peeke wristed the puck from the right point, and Doan backhanded it home for a 1-0 U.S. lead at 9:25. Doan, a 23-year-old Utah teammate of Vejmelka's, is the son of former Canadian Olympian Shane Doan, who won two Ice Hockey World Championship gold medals (2003, 2007).
Displaying better speed and special teams in the first period, the U.S. could have had more than a one-goal lead based on chances. Even on the first Czech power play, the best chance went to Matty Beniers, who narrowly failed to convert on a 2-on-1 with Mikey Eyssimont. The champs were fortunate to trail by just a goal after being outshot 23-8 through 20 minutes.
Kicking off the second period in style, the deadly Pastrnak-Cervenka combo clicked again. The Czech captain found "Pasta" with a long stretch pass and he had all kinds of time to pick his spot before beating his Bruins teammate over the glove at 0:41.
During a Czech power play near the midpoint, Pastrnak played the set-up man, slinging a slick cross-ice pass to Necas in the left face-off circle. The Colorado Avalanche ace fired a one-timer into a wide-open net. It was a nice atonement by Necas for an error earlier in the man advantage where Zach Werenski stripped him of the puck and sped down the right side for a good shorthanded chance.
The Americans wanted an early third-period pushback, and they got it courtesy of Nazar at 1:35 on the power play, as Jakub Krejcik's double-minor for high-sticking carried over from the middle frame. Zeev Buium fed the Chicago Blackhawks youngster for a one-timer that overpowered Vejmelka on the blocker side.
The U.S. regained the lead as Nazar tipped in Cutter Gauthier's wrister through traffic at 7:01 with the man advantage. Nazar leads the U.S. with six goals so far.
In a Mammoth display of talent, Cooley gave the Americans some breathing room at 4-2 when he hustled to the net to tip in captain Clayton Keller's centering pass at 13:29.
"It's always fun going against guys you play with," said Cooley, who had 65 points for Utah this year. "Obviously Veggie's an unbelievable guy, unbelievable goalie. He's obviously a guy that you know is awesome to have on your team. It kind of stinks going against him because of how good he is and how he plays!"
With less than six minutes left in regulation time, Jakub Flek, who scored twice in the 5-0 win over Germany, got away on a breakaway, but lost control of the puck just before he could test Swayman.
Peeke added an empty-netter with 2:54 remaining.
Looking ahead to the playoffs, Spacek remained undaunted: "I feel confident in our team. I think we have a good chance of going far."
Notably, the Czechs and Americans have plenty of hard-fought playoff history between them in recent years.
With a 39-save performance by Connor Hellebuyck in net, the U.S. blanked the Czechs 3-0 for bronze in Prague in 2015, Jaromir Jagr’s international swan song. The following year in Moscow, Auston Matthews got the shootout winner in a 2-1 U.S. quarter-final victory.
When this tournament first came to Denmark in 2018, Patrick Kane scored the third-period winner as the U.S. edged the Czechs 3-2 in the quarter-finals. In 2023, Czechia hammered the Americans 8-4 for bronze. And last year in Prague, before winning gold at home, the Czechs eliminated the U.S. 1-0 in the quarter-finals on Pavel Zacha’s goal and Lukas Dostal’s 36-save shutout.
Particularly dominant in the first and third periods, the U.S. outshot the Czechs by a whopping 56-27 marging on the night. Czech goalie Karel Vejmelka was strong to give his team a chance.
The result leaves Switzerland in first place in the group with 19 points ahead of Thursday's quarter-finals.
Josh Doan, Logan Cooley, and Andrew Peeke had the other goals for the Americans. The game featured three lead changes.
"I think we had some games where we let some leads get away, and there's some games we want back," said Cooley. "But obviously, playing a team like Czechia, it's an unbelievable team. They play the right way and have a lot of skilled players. Obviously to beat them like that, it gives us a lot of confidence going into the next game too."
Top Czech scorer David Pastrnak added a goal and an assist and leads the tournament with 14 points. Martin Necas also scored for the Czechs. It was a rude awakening for the defending champs as they lost their first game of this Ice Hockey World Championship.
"I think we didn't play that badly," said Czech defender David Spacek. "We had a couple chances to score, but we didn't score on them, and they went back the other way and scored on us. So that's kind of how it went today. "
This was an all-NHL affair in net. In addition to the Utah Mammoth's Vejmelka, Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins made 25 saves for the Americans.
In front of a packed, heavily pro-Czech crowd at Jyske Bank Boxen, the teams came out with intensity. Scrums broke out between whistles. Pastrnak was assessed the game’s first minor for roughing to the crowd’s great displeasure, but Vejmelka was ready with the glove when U.S. assistant captain Conor Garland tested him from the left faceoff circle.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky’s squad picked up the pace. The Czech netminder couldn’t corral the rebound when Peeke wristed the puck from the right point, and Doan backhanded it home for a 1-0 U.S. lead at 9:25. Doan, a 23-year-old Utah teammate of Vejmelka's, is the son of former Canadian Olympian Shane Doan, who won two Ice Hockey World Championship gold medals (2003, 2007).
Displaying better speed and special teams in the first period, the U.S. could have had more than a one-goal lead based on chances. Even on the first Czech power play, the best chance went to Matty Beniers, who narrowly failed to convert on a 2-on-1 with Mikey Eyssimont. The champs were fortunate to trail by just a goal after being outshot 23-8 through 20 minutes.
Kicking off the second period in style, the deadly Pastrnak-Cervenka combo clicked again. The Czech captain found "Pasta" with a long stretch pass and he had all kinds of time to pick his spot before beating his Bruins teammate over the glove at 0:41.
During a Czech power play near the midpoint, Pastrnak played the set-up man, slinging a slick cross-ice pass to Necas in the left face-off circle. The Colorado Avalanche ace fired a one-timer into a wide-open net. It was a nice atonement by Necas for an error earlier in the man advantage where Zach Werenski stripped him of the puck and sped down the right side for a good shorthanded chance.
The Americans wanted an early third-period pushback, and they got it courtesy of Nazar at 1:35 on the power play, as Jakub Krejcik's double-minor for high-sticking carried over from the middle frame. Zeev Buium fed the Chicago Blackhawks youngster for a one-timer that overpowered Vejmelka on the blocker side.
The U.S. regained the lead as Nazar tipped in Cutter Gauthier's wrister through traffic at 7:01 with the man advantage. Nazar leads the U.S. with six goals so far.
In a Mammoth display of talent, Cooley gave the Americans some breathing room at 4-2 when he hustled to the net to tip in captain Clayton Keller's centering pass at 13:29.
"It's always fun going against guys you play with," said Cooley, who had 65 points for Utah this year. "Obviously Veggie's an unbelievable guy, unbelievable goalie. He's obviously a guy that you know is awesome to have on your team. It kind of stinks going against him because of how good he is and how he plays!"
With less than six minutes left in regulation time, Jakub Flek, who scored twice in the 5-0 win over Germany, got away on a breakaway, but lost control of the puck just before he could test Swayman.
Peeke added an empty-netter with 2:54 remaining.
Looking ahead to the playoffs, Spacek remained undaunted: "I feel confident in our team. I think we have a good chance of going far."
Notably, the Czechs and Americans have plenty of hard-fought playoff history between them in recent years.
With a 39-save performance by Connor Hellebuyck in net, the U.S. blanked the Czechs 3-0 for bronze in Prague in 2015, Jaromir Jagr’s international swan song. The following year in Moscow, Auston Matthews got the shootout winner in a 2-1 U.S. quarter-final victory.
When this tournament first came to Denmark in 2018, Patrick Kane scored the third-period winner as the U.S. edged the Czechs 3-2 in the quarter-finals. In 2023, Czechia hammered the Americans 8-4 for bronze. And last year in Prague, before winning gold at home, the Czechs eliminated the U.S. 1-0 in the quarter-finals on Pavel Zacha’s goal and Lukas Dostal’s 36-save shutout.
Czechia vs United States - 2025 IIHF WM
OF