Danish goalie Mads Sogaard stretches out a leg to deny Czechia's Lukas Sedlak a goal during the teams' 2026 IIHF World Championship game.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
Czechia opened its 2026 IIHF World Championship campaign with a 4-1 victory over Denmark, paced by quickfire double in the first period.
Dominik Kubalik and Daniel Vozenilek got those early goals before veteran captain Roman Cervenka struck early in the third period to claim his 34th World Championship goal. Mikkel Aagaard got a late consolation for Denmark before Matej Blumel completed the scoring with an empty netter.
“I think we played great,” said defender Marek Alscher. “The second period was maybe a little bit weaker but then we got together and we came back to playing our game and our way.”
The Danes arrived in Switzerland on the back of a best-ever run to the bronze medal game last year. But Mikael Gath’s team is without its NHL contingent, and is also missing two key defenders from that roster.
“We have a lot of new guys with us this year, a lot of young guys who are getting used to it,” said captain Jesper Jensen Aabo. “Every tournament has its own life. We have to get into the tournament and the next game is the most important.”
Czechia handed a debut to goaltender Josef Korenar. The 28-year-old Sparta Prague man was on last year’s roster but did not get on the ice.
Korenar, who made 12 NHL appearances with the Sharks and the Coyotes, could hardly have had a gentler introduction to World Championship play. In the first period, he faced just one shot as Denmark struggled to get into the game.
At the other end, Mads Sogaard was a much busier man. The 25-year-old, who has been in the Senators organisation since 2021, came under early pressure as the Danes killed a double minor.
However, once back at equal strength, the Czechs jumped to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period. Jakub Flek picked up a loose puck in centre ice and backhanded down the boards for Kubalik to race away and place an unstoppable shot right into the angle of post and crossbar. Then, 70 seconds later, Vozenilek doubled the lead on 10:00. Veteran Danish defender Jensen Aabo lost the puck between his skates, David Tomasek’s poke check knocked it free and Vozenilek squeezed his shot inside Sogaard’s near post.
For Jensen Aabo, that was just part of a tough opening frame.
“We rarely got out of our own zone,” he admitted. “We could feel right away this was the top level, maybe we’re not used to that level.
“We pushed back a bit in the second and we came back in the last two periods. I think we made a decent game of it but we have to respect the opponent. This is a world class team we played against and they were the best team on the ice tonight.”
His opposite number Cervenka saw things differently. “It wasn’t a bad defensive effort,” he said. “It was tough to play in the second period a little bit. But we had a good start, we were leading 2-0 and we kind of controlled the game.”
The second period saw Nick Olesen, who plays his hockey in Czechia with Motor Ceske Budejovice, with a great chance to halve the deficit on the power play. He got all alone in front of the net, but Korenar kicked his shot away in the 27th minute.
Possession and chances were more evenly shared in the middle frame, but neither team could add to the scoring. Czechia’s closest effort saw Tomasek surprise Sogaard with an early wrist shot that squirmed through the goalie’s defences but got enough of the pad to dribble wide of the target.
The Czechs still needed some insurance and it came from Cervenka. The 40-year-old is the oldest player at this year’s tournament and he began his 13th World Championship campaign with yet another goal. His youngest team-mate, defender Tomas Galvas, drove forward to stretch the Danish D; Tomasek took it wide and after a scramble in front of the net Cervenka pounced to further burnish a great career.
That effectively finished the contest. Denmark’s effort never looked like it would be enough to upset a typically disciplined and detailed Czech team. With five to play, Sogaard made way for a sixth skater, and won a power play.
The six-on-four power play brought a goal for Mikkel Aagaard, robbing Korenar of a debut shut-out with two-and-a-half minutes to play. But the final word went to the Czechs when Lukas Sedlak presented Blumel with an empty-net goal.
The Czechs are back in action tomorrow against Slovenia, with Alscher keen to get more minutes on the ice.
“We want to get everyone on the same page,” he said. “We’ve been together a few days, some new guys didn’t even play a game before this tournament. The key is understanding where our team-mates are, where to pass.”
Dominik Kubalik and Daniel Vozenilek got those early goals before veteran captain Roman Cervenka struck early in the third period to claim his 34th World Championship goal. Mikkel Aagaard got a late consolation for Denmark before Matej Blumel completed the scoring with an empty netter.
“I think we played great,” said defender Marek Alscher. “The second period was maybe a little bit weaker but then we got together and we came back to playing our game and our way.”
The Danes arrived in Switzerland on the back of a best-ever run to the bronze medal game last year. But Mikael Gath’s team is without its NHL contingent, and is also missing two key defenders from that roster.
“We have a lot of new guys with us this year, a lot of young guys who are getting used to it,” said captain Jesper Jensen Aabo. “Every tournament has its own life. We have to get into the tournament and the next game is the most important.”
Czechia handed a debut to goaltender Josef Korenar. The 28-year-old Sparta Prague man was on last year’s roster but did not get on the ice.
Korenar, who made 12 NHL appearances with the Sharks and the Coyotes, could hardly have had a gentler introduction to World Championship play. In the first period, he faced just one shot as Denmark struggled to get into the game.
At the other end, Mads Sogaard was a much busier man. The 25-year-old, who has been in the Senators organisation since 2021, came under early pressure as the Danes killed a double minor.
However, once back at equal strength, the Czechs jumped to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period. Jakub Flek picked up a loose puck in centre ice and backhanded down the boards for Kubalik to race away and place an unstoppable shot right into the angle of post and crossbar. Then, 70 seconds later, Vozenilek doubled the lead on 10:00. Veteran Danish defender Jensen Aabo lost the puck between his skates, David Tomasek’s poke check knocked it free and Vozenilek squeezed his shot inside Sogaard’s near post.
For Jensen Aabo, that was just part of a tough opening frame.
“We rarely got out of our own zone,” he admitted. “We could feel right away this was the top level, maybe we’re not used to that level.
“We pushed back a bit in the second and we came back in the last two periods. I think we made a decent game of it but we have to respect the opponent. This is a world class team we played against and they were the best team on the ice tonight.”
His opposite number Cervenka saw things differently. “It wasn’t a bad defensive effort,” he said. “It was tough to play in the second period a little bit. But we had a good start, we were leading 2-0 and we kind of controlled the game.”
The second period saw Nick Olesen, who plays his hockey in Czechia with Motor Ceske Budejovice, with a great chance to halve the deficit on the power play. He got all alone in front of the net, but Korenar kicked his shot away in the 27th minute.
Possession and chances were more evenly shared in the middle frame, but neither team could add to the scoring. Czechia’s closest effort saw Tomasek surprise Sogaard with an early wrist shot that squirmed through the goalie’s defences but got enough of the pad to dribble wide of the target.
The Czechs still needed some insurance and it came from Cervenka. The 40-year-old is the oldest player at this year’s tournament and he began his 13th World Championship campaign with yet another goal. His youngest team-mate, defender Tomas Galvas, drove forward to stretch the Danish D; Tomasek took it wide and after a scramble in front of the net Cervenka pounced to further burnish a great career.
That effectively finished the contest. Denmark’s effort never looked like it would be enough to upset a typically disciplined and detailed Czech team. With five to play, Sogaard made way for a sixth skater, and won a power play.
The six-on-four power play brought a goal for Mikkel Aagaard, robbing Korenar of a debut shut-out with two-and-a-half minutes to play. But the final word went to the Czechs when Lukas Sedlak presented Blumel with an empty-net goal.
The Czechs are back in action tomorrow against Slovenia, with Alscher keen to get more minutes on the ice.
“We want to get everyone on the same page,” he said. “We’ve been together a few days, some new guys didn’t even play a game before this tournament. The key is understanding where our team-mates are, where to pass.”
Czechia vs Denmark - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
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