Czechia took an early three-goal lead, but Sweden rallied back — almost. Czechia managed to fend off the Swedes and pick up three important points with a 4-3 win.
The Czechs got goals from four different players, the Swedes relied on their power play.
Czechia’s 3-2 overtime loss to Slovenia in their previous game was the worst thing that could’ve happened to … Sweden, Czechia’s next opponent.
"We didn’t play our game the way we wanted to. We have to do everything better in our next game,” team captain Roman Cervenka said.
“I think we were the better team in he last two periods, so this is disappointing," said Sweden's Jack Berglund in the Swedish TV's broadcast.
It turned into a high-octane game in which emotions ran high — and the game was riddled with penalties. Czechia received 33 penalty minutes, Sweden 10.
Coming out of the gate, the Czechs were a team possessed, giving the Swedes no time or space on the ice.
Just three minutes into the game, Filip Hronek fired a shot from the blue line. It would’ve missed the net by a full meter, but Matej Blumel redirected it masterfully into the Swedish net, beating Magnus Hellberg for the first time at 3:04. Tomas Galvas also picked up an assist on the goal.
Nine minutes and twenty seconds later, it was 2-0 thanks to Dominik Kubalik’s bomb from the blue line on the power play.
And 36 seconds later, the puck was again in the Swedish net.
During a delayed penalty, Daniel Vozenilek sent the puck to the front of the net off Hellberg’s shoulder, and Jakub Flek backhanded it in for 3-0 at 13:00.
“We scored the goals we needed in our game against Slovenia. We got lucky early on, got some rebounds and reflections,” Czechia’s Lukas Sedlak said.
“It wasn’t the start we wanted but we did a good job coming back. We knew it was going to be a tough game, both teams had a lot to play for,” said Swedish forward Jacob de la Rose.
But as one former Team Sweden head coach, Leif Boork, likes to say, “A three-goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey.” Sweden clawed their way back into the game on a power-play opportunity when Jan Scotka received a game misconduct in the aftermath of Czechia’s third goal.
First, Emil Heineman dropped the puck to Joel Persson, whose shot found its way to the back of the net through traffic at 15:34.
The Swedes continued on powerplay, and with 2:15 remaining in the period, it was suddenly a one-goal game. Simon Holmstrom scored his first of the tournament with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle off Persson’s nice feed across the ice.
Czechia pushed back early in the second period. Jiri Cernoch redirected Ondrej Beranek’s saucer pass on a 2-on-1. Hellberg made the save, but Holmstrom accidentally pushed the Swedish goaltender deep into the net, and it was called a good goal after a video review to make it 4-2 at 3:21.
“I think we played better in the second period,” said Team Sweden head coach Sam Hallam.
Sweden scored their third power-play goal two and a half minutes later. Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s seeing-eye slap shot from the blue line beat Josef Korenar and brought Sweden back within one at 6:00.
Sweden outshot Czechia 7-0 in the first 13 minutes of the third period, but couldn't solve Korenar.
“We played well today, Sweden pushed in the third but I don’t think they got a lot of Grade A scoring chances. We try to get better by every game and make little adjustments,” Sedlak said.
The Czechs got goals from four different players, the Swedes relied on their power play.
Czechia’s 3-2 overtime loss to Slovenia in their previous game was the worst thing that could’ve happened to … Sweden, Czechia’s next opponent.
"We didn’t play our game the way we wanted to. We have to do everything better in our next game,” team captain Roman Cervenka said.
“I think we were the better team in he last two periods, so this is disappointing," said Sweden's Jack Berglund in the Swedish TV's broadcast.
It turned into a high-octane game in which emotions ran high — and the game was riddled with penalties. Czechia received 33 penalty minutes, Sweden 10.
Coming out of the gate, the Czechs were a team possessed, giving the Swedes no time or space on the ice.
Just three minutes into the game, Filip Hronek fired a shot from the blue line. It would’ve missed the net by a full meter, but Matej Blumel redirected it masterfully into the Swedish net, beating Magnus Hellberg for the first time at 3:04. Tomas Galvas also picked up an assist on the goal.
Nine minutes and twenty seconds later, it was 2-0 thanks to Dominik Kubalik’s bomb from the blue line on the power play.
And 36 seconds later, the puck was again in the Swedish net.
During a delayed penalty, Daniel Vozenilek sent the puck to the front of the net off Hellberg’s shoulder, and Jakub Flek backhanded it in for 3-0 at 13:00.
“We scored the goals we needed in our game against Slovenia. We got lucky early on, got some rebounds and reflections,” Czechia’s Lukas Sedlak said.
“It wasn’t the start we wanted but we did a good job coming back. We knew it was going to be a tough game, both teams had a lot to play for,” said Swedish forward Jacob de la Rose.
But as one former Team Sweden head coach, Leif Boork, likes to say, “A three-goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey.” Sweden clawed their way back into the game on a power-play opportunity when Jan Scotka received a game misconduct in the aftermath of Czechia’s third goal.
First, Emil Heineman dropped the puck to Joel Persson, whose shot found its way to the back of the net through traffic at 15:34.
The Swedes continued on powerplay, and with 2:15 remaining in the period, it was suddenly a one-goal game. Simon Holmstrom scored his first of the tournament with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle off Persson’s nice feed across the ice.
Czechia pushed back early in the second period. Jiri Cernoch redirected Ondrej Beranek’s saucer pass on a 2-on-1. Hellberg made the save, but Holmstrom accidentally pushed the Swedish goaltender deep into the net, and it was called a good goal after a video review to make it 4-2 at 3:21.
“I think we played better in the second period,” said Team Sweden head coach Sam Hallam.
Sweden scored their third power-play goal two and a half minutes later. Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s seeing-eye slap shot from the blue line beat Josef Korenar and brought Sweden back within one at 6:00.
Sweden outshot Czechia 7-0 in the first 13 minutes of the third period, but couldn't solve Korenar.
“We played well today, Sweden pushed in the third but I don’t think they got a lot of Grade A scoring chances. We try to get better by every game and make little adjustments,” Sedlak said.
Sweden vs Czechia - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
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