photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
Norway played flawless defence and produced timely scoring, defeating Czechia 4-1 this afternoon to earn a spot in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Czechia has already qualified, but the loss means they can't overtake Canada for first place in Group B.
The only other victory for Norway over Czechoslovakia/Czechia came in 2010, but the rivalry goes back 25 games to 1937. Norway has never scored four goals against the Czechs prior to today, and at the other end they allowed a mere 18 shots. The Czechs did not incur a penalty all game, but that was the least of their worries today.
"I don't know what to say. It's frustrating," offered Matej Blumel of the Czechs. "We had it in our hands, but we needed to compete and be better, and we weren't. We had a game plan, but we didn't stick with it. We made two huge turnovers on our first two shifts, and all of a sudden we're down 2-0. They played very well defensively, but we weren't even half of our best."
"It feels great," said Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who scored two goals in his first game of the tournament since being a late addition to the roster. "I knew the team had already been playing a good tournament so far, so I came here with a lot of confidence in the guys. Our goal leading into the tournament was the quarter-finals, and we finally got in. It's been a long time. We're really looking forward to the playoffs."
Both teams still have one game to play tomorrow, the final day of the preliminary round. The Czechs have a much-anticipated date with Canada while the Norwegians and Danes play in a huge game for Norway. A win would give them second place in the group and a potentially easier matchup in the playoffs.
Both Norway and Czechia are currently in second place with 13 points and identical records of 4-0-1-1, but Norway has the higher placing after today's win. Henrik Haukeland, meanwhile, improved his tournament record to 4-0 and now has a save % of .968.
"We came in with a game plan to get a lot of pucks on the net, and the times that we didn't, we didn't give them much to play with," Brandsegg-Nygard added. "We played hard and were on them from the start and kept it going. We got under their skin. We're not the most skilled team in the tournament, but we play hard with what we have, and it went great for us today."
The Norwegians got off to exactly the start they needed if they hoped to pull off an upset. Filip Hronek made an unwise pass from the side of his goal right up the middle, but Michal Kovarcik was unable to control it, and the puck ended on the stick of Havard Ostrem Salsten in the slot. He wasted no time in firing a shot under the glove of Dominik Pavlat at 2:59.
The Norwegians played with an added confidence with the lead, which showed four minutes later when they double their lead by converting a 2-on-1. The Czechs gave the puck up at the Norway blue line, and Petter Vesterheim roared up ice with Brandsegg-Nygard, and only one Czech defender back.
Vesterheim timed his pass over perfectly, and Brandsegg-Nygard whipped a shot to the short side before Pavlat could get his glove over. The game was not even seven minutes old, and the pro-Czech crowd was stunned into silence.
"It was a good setup from Vesterheim," Brandsegg-Nygard said. "I told him to shoot because there was a great gap with the defence, but he had the skill to get the puck through."
Henrik Haukeland kept the score 2-0 with a great save off Jiri Tichacek from close range, but the Czechs got one back at 15:47 off the rush. Jaroslav Chmelar got the puck in centre ice, fought off a check from Stian Solberg, and snuck a floating shot over the blocker of Haukeland to get the Czechs back into the game.
The second was a tight-checking affair as the Norwegians did a masterful job of keeping the puck out of the danger areas. The only difficulties were two penalties they incurred, but the penalty killers were superb, blocking shots, getting sticks in lanes, and relying, as a last resort, on some fine goaltending from Haukeland.
Lukas Sedlak had the best chance of the period when he cut in on goal and had the goalie going the other way, but he lost control of the puck and nothing came of it. On the power play, the Czechs had only one great chance, when Blumel had a point-blank chance, but Haukeland was right there to make a nice stop.
Norway looked like they would try to sit on the lead, but midway through the third they sent a clear message with a third goal off a pretty play around the Czechia goal. Emilio Pettersen got the puck in behind the goal, fed it to Eirik Salsten at the side, and he spotted Martin Ronnild in front for the tap-in at 8:10. It was a beautiful sequence and gave the Norwegians a bit of breathing room.
Brandsegg-Nygard put an exclamation mark on the win with a high shot over the glove of Pavlat at 14:17 to make it a 4-1 game, his second of the night.
"We have to talk about it and build a trust with each other and in ourselves and get back to believing in ourselves," Blumel added. "That's all we can do."
The only other victory for Norway over Czechoslovakia/Czechia came in 2010, but the rivalry goes back 25 games to 1937. Norway has never scored four goals against the Czechs prior to today, and at the other end they allowed a mere 18 shots. The Czechs did not incur a penalty all game, but that was the least of their worries today.
"I don't know what to say. It's frustrating," offered Matej Blumel of the Czechs. "We had it in our hands, but we needed to compete and be better, and we weren't. We had a game plan, but we didn't stick with it. We made two huge turnovers on our first two shifts, and all of a sudden we're down 2-0. They played very well defensively, but we weren't even half of our best."
"It feels great," said Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who scored two goals in his first game of the tournament since being a late addition to the roster. "I knew the team had already been playing a good tournament so far, so I came here with a lot of confidence in the guys. Our goal leading into the tournament was the quarter-finals, and we finally got in. It's been a long time. We're really looking forward to the playoffs."
Both teams still have one game to play tomorrow, the final day of the preliminary round. The Czechs have a much-anticipated date with Canada while the Norwegians and Danes play in a huge game for Norway. A win would give them second place in the group and a potentially easier matchup in the playoffs.
Both Norway and Czechia are currently in second place with 13 points and identical records of 4-0-1-1, but Norway has the higher placing after today's win. Henrik Haukeland, meanwhile, improved his tournament record to 4-0 and now has a save % of .968.
"We came in with a game plan to get a lot of pucks on the net, and the times that we didn't, we didn't give them much to play with," Brandsegg-Nygard added. "We played hard and were on them from the start and kept it going. We got under their skin. We're not the most skilled team in the tournament, but we play hard with what we have, and it went great for us today."
The Norwegians got off to exactly the start they needed if they hoped to pull off an upset. Filip Hronek made an unwise pass from the side of his goal right up the middle, but Michal Kovarcik was unable to control it, and the puck ended on the stick of Havard Ostrem Salsten in the slot. He wasted no time in firing a shot under the glove of Dominik Pavlat at 2:59.
The Norwegians played with an added confidence with the lead, which showed four minutes later when they double their lead by converting a 2-on-1. The Czechs gave the puck up at the Norway blue line, and Petter Vesterheim roared up ice with Brandsegg-Nygard, and only one Czech defender back.
Vesterheim timed his pass over perfectly, and Brandsegg-Nygard whipped a shot to the short side before Pavlat could get his glove over. The game was not even seven minutes old, and the pro-Czech crowd was stunned into silence.
"It was a good setup from Vesterheim," Brandsegg-Nygard said. "I told him to shoot because there was a great gap with the defence, but he had the skill to get the puck through."
Henrik Haukeland kept the score 2-0 with a great save off Jiri Tichacek from close range, but the Czechs got one back at 15:47 off the rush. Jaroslav Chmelar got the puck in centre ice, fought off a check from Stian Solberg, and snuck a floating shot over the blocker of Haukeland to get the Czechs back into the game.
The second was a tight-checking affair as the Norwegians did a masterful job of keeping the puck out of the danger areas. The only difficulties were two penalties they incurred, but the penalty killers were superb, blocking shots, getting sticks in lanes, and relying, as a last resort, on some fine goaltending from Haukeland.
Lukas Sedlak had the best chance of the period when he cut in on goal and had the goalie going the other way, but he lost control of the puck and nothing came of it. On the power play, the Czechs had only one great chance, when Blumel had a point-blank chance, but Haukeland was right there to make a nice stop.
Norway looked like they would try to sit on the lead, but midway through the third they sent a clear message with a third goal off a pretty play around the Czechia goal. Emilio Pettersen got the puck in behind the goal, fed it to Eirik Salsten at the side, and he spotted Martin Ronnild in front for the tap-in at 8:10. It was a beautiful sequence and gave the Norwegians a bit of breathing room.
Brandsegg-Nygard put an exclamation mark on the win with a high shot over the glove of Pavlat at 14:17 to make it a 4-1 game, his second of the night.
"We have to talk about it and build a trust with each other and in ourselves and get back to believing in ourselves," Blumel added. "That's all we can do."
Czechia vs Norway - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
OF