The Czech Republic overcame Finland’s 5-2 lead and scored their only five goals in the third period to defeat Finland 8-5 and win the bronze medal, their second medal in as many years.
Tomas Hamara scored the winning goal at 18:19 after winning a faceoff just 15 seconds after tying the score with the extra attacker. Then he added two empty nets. It was a shocking collapse for Finland, who appeared to have the upper hand late in the second period.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve ever competed in a competition like this,” Hamara said with the medal around his neck. “It was pretty crazy. To be honest, I was really depressed when they scored the fifth goal because it was my fault and it was a big mistake. But my teammates helped me a lot. On the bench They came to pick us up and cheer us on. “We knew we had to do something special, so I’m very happy to score that goal and I’m very happy to win. It’s meaningful.”
This wild third period produced two records. The Czechs scored four goals in just 50 seconds, breaking the previous record of 68 seconds set by Canada in 1983. He also scored two goals in two seconds, both of which were empty netters. The previous record was 6 seconds and was set three times.
It was a match that featured two teams with vastly different records in the bronze medal match. Finland won 5 out of 7 games and took 3rd place, while the Czech Republic only won 1 out of 7 games. Today, the pattern turned out to be the opposite.
“Our coaches did a great job preparing us,” Hamara added. “Even right after yesterday’s match, I was told there was no time to be sad or disappointed. Just focus on tomorrow because it’s a bronze medal match.”
Ondrej Becher had a hat trick and two assists, while Jiri Klich had two goals and two assists. Hamara had a goal and two helpers.
Finland scored two goals just 90 seconds apart, giving them an early medal shot. The first shot came at 6:13 when Rasmus Kumplainen moved into the frame and fired it past the weak glove of Michael Hrabal, who conceded many goals to the Trapper side.
The Finns committed a turnover behind the Czech goal to make it 2-0. Jani Nyman took a good look at the goal and took the shot, scoring her second goal of the tournament. After Hrabal gave up the goal, coach Patrick Augusta made a change and brought on Jakub Fondras, making his first appearance in the tournament.
Czech got back into the game with a late power play. Just seven seconds after Emir Pieniemi was whistled for stumbling, Mattias Merovski sent a perfect pass across the ice to captain Kulic, whose one-timer scored the short side at 16:16. Ta.
As is often the case in bronze medal matches, a relatively calm opening gave way to a wide-open second half, which today meant an explosion of goals, including three in just 34 seconds. The fun started on the Czech power play, when Jakub Stankur’s shot from the middle of the ice slipped through the pads of Miklas Kokko, tying the game at 8:37.
However, while that goal was announced, Finland scored twice on two similar plays. First, Jani Nijman beat his man along the boards and made a great pass to the backside to Consta Helenius, who made it at 8:52. Nineteen seconds later, Leni Hamenaho received a similar pass from Oiva Keskinen from the other side and slotted it into the goal, giving Finland a 4-2 lead.
He added another point on the power play five minutes later, and it was certainly the highlight goal. Haminaho drifted down the right side, beat Hamara with a brilliant move and backhanded the puck to the far side. Top 3 goals of the tournament.
However, the Czech Republic scored a short-handed goal in the final minute, giving them a glimmer of hope. Becher kept a tricky pass onside and broke in on his own, beating Cocco with a shot to the blocker side to make it 5-3.
“This was a big goal for us being shorthanded,” Hamara said. “Going into a three-point lead with a two-point lead instead of a three-point lead is a big difference.”
In fact, early in the third, they made things a bit tricky for Finland, scoring on another power play at 4:41, making it a one-score game again. Klich was the scorer along with another great one-timer.
The awkwardness got even worse for Finland — it was a tied game — late in the third game when Fondras sat on the bench as the sixth attacker. Boettcher homered a spilled puck at 18:04 to make the game 5-5. Suomi’s comfortable 5-2 lead is now a thing of the past.
Then, 15 seconds later, Hamara made a long shot after winning the match, and the match was decided. The Czech Republic added two empty-netters to earn their second medal in as many years, while Finland skated off the ice stunned and finished in fourth place.