Czech U18 Team Secures Bronze After a Dramatic Battle with Slovakia

In the match for third place in the U18 category, the Czech team secured a 6-4 victory over Slovakia, taking home the bronze medals. It was a very balanced game that had almost everything, including video review intervention.

U18: Slovakia vs. Czechia 4:6 (2:0, 2:1, 2:3)

Goals and assists: 17. Lašš (Franek, Semančík), 24. Piško (Feranec), 36. Lašš (Rokos, Štefanák), 37. Piško - 6. Šťástka (Palán), 13. Rod (Kachlík), 30. Rod (Koudela), 33. Kachlík (Šlechta), 38. Jedelský (Mikula), 45. Kumpan.

In the bronze medal match, the Czech team faced the host nation, Slovakia. Right from the start, the Czechs had the upper hand and tested Slovak goalie Chmelík several times. After a foul by Daubner, Slovakia faced their first penalty kill, which the Czechs capitalized on, with Marek Šťástka opening the scoring from a Palán assist. The Czechs continued their aggressive play, and after another penalty on Feranec, they added a second goal.

Slovakia came into the second period more aggressively, and Lašš reduced the deficit to 1:2 after an off-target shot from Franek. Despite further penalties, Slovakia managed to tie the game when Feranec assisted Piško. Šťástka was then ejected for the rest of the game following a questionable hit on his Slovak opponent, though it didn’t seem worthy of a game misconduct. Before the second intermission, Czechia regained the lead when Rod took advantage of the screened Slovak goalie Chmelík, a goal confirmed by video review.

The third period began with the Czechs pressing hard, extending their lead to 4:2 through Kachlík. Slovakia didn’t back down, and Lašš cut the lead to one goal. After Piško’s equalizer, the Czechs regained the lead with a goal from Jedelský, and Kumpan sealed the victory with an empty-net goal.

Reactions from U18 Head Coach Vít Čapek:

“It was a very intense game, and both teams fought until the last minute. Our players showed immense determination, and I’m proud of their performance. The video reviews complicated things a bit for us, but we managed in the end. The Slovak team played great and deserves recognition.”