Czechs knock USA out of Olympic men’s hockey, face Russians in semis
Undefeated Czech Republic knocked the United States out of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament on Wednesday with a tension-packed 3-2 shootout victory, advancing to a semifinal showdown against the Olympic Athletes from Russia.
American dreams of a first gold medal since 1980 were shattered as Petr Koukal scored the only goal in a penalty shootout while Czech goaltender Pavel Francouz blanked five US sharpshooters, AFP reported.
“It was our dream before the tournament to go this far, but I really hope it’s not the end,” Francouz said. “We can go farther if we keep playing really good as a team.
“We haven’t had any easy games in the tournament. That has made us stronger.”
The sudden ending left the Americans stunned after battling through the game and a 10-minute scoreless overtime.
“It’s a huge disappointment because we were right there,” US captain Brian Gionta said.
In search of their first gold medal in 20 years, the Czechs advanced into a Friday matchup against the Russians, who routed Norway 6-1. The Russians, who have not taken Olympic hockey gold since 1992, dominated a Norwegian squad that lost 11 consecutive Olympic Games before Tuesday.
Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Gusev and Vyacheslav Voinov scored in the first period, when Norway was outshot 19-2, and the all-star squad from Russia’s two top clubs cruised from there. Czechs and Russians have not met so deep in the Olympic playoffs with a title at stake since the Czechs beat Russia 1-0 in the 1998 final. “We know we have a tough game in front of us,” Czech captain Martin Erat said. “We have to play our own style and focus on ourselves.”
In the shootout, Koukal faked and when US goaltender Ryan Zapolski moved, flipped the puck past him on the decisive shot.
“I’m so happy it was a goal,” Koukal said. “It’s a big moment for me. I know the Czech people are so happy.”