Czechs eliminate U.S. in shootout

GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Instead of waiting for his turn for this Olympic shootout, T.J. Oshie was sitting at home along with the rest of the NHL.

Four years after his shootout heroics in Sochi, Oshie could only watch helplessly halfway around the world as Chris Bourque, Ryan Donato, Marc Arcobello, Troy Terry and Bobby Butler got their chances against the Czech Republic with a berth in the semifinals on the line. And it was Ryan Zapolski in net instead of Jonathan Quick, who was back in North America on the bench for the Los Angeles Kings’ 60th game in an NHL regular season that rolled on, right through the Olympics.

Little-known Czech Republic goaltender Pavel Francouz stopped all five Americans in the shootout and Petr Koukal scored as the United States was eliminated with a 3-2 loss Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

Francouz did his best impression of legendary countryman Dominik Hasek, though Donato also had him beat and lost the puck. Gone by a matter of inches was a chance to knot the shootout at 1-all, and now the Americans will head home while the Czechs get a semifinal game against either Norway or the powerhouse Russians.

“It always comes down to the smallest plays, and I think at the end of the day you’ve got to be able to capitalize on those plays to win a game,” said Donato, who scored his fifth goal of the tournament in regulation.

AFP/Getty Images The Czech Republic’s Petr Koukal scores a goal in the men's quarterfinal match against the U.S. at the Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung on Wednesday.