Czechia slips past Canada in overtime at U18 worlds

LANDSHUT, GERMANY Tomas Hamara scored his second goal of the game in overtime to complete a four-point night as Czechia came back to defeat Canada 6-5 at the world men’s under-18 hockey championship.

Hamara also scored the tying goal with 2:34 remaining in regulation and added two assists, as Czechia moved past Canada to finish the preliminary round in second place in Group A with five points (one regulation win, one overtime win and one regulation loss).

Canada finished third in the group with four points (one regulation win, one overtime loss and one regulation loss) and will face the second-place team in Group B in the quarterfinals.

The Canadians were badly outshot 52-24 in the game but held a 5-4 lead when Canada’s Kocha Delic scored with just under 11 minutes to go in regulation. But the Czechs kept the pressure on the Canadians, and it paid off when Hamara scored late in the game to send it to overtime. The OT winner was scored on a power play.

Jiri Kulich had two goals and an assist for Czechia, while Adam Bares and Jan Gaspar also scored. Jan Spunar allowed five goals on 24 shots.

Adam Fantilli and Lukas Dragicevic each had a goal and an assist for Canada. Nicholas Moldenhauer, who opened the scoring 1:55 into the game, and Grayden Siepmann also scored, while a busy Reid Dyck made 46 saves on 52 shots.

The quarterfinals will be played Thursday.

Canada, the defending champion, opened the 2022 tournament with an 8-3 loss to the United States before rebounding with an 8-3 win over host Germany.

The 2022 edition of the event was reduced from 10 to eight teams after Russia and Belarus were barred from participating due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Canada will face the second-place team in Group B in the quarterfinals