Czechs take hockey bronze

The national hockey team failed to defend its World Championship title as the tournament wrapped up in Bratislava May 15, but 7-4 victory over Russia in the bronze-medal game was enough to send the event out on a high note.

Despite losing only one game out of nine and having the best overall record in the tournament, the Czechs finished in third place, after losing to Sweden in the semi-final. Finland dominated Sweden, 6-1, in the gold-medal match.

Still, the victory over Russia represented the first time in 42 years that the Czechs beat their rivals twice in the same tournament, following a 3-2 win in the second group phase.

"Matches with Russia are always special. We're glad that we could fight them off in both games," said forward Roman Červenka, who scored three goals in the bronze-medal game.

The strong appearance against Russia brought some personal satisfaction for Červenka. The most productive forward in Russia's Continental Hockey League (KHL) this season, he had scored only one goal in the championship before the May 15 game. His penalty in the middle of the semifinal game against Sweden helped the Swedes level the score, turn the game around and eventually beat the Czechs 5-2. Head coach Alois Hadamczik consequently pulled Červenka from the game and his appearance in the showdown for the bronze medal was also in question. But after getting the green light to play, Červenka opened the scoring against Russia just four minutes into the game. He brought the puck in front of the Russian goal, a pass deflected off a Russian defender and into the goal.

The Russians then took the offensive and eventually took a 3-2 lead in the first period. Červenka's second goal in the 32nd minute gave the Czechs a 4-3 lead, and his other goal in the 36th minute seemed to put the team over the top.

"I used to score goals throughout the season. So when I was falling short in the earlier games here, I felt strange. But after scoring an early goal against Russia, I believed more goals would come," Červenka said after the game.

In the championship playoffs, the Czech team featured a different star in all three games. Jaromír Jágr's hat trick in the quarterfinals against the United States was instrumental in the team's 4-0 win. In the semifinals, Patrik Eliáš's two goals powered the team, but did not help to avert a 5-2 loss.

This variety of leaders on the ice clearly demonstrated the team's strength, captain Tomáš Rolinek said.

"Perhaps apart from the game against Sweden, we worked quite well as a team," Rolinek said.

The Czechs celebrated eight wins in the tournament, including a 2-1 win over Finland, which went on to win the gold. Experts said the showing this year demonstrates that the Czechs' success in recent tournaments - including last year's World Championship - has been no accident.

"In fact," said former Czech international player Martin Hosták, "the Czech team has become an opponent to be feared for the first time in a long time."

Jágr said the third-place finish is unlikely to be particularly memorable for the Czechs. Still, he agreed his team had played well.

"After a while, no one will remember that we finished third in this tournament. Everyone only remembers the winners," Jágr said. "Still, apart from the semifinal game against Sweden, we played a great tournament. Some people say they prefer spectacular play rather than winning, ... some will insist that the overall result is the only important thing. I think we got a good mix. We cannot win all the time."

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com