Czechia and Switzerland will battle for gold at the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship after taking home victories during semifinal action on Saturday.
Czechia has a chance to win gold for the first time since 2010. Switzerland will get its third crack at winning gold after losing in 2013 and 2018.
The gold medal game will commence at 2:20 PM ET on Sunday in Prague, Czechia. Sweden and Canada will battle it out in the bronze medal game at 9:00 AM ET.
The crowd in Prague was as loud as we’ve heard it all tournament long, with the fans hoping to see an upset of sorts between Czechia and Sweden. The Swedes entered the game with a perfect 8-0 record in regulation this year, so hopes were high. Instead, the Czechs took control in the second period and never looked back, winning the game 7-3.
In the later game, Switzerland scored two power-play goals in the first period to help set the tone. Canada took a while to get on the board, and a late goal from John Tavares eventually forced extra time in one of the most exciting games of the tournament. But in the end, Switzerland won the game 3-2 in the shootout, with former NHLer Sven Andrighetto scoring the game-winner.
Here’s a look at the top players for all four teams today:
Canada
#24 Jamie Oleksiak, D (Seattle Kraken): I’ve had some concerns about Oleksiak, who I feel took too many dumb penalties and made some bad miscues with the puck. Today was significantly better, especially in how he took space away in front of the net to make the 2-1 goal happen.
#91 John Tavares, C (Toronto Maple Leafs): Tavares had three shots in the first 40 minutes, but the best opportunity came in the opening minute of the third period when he nearly jammed in a shot at the side of the net. But with just over two minutes to go, the Maple Leafs captain – who scored the overtime winner against Austria earlier in the tournament – scored his second of the tournament on a five-hole shot that beat Ambuhl, forcing overtime.
#98 Connor Bedard, RW (Chicago Blackhawks): Bedard was Canada’s 13th forward for a second consecutive game, but he didn’t waste his opportunities. Coach Andre Tourigny leaned on him heavily in the latter stages of the game, with his pass to Tavares resulting in the game-tying goal. He was Canada’s most creative player with the puck – so you have to wonder why they just wouldn’t play him more over the past four games.
Switzerland
#21 Kevin Fiala, RW (Los Angeles Kings): Fiala scored the opening goal of the game to give Switzerland some much-needed momentum. He then set up Roman Josi at the point to help make the second goal happen, giving Switzerland its second goal in two minutes. Fiala just loves playing in open space, doesn’t he?
#90 Roman Josi, D (Nashville Predators): Nobody controls a power-play like Josi, whose shot from the point went off Nino Niederreiter to make it 2-0 in the first period. He’s so calm, rarely cracking under pressure from the Canadian penalty-killers. Josi just holds the puck as long as he needs to and often makes the right decision with the puck.
#63 Leonardo Genoni, G: Genoni was the difference maker in the first 40, highlighted by a pair of big breakaway saves to keep his team in it. The first goal against him was a bit unfortunate as there wasn’t much he could have done after the bounce, but he stayed strong for the rest of the game as Canada started to up the pressure.
Czechia
#88 Martin Necas, RW (Carolina Hurricanes): After registering two assists in his first three games, Necas, a pending RFA, exploded for four points in one of the best single-game efforts of anyone at this tournament this year. David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha have been good for Czechia, but Necas has played at a whole other level, finding ways to set guys up and shoot in open space. He’s been fantastic.
#64 David Kampf, C (Toronto Maple Leafs): Kampf has shown he can play with just about anyone and today’s two-point effort helped change the tone. He’s not much of a point-producer in the NHL but he’s been seeing the ice so well and getting the puck in a spot to make something happen. His faceoff win on the 4-2 goal helped suck any energy the Swedes could have possibly had.
#81 Dominik Kubalik, LW (Ottawa Senators): Kubalik isn’t the two-way player some people probably wish he’d become, but he’s a goal-scorer. And today, with two goals and an assist, he did exactly that. He has a tendency to score big goals for the Czechs and his play in the second period alone was one of the biggest reasons for the result being the way it was.
#73 Ondrej Kase, RW: I hope Kase gets another shot at the NHL because he does a bit of everything with the puck. His hard work led to scoring the 3-2 goal that saw Sweden trail for the first time in the entire tournament. Kase also stole the puck to send Jakob Sedlak on a breakaway in the third period to give them a three-goal lead. He also had a few nice hits and battled hard defensively for a solid, complete, effort.
#23 Lukas Sedlak, C: It’s going to be difficult for Sedlak to top what he did today. He scored two identical breakaway goals in the third period to put the dagger in Sweden’s heart. Seriously, the same five-hole move both times between the legs of Samuel Ersson. What a game, what a period, what a night for No. 23.
Sweden
#14 Joel Eriksson Ek, C (Minnesota Wild): Outside of giving the puck away that led to the 6-3 goal, JEEK was great again. He scored the 5-3 goal and assisted the 2-1 go-ahead goal to give the Swedes a chance. He has seven goals at the World Championship as he’s been one of the team’s best forwards from the get-go. Now, his focus will shift to winning the bronze.
#77 Victor Hedman, D (Tampa Bay Lightning): Hedman was trying to do it all himself, leading the Swedes with seven shots. He didn’t register a point, but it felt like Stanley Cup final-level Hedman with how involved he was at both ends.
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