Canada-Czechia becoming a ‘new rivalry’ at the world juniors

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For 12 months, Canada’s juniors have lived with the heartache of a twice-deflected shot by Czechia’s Jakub Stancl with 11.7 seconds remaining in regulation time that knocked them out of last year’s tournament in the quarter-final.

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Now comes their chance to put that memory from the world juniors in Sweden to rest.

“It was obviously a disappointing finish to them last year,” said Carson Rehkopf, one of four returnees who were on that team. “So I think they’re we’re ready to go.”

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A year earlier in Halifax, Dylan Guenther scored in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 win over Czechia in the gold-medal game.

“It’s almost a new rivalry,” Berkly Catton said. “It was obviously tough watching your country lose in the quarter-finals. The guys in the room that were there last year are using that as fuel, and the guys who watched it, same.”

A 4-2 loss to Sweden on Tuesday left Czechia second in the Group B standings with a 3-1 record, while Canada finished 2-0-1-1 in Group A.

The Czechs showed their offensive flash with the tournament’s most lopsided victory, a 14-2 stomping of Kazakhstan.

Czechia goalie Michael Hrabal, a 6-foot-6 prospect whose NHL rights are owned by Utah, was outstanding in a pre-tournament game against Canada.

Canada won the game 3-2, but Hrabal made 36 saves, half of which came in the third period.

“You have to try to get in his eyes, if you can,” Easton Cowan said when asked the secret to beating Hrabal. “We just have to keep throwing pucks on the net. Eventually they’re gonna fall. I mean, we’ve had like 40 shots every game, so eventually they’re going to fall.”

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Said Catton: “With a guy like that, you have to get him moving. If he sees a puck, he’s probably going to save it. So get him moving. If you have a great way to get him moving, maybe cross-ice, passes, stuff like that.

“But, ultimately, it’s just gonna be about bearing down. When you have a chance, you’ve got to put it home.”

A sellout crowd didn’t help Canada beat the U.S., but Rehkopf says Canada has to positively feed off the fans Thursday.

“We have a sold-out barn and all Canadian fans,” he said. “It’s a big advantage for us and it’s intimidating for another team to come in here. We’ve just got to fuel ourselves with that energy.”

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