IIHF World Championship roundup: Czechs tested by Norway as USA grab first win
Group A
Norway 3 Czech Republic 6
The Czech Republic followed up their opening 1-0 win over Finland after a shootout on Friday by beating Norway 6-3 in a Group A clash in Prague. Two goals were scored by captain Roman Cervenka, who played his 200th national team game, joining David Vyborny (219) and Petr Caslava (201) as the only other player to reach the milestone.
Cervenka opened the scoring in the seventh minute in front of the sell-out crowd, but Norway tied the game after 31 seconds and then took a 3-1 lead. By the break, Cervenka reduced the deficit again.
Ondrej Beranek equalised in the second period, Matej Stransky scored the go-ahead goal in the 46th minute. Libor Hajek and Ondrej Palat added goals at the end.
Austria 1 Denmark 5
Denmark defeated Austria 5-1 in their first game at the World Championship in Prague. The Danes took a two-goal lead in the opening 17 minutes but the Austrians reduced the lead before the first break. Forward Joachim Blichfeld scored three points for two goals and an assist.
Great Britain 2 Canada 4
Canada opened their World Championship campaign in Prague with a 4-2 victory over Great Britain. Chicago forward Connor Bedard, last year's number-one NHL draft pick, scored two goals at a packed O2 Arena to secure the win for the defending champions.
Group B
USA 6 Germany 1
The United States defeated Germany 6-1 at the World Championship in Ostrava and scored their first points in their second game of the tournament. Germany, on the other hand, could not build on their opening win. Michael Kesselring and Johnny Gaudreau contributed a goal and an assist for the Americans.
The Americans took the lead in the 13th minute when Brady Tkachuk crossed Kesselring's shot. Mathias Niederberger then made two good saves for the Germans but conceded a second in the 18th minute.
In the second period, Colin Ugbekile was sent off for the Germans and the Americans quickly took advantage of the power play. Gaudreau scored with a quick finish. The Germans did manage to score after a scramble in front of the net. Three seconds before the end of the second period, however, defenseman Luke Hughes reinstated the USA's lead.
The Americans then wrapped up the game with two more goals in the third period.
Poland 4 Latvia 5 (OT)
Latvia defeated Poland 5-4 in overtime in their first game at the World Championship in Ostrava. The defending bronze medalists beat the outsiders thanks to captain Kaspars Daugavins’ second goal of the game after 63 minutes of play. Krzysztof Macias scored twice for Poland, who have not been in the tournament for 22 years.
France 1 Kazakhstan 3
Kazakhstan entered the World Championship in Ostrava with a 3-1 win over France. Forward Kirill Savitsky contributed a goal and an assist, while goalkeeper Andrei Shutov made 28 saves. The Kazakhs scored on a power play and shorthanded.
