Canada vs Czech Republic. Will the hosts of the tournament take another step towards gold medals?
The first semi-final match of the Youth Ice Hockey World Championship will be held on August 19 in Edmonton, on the ice of the local Rogers Place arena. The hosts of the tournament, the Canadian team, will examine Czech peers.
Maple leaves still fully justify the status of the main favorites of the tournament, given to them by hockey experts long before the start of the championship. A misfire in last year's final only adds to the courage of the young Canadian stars, who are determined to take home championship gold. Fortunately, last year's offenders, the US team, has already left the current championship, sensationally losing to the Czech team in the quarterfinals with a score of 4-2.
Canadians have so far avoided such gaming incidents, having won five victories in five matches so far. Having taken first place in group A, the Canadians in the quarterfinals fell into the fourth team of group B - the Swiss team lacking stars from the sky. There was no special struggle, the Canadians were noticeably stronger than their opponent, eventually winning a landslide victory with a score of 6-3. Having scored six goals in this match, the Canadians further strengthened their leadership in the championship in terms of performance. Now the Canadian youth team has 33 abandoned goals, that is, on average, the team scores more than six goals per match.
Czech Republic
The Czech team is still the main sensation of the championship, unexpectedly knocking out the current champion, the US team, from the fight for gold medals. There were no special prerequisites for this. Czech hockey at all levels is going through hard times, having not entered the prizes at major international tournaments for a long time. The Czech youth team last got on the podium in 2005, taking bronze at the World Championships held in the USA.
The Czechs also started the current championship not in the best way, having already suffered three defeats in four matches at the group stage. And if the failures in the matches against the powerful teams of Canada and Finland were largely expected, then the 2-5 defeat from the Latvian team was an unpleasant surprise for the Czech fans. The only victory over the Slovaks 5-4 allowed the Czechs to get into the playoffs from fourth place, where they were waiting for American hockey players who had not lost a single match in the tournament at that time. Having conceded first, the Czechs did not fall apart, having managed to win a strong-willed victory with a score of 4-2.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Canada vs Czech Republic
CanadaMaple leaves still fully justify the status of the main favorites of the tournament, given to them by hockey experts long before the start of the championship. A misfire in last year's final only adds to the courage of the young Canadian stars, who are determined to take home championship gold. Fortunately, last year's offenders, the US team, has already left the current championship, sensationally losing to the Czech team in the quarterfinals with a score of 4-2.
Canadians have so far avoided such gaming incidents, having won five victories in five matches so far. Having taken first place in group A, the Canadians in the quarterfinals fell into the fourth team of group B - the Swiss team lacking stars from the sky. There was no special struggle, the Canadians were noticeably stronger than their opponent, eventually winning a landslide victory with a score of 6-3. Having scored six goals in this match, the Canadians further strengthened their leadership in the championship in terms of performance. Now the Canadian youth team has 33 abandoned goals, that is, on average, the team scores more than six goals per match.
Czech Republic
The Czech team is still the main sensation of the championship, unexpectedly knocking out the current champion, the US team, from the fight for gold medals. There were no special prerequisites for this. Czech hockey at all levels is going through hard times, having not entered the prizes at major international tournaments for a long time. The Czech youth team last got on the podium in 2005, taking bronze at the World Championships held in the USA.
The Czechs also started the current championship not in the best way, having already suffered three defeats in four matches at the group stage. And if the failures in the matches against the powerful teams of Canada and Finland were largely expected, then the 2-5 defeat from the Latvian team was an unpleasant surprise for the Czech fans. The only victory over the Slovaks 5-4 allowed the Czechs to get into the playoffs from fourth place, where they were waiting for American hockey players who had not lost a single match in the tournament at that time. Having conceded first, the Czechs did not fall apart, having managed to win a strong-willed victory with a score of 4-2.
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