It was set to become one of the biggest upsets of the Olympics so far. In the end, Canada won 4–3, but only after a lot of drama.
With just three minutes left in the game, Canada trailed 2–3 after the Czech Republic came back from a 1–2 deficit, and Ondrej Palat gave them the lead in the third period.
However, when things looked bleakest, Nick Suzuki, a Montreal Canadiens regular, scored the equalizer that sent the game into overtime.
A neutral position
Once in overtime, the Czech Republic had a clear chance before Mitch Marner of the Vegas Golden Knights decided it for Canada just over a minute in.
"Teams only get better as you go into the tournament, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. They made it very difficult for us to create any chances," Marner told the Games' official website.
About that decisive goal:
"Any goal in extra time feels good, but obviously it's a special feeling to do it at the Olympics. It was an all-or-nothing game - whether we were going to go home or not."
On to the semi-finals
The heavy favorite to advance is now through to the semifinals; the next opponent has not yet been decided and will be known after, among other things, the meeting between Tre Kronor and the USA. It could therefore be a semifinal between Canada and Tre Kronor. Whether it will, in turn, be a semifinal for the team's big star, Sidney Crosby, is, however, highly unclear.
The Pittsburgh player was forced off the ice just five minutes into the second period after a sequence of hits by Ratko Gudas and Martin Necas. After initially sitting on the bench, Crosby left and was seen walking out to the locker room.
