Switzerland defeats Czech Republic: Canada could face Czech Republic again in quarterfinals

Mathis Therrien
Switzerland defeats Czech Republic: Canada could face Czech Republic again in quarterfinals
Credit: Capture d'écran Twitter

The men's hockey tournament continues at the Milan Olympics, with the group stage coming to an end today, when each team will have played its three group matches.

Canada will play its final match against France at 10:40 a.m.

As for the other games, we had our first result of the day this morning, when the two teams Canada defeated, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, faced off for second place in the group.

As expected, it was a very close and exciting game, and that's exactly what we got.

In the end, Switzerland, without Kevin Fiala for the rest of the tournament, came out on top with a 4-3 overtime win.

It was the first game of the tournament to go into overtime, and it was one of the most exciting games so far.

With this victory, Switzerland finishes second in Group A behind Canada, ensuring that it will be ranked either 5th or 6th for the first round of the playoffs.

This is a good position, as it guarantees a match against either France or Italy, which in itself is likely to be a ticket to the quarterfinals for Switzerland.

As for the Czech Republic, this defeat officially ranks them 8th for the knockout stage, which means that if they beat the 9th-ranked team (3rd in Group C), they will most likely face Canada.

Nothing is completely decided yet, as the United States could still finish first if they have a better differential than Canada, but let's say that's practically impossible, especially considering that Canada is facing France next.

This means that there is a strong possibility that Canada will face the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, which would be a great challenge.

Even though Canada won 5-0 earlier in the tournament, this will be a tricky game that will have to be managed very well to avoid a disaster.

In addition, Canada's recent history against the Czech Republic is quite poor due to the World Junior Championship, where the Czech Republic has been the Canadian team's nemesis for the past three editions.

In short, Canada is not relying on the same kind of team as at the WJC, which is reassuring, but Jon Cooper's squad will still have to be very careful.


In Brief

– Indeed.

— Must read.

– Worth noting.

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