“The Czech Republic taught us a lesson”

Kurt Platter from Stockholm

The Italian national ice hockey team had nothing to report against the Czech Republic. The “Azzurri” went down 0-6 in Stockholm in their fifth World Cup game. For the third time, Manuel De Toni and Co. failed to score in these title fights, having already lost 0-3 to Germany and 0-5 to Latvia.

“We have to shoot more often or at least try to get the puck in front of the opponent’s goal,” summed up national coach Rick Cornacchia after the game. In the tenth World Cup game against the twelve-time world champion it was the same defeat. “We played very well at times, but we always had a few empty runs. “We can’t afford such failures against the top teams,” said Czech Republic captain Tomas Plekanec. His coach Alois Hadamczik added: “After the narrow win against Latvia, my players were pretty tired. Luckily they didn't have to push the limits and were able to let off steam. We created a lot of chances and finally implemented what I imagined in the majority.”

Special teams crucial The special teams in particular showed that there are worlds apart between the two nations. While the Czech Republic scored in three of the six powerplay situations, the Italians' power play was terrible. They barely shot at the goal guarded by Jakub Stepanek, who celebrated his first shutout, and even conceded one goal. Nick Plastino carelessly lost the puck in the attacking third and Petr Tenkrat initiated a quick counter-attack that became a 3-on-1 situation (!), which Petr Caslava coolly finished to make it 3-0.

Goalkeeper Thomas Tragust, who was between the posts for the first time from the start, was let down by those in front of him and offered a flawless performance. It was definitely not his fault that the “Blue Team” had to suffer the biggest defeat: the Vinschger defused a total of 35 shots.

Petr Nedved gave the Czech Republic an early lead with a skating goal, which was corrected by the referees after the video study. The 40-year-old was the top scorer in the Czech Extraliga this season and was named best player of the season. Halfway through the one-sided game, the Czechs had made the preliminary decision with three goals within five minutes, with Ales Hemsky's own goal by Nick Plastino making it 4-0.

“Not only are we lacking the necessary luck at the moment, but we have almost no chance against such opponents,” Cornacchia seemed depressed. “We have major deficits, especially physically. The Czechs play hard and move the puck quickly. “They taught us a lesson,” admitted the national coach. The final point was Martin Erat, who had only arrived in Stockholm a few hours earlier after the play-off exit with the Nashville Predators in the NHL.

Successful World Cup debut for Roland Hofer After the injury-related absences of Christian Borgatello (groin) and Armin Helfer (broken collarbone), Alexander Egger had to play in defense again. Roland Hofer celebrated his World Cup debut. The 21-year-old defender took Stefano Marchetti's place halfway through the game and was impressive. “Roland did an excellent job. He played calmly and solidly. “I’m extremely satisfied with his performance,” Cornacchia only had words of praise for the Wipptaler. He was all smiles: “It was a great experience, even though we had a difficult time. I'm happy with my performance, even though I made a mistake two or three times. It was impressive how fast the Czechs played and how accurate their passes were.”

In the attack, Cornacchia changed the lines again and ordered Luca Felicetti into the third block alongside Marco Insam and Pat Iannone (Cornacchia: “I didn't have a center in this line”). Diego Iori was in the fourth line alongside Anton Bernard and Manuel De Toni, while Derek Edwardson made just three changes and sat on the bench for most of the game.

Tonight against Sweden Today at 20.15:3 p.m. the “Azzurri” will face hosts Sweden, who lost 7-14 to record world champions Russia last night. Nevertheless, many experts consider the Swedes to be a hot contender for the World Cup title. Coach Per Marts' team includes XNUMX NHL players, including stars Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Alfredsson, Johan Franzen, Loui Eriksson, Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson. Staffan Kronwall and Niklas Persson earn their money in the KHL, the rest play in their home country.

The super talents Jakob Silfverberg, Calle Järnkrok and Johan Larsson won the championship title with Gävle. For Jonathan Ericsson and Joel Lundqvist, the World Cup has already ended due to injuries.

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“The Czech Republic taught us a lesson”

The reactions after Italy's 0-6 defeat against the twelve-time world champions.

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