Kuva: Neea Mäkitalo
Team USA claimed another victory despite a clear step forward from team Czechia.
In today’s President’s Pool game, Czech and USA offered a very different spectacle compared to their meeting on Monday. The USA opened the scoring early, but Andrea Sammon equalized just a couple of minutes later and tied the game again later in the first period with a skillful backhand finish. The opening period was largely played in the Czech defensive zone, yet goaltender Kateřina Dvořáková kept her team in contention with several key saves.
In the second period, Czech struggled at times to start their plays cleanly from the defensive zone but managed to challenge USA’s pace far more effectively than in their previous encounter. Late in the period, Brooklyn Bomke fired a beautiful shot to the top corner, sending USA into break with a 3–2 lead.
Bomke continued where she left off in the third, completing her hat trick, while Šarlota Tomasco responded for Czech with a well-placed backhand goal followed by amazing celebrations. In the fourth period, a four-minute Czech penalty turned in the USA’s favor as Darcy Woods capitalized on the power play, setting the final score at 6–3 at 51:17.
Players of the game were Senika Velíšek for Czechia, recognized for her composed defensive play and strong openings under pressure, and Elisa Nasr for the USA, who also delivered an outstanding performance.
Czech’s progress was clearly visible, showing a stronger and more cohesive team effort than earlier in the week. The team will have another chance to build on that momentum tomorrow against Sweden, while USA’s next matchup comes on Friday, also against Sweden.
Statistics of the match here!
