CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech ice hockey look to bronze medal prospects after defeat at the hands of Sweden at the Winter Olympics.

Record ID: 331794

  • Title: CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech ice hockey look to bronze medal prospects after defeat at the hands of Sweden at the Winter Olympics.
  • Date: 23rd February 2006
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF FANS WATCHING THE MATCH AT WENCESLAS SQUARE VARIOUS OF FANS CELEBRATING CZECH GOAL FANS WATCHING THE MATCH VARIOUS OF FANS AFTER LAST SWEDISH GOAL (SOUNDBITE) (CZECH) BOY SAYS: "Tomorrow we will loose two - zero. You are kidding, we will win for sure." (SOUNDBITE) (CZECH) GIRLS SAYING: "It was just a bad luck, but Czechs are anyway the best." (SOUNDBITE) (CZECH) TWO GIRLS SAYING: "It was horrible. But tomorrow we win. Tomorrow we have to win. Tomorrow we will get the bronze medal." (SOUNDBITE) (CZECH) BOY WITH FLAG SAYING: "It was, bad, but tomorrow we have to win. We have to!" FANS WITH CZECH FLAGS AT WENCESLAS SQUARE
  • Embargoed: 10th March 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Czech Republic
  • Country: Czech Republic
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA819EOSPKHHW481HD5S6OC9X0Z
  • Story Text: STORY: Prague was in party mood as fans gathered in the centre of the city
    to follow the Winter Olympics hokcey semfinal on Friday (February 24).
    Sweden used a four-goal outburst in the second period to trounce the
    Czech Republic 7-3 at the men's Olympic ice hockey tournament and advance to
    the gold medal game.
    Seven different Swedes scored in a balanced attack that put the team
    back in the Olympic final for the first time since they won gold in
    Lillehammer in 1994.
    The win also goes a long way to erasing the disappointment of their
    quarter-final exit in Salt Lake City four years ago when goalie Tommy Salo
    misplayed a long shot against Belarus to knock them out of the tournament.

    Sweden will play the winner of the second semi-final between Russia and
    Finland later on Friday.
    Before the game Swedish players talked about the importance of getting
    a quick start. They did just that scoring 34 seconds into the game on a pretty
    three-way passing play between Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg and Frederik Modin.

    Modin's slapshot, the first shot of the game, beat a screened Milan
    Hnilicka between the legs.
    The Czechs got that one back with a bit of luck when Filip Kuba's low
    wrist shot hit the post, bounced off the back of Swedish goalie Henrik
    Lundqvist's leg and trickled over the goal line at 3:11.
    Both goalies looked shaky in the high pressure single knockout
    semi-final.
    Per Johan Axelsson restored Sweden's advantage when he tipped Niklas
    Lidstrom's long slapshot into the net at 13:37.
    But the floodgates opened in the second period as Henrik Sedin,
    Christian Backman and Jorgen Jonsson all scored in the first eight minutes to
    put the game out of reach and chase goalie Milan Hnilicka from the net.
    The change to goalie Tomas Vokoun appeared to wake the Czechs up, at
    least for a few minutes.
    Ales Hemsky and Vaclav Prospal notched goals midway through the period
    to give the Czechs a glimmer of hope until Daniel Alfredsson's fifth of the
    tournament made it 6-3. Tomas Holmstrom added a final goal in the third
    period.
    Czech fans now hope that they win the bronze medal in their third place
    playoff on Saturday (February 25) against Russia. "It was horrible But
    tomorrow we win, Tomorrow we have to win. Tomorrow we will get the bronze
    medal. It was, bad, but tomorrow we have to win. We have to!" fans said.
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