Hosts Czech Republic defeated – battle of attrition ends with Swiss victory in penalty shootout – Sport

• At the World Cup in Prague, Switzerland won an equal duel with hosts the Czech Republic 2-1 after a penalty shootout.
• The two teams give each other absolutely nothing. Both goals in regular time came in the power play by Kevin Fiala and Matej Stransky.
• Thanks to points 7 and 8, Switzerland takes the lead in Group A overnight.
• After a day of rest on Tuesday, the next Nati opponent is Great Britain on Wednesday (live on SRF two from 8:10 p.m.).

The tension in the arena, which was packed with almost 17,500 spectators, was palpable as the players started their penalty attempts. Once, after Matej Stransky’s successful finish, the big circle in Prague raged again.

But because two Swiss players, Kevin Fiala and Philipp Kurashev, scored, the home fans didn’t celebrate the final moment. Instead, the Swiss supporters were able to celebrate two hard-fought points.

Fight by hook or by crook

The two teams had demanded everything from each other both in the 5-minute overtime and in regular time. With numerical equal numbers on the ice rink, neither Switzerland nor the Czech Republic were able to gain any decisive advantages. So it wasn’t at all surprising that both goals from the game came in the majority:

• 14th minute: Nico Hischier puts Kevin Fiala in the spotlight from behind the goal. The St. Gallen player, who had landed in Prague just hours earlier, noticed that the Czech goalie Lukas Dostal was not completely closing the near top corner. Fiala hits exactly this gap and puts Switzerland in the front.

• 36th minute: Shortly after the national team came close to making it 2-0 in the power play, they had to act outnumbered. Following a pass from David Spacek, HCD striker Stransky hammers the puck past Leonardo Genoni into the net to make it 1-1.

Both teams kept the intensity very high over the entire distance, but especially in the second section the Czechs stepped up the game at least one more gear. However, coach Patrick Fischer’s team didn’t let this get them down, on the contrary: the national team also held up well physically and didn’t avoid fights.

Hischier has to take it

One Swiss player in particular had to endure a lot in the duel with the World Cup host: Nico Hischier. The Devils captain was repeatedly attacked harshly by the Czechs. Hischier had to leave the ice injured twice, but in these cases it was more a case of bad luck than any overly harsh actions by the opponent.

After an unsuccessful solo, the 25-year-old was hit in the face by a Czech’s leg while falling and had to go to the dressing room for treatment.

Shortly before the end of the third period, Hischier returned – only to hurt himself again on the first face-off in overtime, this time in his knee, or so it seemed.

In first place on the rest day

Thanks to the successful penalty shootout, Switzerland remains unbeaten in Prague even after the third group game. With 8 points, the Nati are at the top of the table in Group A, at least until Tuesday evening. Then the Canadians could overtake Switzerland again with a mandatory win against Austria.