3 Takeaways From Czechia vs. Norway

Czechia and Norway faced off on the second day of the 2024 World Junior Championship. The final score might not reflect how the game unfolded, but Czechia and Norway battled it out in a close game at one point. Norway trailed Czechia 2-1 in the second period before Czechia’s top players began scoring at a pace that Norway couldn’t keep up with. Jiri Kulich and Eduard Sale each recorded a hat trick in Czechia’s dominant showing. Norway goaltender Markus Rohnebaek Stensrud was pelted the entire time, but he managed to keep things close until the halfway point of the game.

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Norway’s lone scorer, Johannes Lokkeberg, scored on a great tic-tac-toe play, which was the best bit of offence that the team produced all game. They kept getting caught passing away from each other, which gave their opponents multiple high-danger scoring chances. While the first half of the game was closer, the game belonged to Czechia from the 12-minute mark in the second period onward. This was the definitive turning point that led to Norway’s luck running out.

Norway’s Luck Ran Out

Norway played their opening game on Tuesday, Dec. 26, against Team USA, a game which they only faced four goals against. It was a great defensive effort on their part, but the back-to-back against two strong teams seemed to take a toll on them. Czechia unloaded on Norway for an eight-goal blowout, and any good feeling or confidence they had heading into this game could be considered gone.

Everything that they had going in their favour when they played Team USA was not present against the Czechs. The underdogs would be at bay as Czechia began to dominate. Two goals in less than a minute and a third at the end of the second period by Czechia drove down the fight that Norway had. They allowed themselves to get beat, and they had seemingly given up.

After the first period, Norway led the game in shots with 13 to their opponents 11. But they would take only eight shots over the next two periods, as Czechia severely limited the Norwegians’ puck possession. Czech forwards Kulich and Sale were at the front of this blowout; both players were being a nightmare for their opponent as the score kept going up.

Kulich & Sale Both Recorded Hat Tricks in Dominant 8-1 Win Over Norway

Kulich was the centrepiece in this dominant game by the Czechs. In the first period, he had six shot attempts…