IIHF – Czechia earns semifinal berth

Czechia punched their ticket to the semifinal as the team defeated Germany 1-0 at the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Utica, New York on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams came out flying in the first period and some tremendous saves made by both goaltenders in this game.  Germany’s defensive unit had to find ways to contain Czechia’s dynamic offensive lines.

Germany had an opportunity 6:23 into the game as Czechia’s Andrea Trnkova was assessed a penalty for an illegal hit.  Three of their five shots in the period came on a solid power play.  Their best chance was when Daria Gleissner passed the puck to Bernadette Karpf who tried to bang it into the net.  However, goaltender Klara Peslarova made the save.  

Forward Emily Nix has an other opportunity on the power play but could not beat Peslarova.

Czechia’s top line was pressing for the lead but German goaltender Sandra Abstreiter picked up from where she left off in the preliminary round. With 11:07 gone by in the period, Tereza Vanisova sped into the German zone and tried to blast it through the net, but Albstreiter made a huge save.  

At the halfway mark of the period, Trnkova made a shot on point with a great screen, but Abstreiter backstopped the puck from going into the net. With 8:32 remaining in the period forward Tereza Plosova had some nifty moves and glided the puck through the legs of a German defender but Abstreiter was focused and made another key save.  

Adela Sapovalivova came close to putting Czechia in the lead with 6:58 remaining in the period.  The forward ripped the shot to the net and Albstreiter made a chest save to keep it a scoreless game.

The Germans were effective in keeping Czechia’s offense away from the middle of the ice in the first period.

It was more of the same in the second period. Czechia tried to pull out Peslarova in favour of an extra attacker 2:44 into the frame, but the tactic did not work.  

Czechia had a golden opportunity to take the lead as they went on the power play.  However, Germany’s special teams unit effectively killed it and did not allow Czechia a single shot on net.  Germany continued to show their confidence on both the offensive and defensive blue lines.

With 11:30 remaining in the period Germany had two attempts to get the first goal of the game, but Peslarova dug deep to make the saves.

On the other end, Trnkova blasted a one-timer but the hard work of the German defensive unit helped Abstreiter to stop the puck from going into the…