Haukeland heroics not enough for Norway

Saturday served up some blockbuster action, and Prague saved the best for last with a thunderous battle between Czechia and Norway. The host nation had to pile the pressure on Henrik Haukeland in the Norwegian net to turnaround a 1-3 deficit and secure a 6-3 verdict. That scoreline was enhanced by two late goals past a tiring defence.

Perhaps inspired by some brave underdog performances earlier in the day, the Norwegians shrugged off a run of eight consecutive losses against the Czechs to produce a stirring first-period performance that silenced the home crowd. But it wasn’t sustainable: the second period brought just one shot for Norway and the third was scarcely any more adventurous.

At first, it seemed that the Czechs were destined to build on Friday’s opening night win over Finland. The home team rode a noisy wave of enthusiasm from another sell-out crowd, dominating the opening stages and getting ahead after six minutes when wily captain Roman Cervenka spun away from Christian Kaasastul for the early breakthrough.

But the home lead lasted just 31 seconds. A Norwegian attack dominated by its old stagers Patrick Thoresen and Mats Zuccarello tied the game thanks to 18-year-old defender Stian Solberg. His senior partners created the play, but the youngster further burnished a fast-growing reputation when he calmly rifled home his first World Championship goal.

Then came a short-handed goal for another teen, Noah Steen. Mathias Tretternes’ poke check in centre ice forced a turnover and his saucer pass sent 19-year-old Steen through on goal to slide the puck underneath Petr Mrazek. That silenced the vocal home crowd, and there was more Czech soul-searching to come. Solberg walked in from the point, committing the defence to anticipate a shot then dishing off a no-looker to set up Eirik Salsten for a blistering finish from a tight angle.

At the time, Norway had three goals on four shots – a stark contrast from a Czech performance that saw Lukas Dostal deny Finland through 65 minutes and a shoot-out 24 hours earlier. It’s also a big turnaround for the Norwegians: nine goals in seven games last year, five in four periods this time.

Cervenka tried to lead from the front, snaffling his second of the night after Lukas Sedlak won possession behind the net. That eased some of the tension in the crowd, but not on the ice. Norway finished the first on the power play, while frequent scuffles broke out before and after the hooter. That gave a five-on-three power…