Pannek puts USA past battling Czechia

A huge effort from Czechia pushed Team USA to the limit in Saturday’s first semi-final in Ceske Budejovice. But the Americans survived the scare, cancelling out Tereza Plosova’s opening goal with efforts from Laila Edwards and Kelly Pannek to break home hearts at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

“It hurts for the girls,” said Czechia’s head coach Carla MacLeod. “We played an incredible game. We didn’t back down, we were highly physical in our own zone, and we kept ourselves in the contest. 

“It’s a heartbreaker that way but it’s another step in our journey of trying to get to the level that we know we want to be at. Today we showed ourselves that we can get there.”

But if the final outcome was expected, the game was anything but routine. Czechia fought like Lionesses, hassling and harrying the Americans at every turn. A huge defensive effort, with total buy-in from every player, was augmented by courage on the counterattack to pose a huge test for the USA. Having previously lost 1-7 and 1-9 in World Championship semi-finals, here the Czechs played with an empty net in search of a tying goal.

And USA head coach John Wroblewski was impressed by what he saw from both teams. “I thought it was just an amazing showing by the Czech players,” he said. “Every loose puck meant the world to them, every blocked shot meant everything to them. I’ve just got so much respect for the ways the Czechs played and, with that, I’ve got so much respect for the way that our team got the victory. That was a really tough game to play.”

Another capacity crowd in Arena Ceske Budejovice greeted the teams with a cauldron of noise at the start of Czechia’s semi-final against the USA. They travelled from right across the nation – from Opava on the Polish border to Pardubice in the heart of the country. All eyes were on South Bohemia.

 

If it was mission of hope more than expectation against an American team that has never lost a Women’s World Championship semi-final, it would be hard to find a Czech fan who didn’t believe in a modern-day miracle on ice. 

The Americans, of course, have been here before. High-stakes games are in the DNA of a team that expects the highest of standards. Yet, with the crowd going crazy for every blocked shot and greeting each clearance with the enthusiasm of a goal, there were signs that the USA was unsettled in the first period.

Early on, the first significant attacking foray…