🇨🇿 Czechia 3-0 Canada 🇨🇦
World Championship Gold Medal Game
Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna 🇦🇹
Sunday, 15 May 2005

The Czech Republic has ended Canada’s two-year streak as Gold medalists with a thoroughly convincing 3-0 win. Tomáš Vokoun recorded the shutout for the victors. Three different players scored for the Czechs, who were clearly the better team at the Stadthalle in Vienna on 15 May 2005.

It was the first Czech Gold at the IIHF World Championship since 2001, when they beat Finland. Canada, meanwhile, missed an opportunity to three-peat and win a record-setting 24th Gold medal all-time.

Both teams started slowly and cautiously, not wanting to make that first mistake which would surely create the first momentum swing, and the first few minutes were punctuated by numerous whistles which prevented any flow of play to develop.

Jaromír Jágr changed all that at 4:13 when he skated down the right wing and stopped just before the goal line looking for the man in front. The pass failed because the man in front, Martin Ručinský, was hauled down, but in the scrum that followed, Václav Prospal banged in the loose puck. It was a great start for the Czechs and a sloppy one for Canada.

The goal opened the game and both teams exchanged end-to-end rushes and good scoring chances, and referee Thomas Andersson did a masterful job keeping his whistle in his pocket and letting the players decide the outcome.

One call he couldn’t avoid was a too many men penalty to the Czechs, and on the power play Canada had several good chances as they gained their confidence. Shortly afterwards, though, the Czechs rebounded and Prospal and Aleš Hemský had great chances, but the former shot wide and the latter was stopped on a great toe save by Martin Brodeur.

Late in the period, the Czechs got a power play when Ed Jovanovski pinched in deep in the Czech zone and had to haul his man down after the Czechs counter-attacked quickly. Canada killed the two minutes without event.

However, with the teams playing four-on-four in the final minute, Jan Hlaváč burst in on goal and Brodeur made the save of the period with a great glove grab to keep the score 1-0 after 20 minutes. It was, all things considered, a fortunate situation for Canada, playing before a pro-Czech crowd, not playing its best, and down only 1-0. The Czechs, too, had to be pleased by their skating, which created numerous scoring chances.

Canada began the second strongly as both Joe Thornton and Rick Nash had good shots in close, but Vokoun was there to make the saves. He stopped another great chance when Heatley roared down the right side and passed to Ryan Smyth charging into the slot, but the goalie blocked the deflection smartly.

Slowly but surely, the Canadians found their skates. They started winning faceoffs, moving the puck well, and maintaining puck possession in the Czech end. This led to several good chances, a whiff by Heatley point blank, a slapshot by Patrick Marleau that was kicked out by Vokoun, and a shot from in close by Shane Doan.

Brodeur made an important save after Canada was down a man because of a Kirk Maltby roughing penalty. Alone in the slot, Radek Dvořák took a pass and wired a snap shot that the goalie kicked out like lightning.

The second period ended in a wild flurry in the Czech end, and although Canada didn’t score, it forced a Marek Židlický cross-checking penalty that set up a power play for almost two full minutes to start the final period of regulation.

As both teams headed for the dressing room, they had to be content. Canada played an excellent second and trailed only 1-0; the Czechs held the fort and were one goal up with 20 minutes to play.

The Czechs started the third by killing off the penalty and then scoring a second time. Jagr had the puck on the right boards at the Canadian blueline and made a long pass across ice to Martin Ručinský, who stepped inside the line and ripped a slapshot under Brodeur’s glove at 3:12 to give the Czechs a valuable 2-0 cushion.

Canada started to come undone. Hannan took one penalty, which Canada killed off, but Židlický had a great chance in close that Brodeur made a great save on, and on that same sequence Ryan Smyth took a penalty to put Canada further in the hole.

Midway through the period, Canada had an excellent opportunity when Josef Vašíček took a penalty, but just eleven seconds later Thornton took a high-sticking penalty to nullify the man advantage. Soon after, Nash took a coincidental minor, and with Canada in need of a goal, its two best players sat in the penalty box.

The Czechs played remarkable, airtight defence the rest of the way, and with Canada on a late power play, coach Marc Habscheid pulled Brodeur for the extra attacker. During a crazy scrum in front of Vokoun, Vašíček shot the puck the length of the ice into the empty net to finish the scoring with under a minute left. A scrum erupted in front of the Czech net in the dying stages, but the penalties would change nothing.

At the final buzzer, the Czechs poured off the ice in celebration. The Canadians slumped, defeated, at their bench. It was the first time Canada has been shut out at the IIHF World Championship since losing 9-0 to Sweden in 1987.

For the Czechs, it was an outstanding, poised exhibition of hockey that clearly marked them as the best in the world at the 2005 tournament.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
04:13 – 🇨🇿 GOAL – Prospal (Ručinský, Jágr)
08:10 – 🇨🇿 PEN – team, too many players
16:02 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Jovanovski, hooking
18:33 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Varaďa, charging
18:33 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Morrow, charging

2nd Period
29:50 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Maltby, roughing
32:15 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Ručinský, hooking
39:38 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Židlický, cross checking

3rd Period
43:12 – 🇨🇿 GOAL – Ručinský (Jágr, Čajánek)
44:50 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Hannan, cross checking
48:14 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Smyth, hooking
51:26 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Vašíček, holding
51:37 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Thornton, high sticking
53:24 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Fischer, roughing
53:24 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Nash, cross checking
57:23 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Hejda, high sticking
59:07 – 🇨🇿 EN GOAL – Vašíček
59:48 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Fischer, roughing
59:48 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Smyth, roughing
59:48 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Vokoun, roughing
59:48 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Phillips, roughing
59:48 – 🇨🇿 PEN – Čajánek, roughing
59:48 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Heatley, roughing minor + 10 min. misconduct

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇨🇿 Vokoun (29-29)
L: 🇨🇦 Brodeur (24-26)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇨🇿 12+7+8 = 27
🇨🇦 10+11+8 = 29

ROSTERS
🇨🇿 Goaltenders: Milan Hnilička, Tomáš Vokoun. Defence: Jiří Fischer, Jan Hejda, František Kaberle, Tomáš Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, Jiří Šlégr, Jaroslav Špaček, Marek Židlický. Forwards: Petr Čajánek, Radek Dvořák, Aleš Hemský, Jan Hlaváč, Jaromír Jágr, Václav Prospal, Martin Ručinský, Martin Straka, Petr Sýkora, Václav Varaďa, Josef Vašíček, David Výborný (C).
🇨🇦 Goaltenders: Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo. Defence: Dan Boyle, Scott Hannan, Ed Jovanovski (A), Chris Phillips, Wade Redden, Robyn Regehr, Sheldon Souray. Forwards: Shane Doan, Kris Draper, Mike Fisher, Simon Gagné, Dany Heatley, Kirk Maltby, Patrick Marleau (A), Brendan Morrison, Brenden Morrow, Rick Nash, Ryan Smyth (C), Joe Thornton (A), Scott Walker.

Article Credit: IHWC
Photo Credit: Encyclopedia Britannica – IIHF – HHOF – IOC