Czech Republic 3 United States 2
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Michal Hlinka scored the lone shootout goal as the Czech Republic beat the U.S., 3-2 in a world junior exhibition game Tuesday.
Five-foot-nine netminder Jakub Sedlacek stood tall in goal for the Czechs, stopping 42 shots in regulation and overtime and another three in the shootout.
Sedlacek was named the Czechs’ game star after making some big saves in the second period. With the score tied, he stopped a Chris Kreider one-time blast and late in the frame he made a great blocker save to stone Ryan Bourque on a breakaway. He stopped Bourque on a partial break again in the third.
Tomas Kubalik opened the scoring for the Czechs when he buried a Robert Kousal rebound 1:09 into the game.
Kreider tied the game 2:20 into the second period when he batted a rebound out of mid-air on an American power-play.
Hlinka’s backhanded shot put the Czechs ahead 2-1 in the second period.
The Czechs took three minor penalties in the opening 4:46 of the third and killed them all off. However, Bourque tied the game later in the period when he buried his own rebound after another excellent save by Sedlacek.
The U.S. finished 1-for-9 on the power play.
Jack Campbell stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced for the U.S., and saved his best for last. He was pulled immediately after stopping Stepan Novotny of the Swift Current Broncos on a penalty shot after Novotny was hauled down on a short-handed breakaway.
Mike Lee played the second half of the game in goal for the Americans and stopped 13 shots.
Robert Kousal added a pair of assists for the Czechs.
The two teams played an open, attacking game with a lot of tempo to open their pre-competition schedule.
The Czechs and Americans met twice at the 2009 tournament in Ottawa. The U.S. won 4-3 in the preliminary round and triumphed 3-2 in overtime in the fifth-place game.