MILAN, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Mitch Marner secured a place for Canada in the final four with an overtime goal that lifted the favorites past the Czech Republic 4-3 in an Olympic ice hockey quarterfinal thriller on Wednesday.
The overwhelming pre-tournament favorites were down 2-3 late in the third period, when Nick Suzuki leveled it.
Marner’s shot over the Czech goalie’s shoulder just 82 seconds into the nerve-searing extra session set off an ecstatic celebration through the Canadian fans at Santagiulia Arena.
The Czech team punched way above their weight class against the formidable cast of Canadian superstars but ran out of firepower in the final stretch of the fight.
“There were so many moments in that game that were huge for our team,” said Marner. “Some big plays in that game and luckily I was able to make one to just finish it.”
Team Canada’s Mitch Marner (right) erupts in joy over his game-winning goal in overtime as Macklin Celebrini (left) celebrates following the men’s ice hockey quarterfinals match against Czech Republic at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Wednesday.
Xavier Laine via Getty Images
Canada will be re-seeded along with the other three semifinalists, with the top seed playing the lowest surviving seed and the second and third seeds facing off on Friday. Slovakia booked their final-four slot earlier on Wednesday, dispatching Germany 6-2.
CZECH TEAM PUT UP FIGHT
The one-two punch of Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini got the scoring started as the alternate captain connected with the 19-year-old forward on a beautiful backward pass. Celebrini sent the puck through the legs of Czech forward David Pastrnak and into the net.
The Czech team retaliated a little more than five minutes later. Defenseman Radko Gudas stripped the Canadians of the puck and fed it to Czech captain Roman Cervenka, who got it to the waiting stick of Lukas Sedlak for the goal.
Pastrnak’s slapshot on a power play put the Czech team up with little more than five minutes to go before the first intermission, as the Canadian team that had once appeared untouchable got their first real test of the tournament.
Canada lost their captain early in the second period, as Sidney Crosby went down injured after colliding with Gudas, but they fought on and got the opening they were looking for after Michal Kempny went to the penalty box for interference. Celebrini and McDavid set up Nathan MacKinnon for the power play equalizer.
The fight was far from over, however, as Martin Necas scooped up the puck and went streaking down the right side before flipping it to New York Islanders winger Ondrej Palat, who beat Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington.
Suzuki redirected a shot from Devon Toews to level it with less than four minutes left in regulation, and Marner, who regularly plays for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, sent the Canadian crowd into a frenzy with his kill shot to end the contest.
Canada coach Jon Cooper said it was too early to comment on Crosby’s condition.
“You rarely see it, for him something definitely went wrong,” said Cooper. “He just thought he wasn’t in a position to help the team for the rest of the night and we would reevaluate after that.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Milan, additional reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Bill Berkrot)