(Brampton) Katerina Mrazova capped off her day with two points by scoring the winning goal for the Czech Republic, which defeated Finland 2-1 to reach the semis of the World Women’s Hockey Championship.
Czech goalkeeper Blanka Skodova blocked 41 of 42 shots she faced in the first quarter-final of the day at the CAA Centre. In the loss, his vis-Ã -vis Anni Keisala made 20 saves.
Finland’s Viivi Vainikka opened the scoring 15:18 from the first, but the Czech Republic responded with two goals in the second, from Natalie Mlynkova and Mrazova.
This is the fourth consecutive edition that Czech and Finns will meet in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. This is a second consecutive victory for the Czech Republic.
The team lost 10-1 to the United States in the semi-finals last year, but won the small final 4-2 against Switzerland.
Finland won the bronze medal at the Beijing Games last year.
The other quarter-finals will pit Germany against the United States, Sweden against Canada, and Japan against Switzerland.