Czechs lose 5-1 to Canada, will battle Russia for bronze

The Czech ice hockey team lost on Saturday night to Canada by a score of 5-1 in the IIHF World Championship semi-finals in Bratislava.

The Czechs outshot Canada 12-11 in each of the first two periods, and 41-30 in the game. Tomáš Zohorna scored the lone Czech goal, with 6:01 left to play in the third period.

Saturday marked the Czechs’ first time in the world championship semifinal since a 2-0 loss to Canada on home soil in Prague in 2015.

The Czechs next face Russia, which suffered a surprise loss to Finland, to compete for a bronze medal. That match begins on Sunday at 3:45 pm local time. The Canada-Finland match starts at 8:15 pm. The Czechs lost 3-0 in their group match against the Russians on 13 May.

Previously, the Czech Republic won gold medals at the IIHF hockey Worlds in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, and 2010. When part of Czechoslovakia, the team won another six gold medals.