Canada's Dylan Cozens celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal during the preliminary round match between Czech Republic and Canada at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, May 21, 2024.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Petr David Josek
PRAGUE, Czechia – Dylan Cozens scored his second goal of the game short-handed in overtime as Canada held on for a 4-3 win over host Czechia on Tuesday at the world hockey championship.
Cozens pounced on a turnover in the Canadian zone and advanced into Czechia’s end.
His pass intended for Colton Parayko was broken up, but he regained possession of the puck and poked a backhand past sprawling Czech goaltender Lukas Dostal.
Cozens’s goals gave him eight in seven games as Canada finished the preliminary round in top spot in Group A with 19 points on five regulation wins and two overtime victories.
Czechia had a chance to take over top spot in the group but ended with 16 points. Switzerland, which played Finland later Tuesday, was at 14 points and had the chance to finish second with a regulation win.
Dawson Mercer and Brandon Hagel had Canada’s other goals, while Jordan Binnington made 19 saves.
Dominik Kubalik, Ondrej Palat and Roman Cervenka scored for Czechia, which got 22 saves from Dostal.
Cervenka scored with one minute 49 seconds remaining as Canada and Czechia combined for five goals over the last 11 minutes of regulation.
Cozens opened the scoring on a power play just over a minute into the final period with a power-play goal.
Kubalik tied it at 9:11 of the third on a power play, then Canada appeared to take control as goals from Mercer and Hagel put the defending champions up 3-1 with four minutes 18 seconds left to play.
But with Mercer in the penalty box for tripping, the hosts got a goal back when Palat scored with Dostal on the bench for an extra attacker.
Cervenka sent the game to overtime when he scored with an extra attacker less than two minutes later.
Boston star David Pastrnak was making his tournament debut with the hosts after the Bruins were eliminated by Florida in the second round of the NHL playoffs. He was held off the scoresheet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2024.
