Czechia made history on Sunday as they secured their first men’s hockey world championship title in 14 years. The victory came at the expense of Switzerland, who were denied their first title with goals from David Pastrnak and David Kampf securing the win. Lukas Dostal, the goalie for the Anaheim Ducks, posted a 31-save shutout in the game held in Prague.
The Czech Republic’s victory marked the end of their longest title drought since they began competing independently in 1993. In the bronze-medal game, Sweden managed to beat Canada 4-2, earning their first medal since 2018 and ending their longest medal drought since World War II. Canada, who had won gold or silver at the previous four world championships, fell short in this year’s competition.
The U.S. team lost in the quarterfinals to Czechia, marking their last top-two finish at a standalone world championship as far back as 1950. Despite not reaching the podium, the U.S. team put up a strong performance in the tournament and should be proud of their efforts.
