Hosts Czechia crowned world champions after final win over Switzerland!
Hosts Czechia celebrated a 2:0 win over Switzerland in front of 17.413 fans at the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Prague and were crowned world champions for the seventh time, following titles in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2010. Sweden claimed the bronze medal with a 4:2 win over Canada.
2 min read
The World Championship final had everything that makes ice hockey special: high intensity, plenty of good passages of play, and two world-class goaltenders in Switzerland's Leonardo Genoni and Czechia's Lukáš Dostál. Only the goals were initially missing, with the score 0:0 after 40 minutes. With every shift, the final in Prague became more exciting. It took an extremely long time before previously scoreless superstar David Pastrňák broke the deadlock with a powerful shot from the left to give the hosts a 1:0 lead (50).
In the final minutes, Switzerland increased the pressure and pushed for an equaliser. Just under two minutes from the end, head coach Patrick Fischer pulled goaltender Leonardo Genoni, who had to return to the net twice before leaving it again. When David Kämpf scored into the empty net 19 seconds from the end (60), the roof of Prague Arena nearly came off amid an incredible atmosphere. Czechia defeated Switzerland 2:0 to become world champions for the seventh time. The final also set a new World Championship attendance record, with 797.727 fans.
Sweden win the bronze medal
In the third-place game, Sweden defeated Canada 4:2 to secure the bronze medal. After Carl Grundström gave Sweden the lead in the first period (13), Dylan Cozens levelled the game for Canada in the middle period (23).
In the final period, the Canadians took a 2:1 lead through Pierre-Luc Dubois (45) before Tre Kronor turned the game around in the final ten minutes: Erik Karlsson scored the equaliser to make it 2:2 (50), before Carl Grundström netted his second goal to make it 3:2 (54). Marcus Johansson sealed the 4:2 final score with an empty-net goal five seconds from the end (60).
For Sweden, it was their first medal since winning gold in 2018. Canada lost their fifth consecutive bronze-medal game; the Maple Leafs had last won the third-place game in 1995.
Final:
Czechia vs. Switzerland 2:0 (0:0,0:0,2:0)
Sun, 26 May 2024, 20:20, Prague Arena, 17.413
Czechia goalscorers: David Pastrňák (50), David Kämpf (60/EN)
Third-place game:
Sweden vs. Canada 4:2 (1:0,0:1,3:1)
Sun, 26 May 2024, 15:20, Prague Arena, 14.929
Goalscorers Sweden: Carl Grundström (13, 54), Erik Karlsson (50), Marcus Johansson (60)
Canada goalscorers: Dylan Cozens (23), Pierre-Luc Dubois (45)
