Coach Radim Rulík’s men started the championship with a 5:2 victory over the defending champions, the Canadians, then outclassed Austria 9:0, lost 2:3 in extra time against the Swedes and beat the Germans ( 8:1) with eight goals .
In addition to the duel with the Swiss, the Canadians will face the Slovaks in the quarterfinals, the Americans will face the Germans and the Finns will face the Swedes in the Nordic derby.
At the last World Cup four months ago the young Czechs were just below the podium, they have been waiting for a medal since 2005.