The officials let this one skate by.
The same Olympic referees who are currently under fire by Czechia following the country’s 4-3 overtime loss to Canada in the Men’s Ice Hockey quarterfinal Wednesday apparently missed a call late in the third period when Czechia had six men on the ice for its then-go-ahead goal.
Czechia, which had been dominated by Canada in last week’s preliminary round, 5-0, looked poised to upset the North American powerhouse after an Ondrej Palat goal roughly 52 minutes into the contest put the team up, 3-2.
Canada came swinging back moments later, when a Nick Suzucki goal sent the game to overtime at 3 apiece.
Mitch Marner sealed the victory for Canada roughly two minutes into extra time.
With the Canadians now looking ahead to Friday’s semifinal against Finland at the Milano Cortina Games — not to mention Sidney Crosby’s status after exiting Wednesday’s game early due to a lower-body injury — star Connor McDavid said Thursday he’s “upset” the team didn’t catch their opponent’s extra player.
“I’m upset we didn’t see it either, but everybody’s on the bench watching the game and none of us saw it so refs didn’t see it, nobody saw it seemed like. Gad that it didn’t cost us our tournament, with that being said we definitely gotta be more aware of what’s going on out there,” the Oilers’ capatain said, according to TSN.
The International Ice Hockey Federation [IIHF] reviewed the moment in question and recognized errors can occur — even after a “thorough process” to vet the officials for the Olympics.
“An IIHF spokesperson today said they reviewed it and obviously saw what we all saw, there was a missed called there. The IIHF says they went through a thorough process to select the on-officials for this tournament, the best of the best are here. But mistakes happen. The spokesperson said everyone involved has regrouped and are focusing on the rest of the tournament,” Canadian hockey insider Pierre LeBrun posted Thursday on X.
Czechia coach Radim Rulik railed against the officials postgame Wednesday.
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“The referees really worry me. What they’re allowing against us is unacceptable,” he told the media, according to a translation. “After every game, we send them two or three clips where they confirm that the opponent should have been penalized. I don’t understand it. I just don’t get it.”
Rulik took exception to a play, also in the third period, when Canada’s Devon Towes appeared to hook Martin Nečas in the neutral zone before a breakaway.
“I watch two NHL games on replay every single day,” Rulik said. “The play Necas made today — when his stick was touched on the breakaway — is always a penalty in the NHL. But suddenly, not here. I’m really sorry about it. The guys deserved a top-level performance from the referees.”
In addition to Canada and Finland, the U.S. and Slovakia have also advanced to the semis.
The winner of Friday’s semifinal games will face off in Sunday’s gold-medal clash, while the bronze-medal game is set for Saturday.