With four points for a hat trick and an assist, attacker Josef Rýpar contributed to the victory of floorball players, and Adam Delong also scored four points for two goals and the same number of passes. The next match awaits coach Jaroslav Berka today at 19:00 CET against the reigning vice-champions of the world, the Finns, who initially outclassed Canada 18:0.
“We accomplished practically what we wanted. The second period in particular was very good. We also managed to save some energy for the rest of the tournament. The end of the match was a bit worse towards the back and we offered the opponent a few chances, but overall I am satisfied with the performance,” he said of the Czech Floorball website, Berk’s Finnish assistant Joonas Naava.
The Czechs faced the Americans only for the second time in history. The first time was on December 3, 2012 at the World Cup in Zurich, where they won 13:4. This time, the bronze medalists from December’s WC in Helsinki, where the USA team finished fifteenth, opened the score after 55 seconds in a duel played for 3×15 minutes, thanks to Rýpar. They waited for another goal until the 12th minute, when Jiří Besta made his mark and Matěj Havlas scored in the first period.
In the second half, the Czechs increased their lead to 9:0. Rýpar first scored in his own weakness, completing the hat trick with a goal in the 28th minute to make it 8:0. Twice Delong was among the top scorers, Filip Langer once and Besta made his mark the second time. In the final third, Filip Forman with Langer and Dominik Beneš increased the score to 12:0. Maximus Blanco took a clean sheet from Lukáš Bauer in the 38th minute, and Lukáš Punčochář had the last word.
“We played the opening match against a weaker opponent, so I’ll say it was cool. As time goes by, the matches will be harder and with better opponents,” said Rýpar. He was pleased with the hat-trick at the start. “I was in good places. My teammates set it up for me and I more or less just cleaned it up. Goals are needed for a player’s confidence, so I’m happy for that, but most of all I’m happy for a big win, a relatively manageable game against America and a good entry into the tournament ,” added the forward of Sweden’s Linköping.
At the non-Olympic sports tournament, the inline hockey players beat Latvia 5:1 and lead Group A. Switzerland only won 4:1 over Italy.
| World Sports Games 2022 |
|---|
| Floorball – men: |
| Group B: |
| USA – Czechia 1:13 (0:3, 0:6, 1:4) |
| Goals: 37. Blanco – 1., 17. and 28. Rýpar, 12. and 26. Besta, 19. and 33. Langer, 22. and 29. Delong, 14. Havlas, 32. F. Forman, 37. D Beneš, 39. Hosiery. Exclusion: 0:1. No use. Underweight: 0:1. Spectators: 129. |
| Finland – Canada 18:0 (5:0, 6:0, 7:0). |
| Group A: |
| Sweden – Latvia 6:6 (2:1, 2:4, 2:1) |
| Switzerland – Thailand 10:3 (4:0, 2:2, 4:1). |
| Inline hockey – men: |
| Group B: |
| Czech Republic – Latvia 5:1 (4:1) |
| Goals: 3. Kafka, 7. Kuťák, 16. Šebek, 18. Loskot, 33. Vyoral – 2. Bazevičs. |
| Italy – Switzerland 1:4 (0:2). |
| Group A: |
| France – Colombia 5:0 (2:0) |
| USA – Canada 8: 3 (5: 0). |
