Following a five-point performance in Czechia’s second game against Germany, Adam Benák was already the Hlinka Gretzky Cup’s all-time scoring leader. Since then, he’s tacked on three more points to give him 20 in nine total games. Still, he doesn’t have a Hlinka Gretzky Cup title.
He is the only returning player from last year’s Czech team that lost 3-2 in overtime to Canada on home ice in Břeclav. After beating Canada 6-4 in a pre-tournament game, it was suggested to Benák that perhaps this year’s team was in a better position to win it all than last year’s.
“Maybe it looks that way, but I don’t really think so,” said Benák. “I think last year was good too. We didn’t play bad in the final, so we want to build on that and, hopefully, luck is on our side this time and we’ll win.”
The Czechs are in a position to win just their second-ever title at the annual summer U18 tournament thanks to a comeback win in the semifinals against Sweden. Down 1-0 after one period, the Czechs scored three goals in the second period, with Benák scoring the equalizer and assisting on the 3-1 goal.
“We were better from the start and overall we played an excellent game. In the first period, we just weren't strong enough on our shots. After that, we pushed even harder on the goal and they started going in,” Benák said about the game.
On his 1-1 goal on a snipe just six seconds into the power play, he said, “It definitely helped our confidence. We knew we could score a goal, and it gave us a boost.”
With the Czechs leading 2-1 late in the second period, they extended their lead on a 5-on-3 advantage when Benák found Vít Záhejský with a brilliant cross-crease pass that went over the pad and under the blocker of Swedish goalie Love Härenstam for the easy backdoor tap-in.
“I think that the game went quite well for us and we understood each other,” Benák said about playing with Záhejský, who had two goals and one assist in the game. Záhejský’s seven points trail only Benák’s 10 on the Czech team.
On the play of Czech goaltender Ondřej Štěbeták, Benák said, “He played an excellent game. For the most part, he’s held us in it the entire tournament and he’s certainly a big reason we are in the final.”
This will be the 10th final between Canada and Czechia at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup or its predecessors, with Canada winning each of the previous nine. The Czechs’ only victory came in 2016 when they beat the USA in the final.
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