Czechs Undefeated After Finishing Round-Robin With Win Over Switzerland

The Czech Republic has finished Group A round-robin action with a 4-1 win over Switzerland, sweeping all three games they played to kick off the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The Czechs wasted no time finding a way to beat Jonas Hiller, taking the 1-0 lead seven minutes in. Michal Repik would one-time a pass from Martin Erat in the slot, with the puck beating Hiller up high to give the Czechs the early advantage. 

But seven minutes later, Thomas Ruefenacht scored a similar goal after a feed from Andreas Ambuhl, launching a shot past Pavel Francouz and in to tie the game up at one apiece. It was a big goal for the Swiss, who, with a big win against South Korea on Saturday, still had a chance to win Group A if they could manage the victory.

Neither team would find a way to score again until the 43rd minute of the battle. The game featured a theme of quick plays creating goals, and Dominik Kubalik would continue that tradition by tapping in a pass from Jan Kovar, giving the Czech Republic the 2-1 lead. Repik would get his second of the game and Roman Cervenka would get one of his own, both on the empty net, handing the Czechs the 4-1 win in the process.

With the Czech victory, three qualification round games have been solidified. On Tuesday, Slovenia will challenge Norway, USA and Slovakia will meet up for the second time and Switzerland will face-off against their rivals from Germany. The Czechs will wait to find out their fate later today after the conclusion of Canada vs South Korea and Sweden vs Finland, taking place at 21:10 local time.

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