MILAN (AP) — David Kampf and Roman Cervenka scored 69 seconds apart in the second period and Czechia beat Denmark 3-2 on Tuesday to advance to a quarterfinal showdown with Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Czechia gets a second shot at the tournament favorite after losing to Canada 5-0 last week in their opener. They play on Wednesday.
Martin Necas also scored for the Czechs in a busy second period when the Colorado Avalanche forward one-timed a slap shot past goalie Frederik Andersen on a power play to open the scoring.
Denmark tied it at 1-1 on Alexander True’s goal at 29:02, but Kampf quickly put the Czechs back in front and Cervenka's goal 69 seconds later made it 3-1. The 40-year-old Cervenka snapped a wrist shot into the top corner over Andersen's glove.
Nick Olesen's power-play goal closed the gap before the end of the second.
The Czechs killed off two third period penalties, and goalie Lukas Dostal saved two shots from Oliver Bjorkstrand with less than 25 second left.
“We knew it’s going to be a challenge, and it was,” Czechia winger Ondrej Palat said. “They’re a hard team to play against. They don’t give you much. We won, so big win for us. Joy and relief.”
Denmark's True summed up his side's mood: "Kind of disappointing feeling right now, but I think we all battled hard.”
Later, Sweden faces Latvia to determine who will play the United States in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Leon Draisaitl and JJ Peterka scored in a three-goal first period and Germany beat France 5-1 to set up a quarterfinal game against Slovakia.
Frederik Tiffels added another when he scored unassisted from a tight angle by snapping a shot off the right side of Julian Junca’s mask and into the net in a dominant opening period for the Germans.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare had given away the puck on Tiffels’ goal but the France captain scored in the second period by throwing the puck into the crease, where it hit defenseman Moritz Muller and got past goalie Philipp Grubauer.
Joshua Samanski scored a power-play goal in the third and Nico Sturm added an empty-netter for Germany.
The Germans will face Slovakia on Wednesday.
Draisaitl, who plays for the Edmonton Oilers, opened the scoring with a power-play goal 3:40 into the game on a low wrist shot after taking a pass from Samanski.
After Tiffels made it 2-0, Utah Mammoth winger Peterka was left alone in the slot and lifted a backhander over Junca after receiving Tim Stutzle's pass from the corner.
Junca, who made 10 saves, was pulled after the first period and replaced for the start of the second by Antoine Keller.
France lost all four of its Olympic games.
Draisaitl was already on the minds of Slovakia ahead of the quarterfinals.
"Everybody knows he’s one of the best players in the league and worldwide, obviously,” Slovakia defenseman Martin Fehervary said of the Germany captain. “And they got also a couple really good players like Stutzle and Peterka and (Moritz) Seider. But we’ve got to focus on ourselves.”
Switzerland beat Italy 3-0, outshooting the host country 51-20.
New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists. Philipp Kurashev and Roman Josi had the other Swiss goals.
Switzerland next faces Finland.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sat, 2/28, 1-4 pm Congregational Church, San Mateo and Sun, 3/1, 10am-noon, First Presbyteri… Read moreHEAR NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION—AND DEMOCRACY—ADVOCATE REV. JIM ANTAL IN SAN MATEO AND PALO ALTO
With playing described as “stylish and full of fire,” Ensemble Mirable has captivated listen… Read moreEnsemble Mirable: Baroque Masterpieces on period instruments
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.