Jiri Kulich is his country’s newest puck hero.
Rest there! Jiri Kulich hit the puck into Sweden’s goal and the Czech party began. The Czech Republic is playing in the final of the under-20 World Cup tournament. ZUMAWIRE / MVPHOTOS
Jiri Kulich, who plays for the Buffalo Sabres’ farm team Rochester Americans, scored a huge goal for his team at the end of overtime.
With that goal, the Czech Republic knocked Sweden into the bronze match of the under-20 World Cup tournament with numbers 2–1, and pressed on to the World Cup final itself.
– I don’t remember my goal and how it came about. The last thing I remember is a pass by Matyas Sapovalic he gave it, the hero repeated.
The Czech Republic scored two big goals. One occurred in the last minute of regular time and the other in the last minute of overtime.
The Czech Republic celebrated its goal wildly already on the ice. The going continued in the booth.
–Oh my gosh, that was great. We did it, this is amazing. This is a dream, beamed the AHL player born in 2004.
The Czech Republic’s previous U20 finals place brought the championship in 2001. The most recent medal is a bronze as far back as 2005.
What makes this team great?
– Every single player in the booth, every guy believed in this. We are team players, that is the key to success, Kulich continued.
The Czech Republic has one more obstacle on its way to the World Cup. It will face the winner of the semi-final pair USA-Canada on Friday morning.