Norway stun Czechs to qualify for first World Championhip quarter-final in 14 years

[p]The only other victory for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/nDtCX9uB/"]Norway[/a] over Czechia came in 2010, and Norway had never scored four goals against the Czechs before today.[/p][p]Both teams will also be in action tomorrow on the final day of the preliminary round. The Czechs will face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/canada/dSsR389c/"]Canada[/a] in an eagerly anticipated clash, while a Norwegian win against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/denmark/2mX8FleU/"]Denmark[/a] will give them second place in the group and a potentially easier matchup in the playoffs.[/p][p]Norway went into the clash brimming with confidence after their sensational win against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/vBLjQRXp/"]Sweden[/a] and got off to a perfect start with two goals within the space of seven minutes to take a comfortable 2-0 lead against the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/czech-republic/OdY4GUuO/"]Czech Republic[/a]. [/p][p]Havard Ostrem Salsten scored the opening goal with 2:59 gone on the clock when he intercepted an unwise pass from Filip Hronek and fired a shot under the glove of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pavlat-dominik/6ZgG0Tde/"]Dominik Pavlat[/a].[/p][embed guid="7fb32378-da8e-4f33-a176-770da5bb06ce" url="https://x.com/IIHFHockey/status/2058950758037418050" social-type="twitter" /][p]The early lead further boosted morale in the Norwegian squad, and four minutes later, they doubled their lead by converting a 2-on-1 as Michael Brandsegg-Nygard collected a pass from Petter Vesterheim to steer the puck past Pavlat.[/p][p]The Czech then cut the deficit at 15:47in the first period when Jaroslav Chmelar launched a floating shot past Henrik Haukeland to get the favorites back into the game. [/p][p]The second period turned into a tight-checking affair as the Norwegians defended well, not allowing the Czechs to skate into dangerous areas, and the Norwegians then increased the misery for Radim Rulík's side when Martin Ronnild scored a tap-in at 8:10 in the third period. [/p][p]Norway put the icing on the cake when Kristian Ostby launched a high shot over the glove of Pavlat at 14:17 to make it 4-1.[/p]