Playing in the 10-team tournament in a bubble in Edmonton, the Czechs find themselves with a single victory in their first three preliminary round games -- but, oh, what a win it was on Sunday night.
One day after dropping a 7-1 decision to Sweden on Boxing Day, Lang and crew would pull off one of the biggest upsets in recent tournament history, battling to a 2-0 victory over Russia. They wouldn’t be able to keep the momentum going, though, and would fall 7-0 to the United States in their most recent contest Tuesday afternoon.
Lang -- who was acquired by the Warriors in deadline deal with the Kamloops Blazers last season and put up eight goals and 24 points in 26 games -- has played on the Czech Republic’s top line alongside Jan Mysak of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs and Chicago Blackhawks prospect Michal Teply of the Winnipeg Ice.
Against Sweden, the trio got off to a fast start, with Mysak scoring their first goal of the tournament 10:14 into the first period. That would be the last bit of good news for the Czechs, though, as the two teams would find themselves tied 1-1 after the first before Sweden would tack on three goals in the second and third periods.
All told, Lang would see 24 shifts and 17:31 of ice time, putting four shots on net and finished minus-one.
Things were night and day 24 hours later.
Filip Koffer would give the Czechs a 1-0 lead late in the second period, and 5:07 into the third, it was Lang’s turn to strike -- after blocking a shot in his zone, the 19-year-old forward burst free on a breakaway before beating Russian goaltender Yaroslav Askarov with a shot blocker side.
UPSET Alert! After losing to Sweden in their opener, Czech Republic has Russia on the ropes up 2-0 in the 3rd thanks to a breakaway score from Martin Lang @narodnitym #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/0ac2xuxtF0
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 28, 2020
That goal gave the Czechs the insurance they needed and 15 minutes later, they had pulled off the upset.
“I didn’t care about the goal, but everyone’ss seen the blocked shots, and I think that’s the main important thing,” Lang said on WHL.ca. “Block shots and help the team and it was just okay for me to score a goal.”Lang had 20 shifts on the night, playing 15:29, taking another four shots and finishing plus-one.
Things looked promising early on Tuesday afternoon, as the Czech Republic were able to go toe-to-toe with the U.S. in the first period and even had the lion’s share of chances as the period wound down -- including a nifty two-on-one where Lang hit Mysak with a cross-crease pass and a left his linemate with an open net, only to have the puck bounce harmlessly away at the last second.
The U.S. would pour on the pressure in the second period, though, scoring three times, and as discipline issues and penalties started to mount for the Czechs, would tack on another four goals in the third for the 7-0 win.
Lang was relatively busy with 18 shifts and 14:18 of ice time and a single shot on goal.
The Czechs will round out their preliminary round against winless Austria on New Year’s Eve before taking on either Canada or Finland in the quarterfinals on Jan. 2.
