It’s a testament to how far Team Czechia has come that expectations were so high coming into this tournament. Czechia was competing in its second Olympic Games, and appeared poised to win its first Olympic medal in women’s ice hockey. They came up short of that goal, but does that mean it was an unsuccessful tournament?
How They Finished:
After a loss to the United States to open their tournament, Czechia squandered a two-goal third-period lead and dropped a heartbreaker to Switzerland in a shootout in game two. Czechia rebounded with a solid 2-0 win over Finland, then dropped their final group-stage game 5-1 to Canada.
The effort was good enough for a third-place finish in group A and a date with the top seed in group B, Sweden, in the quarterfinals. Sweden scored first when Hanna Olsson beat Klara Peslarovรก on the power play midway through the second period. From that point on, Czechia dominated the scoring chances, and they pushed hard in the third period for an equalizer, but it never came. Hilda Svensson’s empty-netter late in the third sealed Czechia’s fate, and they were once again bounced from the Olympic Games in the quarterfinals. Czechia finished the tournament in fifth place.
What Went Right:
Coming into the tournament, I thought the strength of this Czechia team was its forward group, and they showed their offensive prowess in the group stage. Czechia scored seven goals in four games, and they tallied at least one goal in all four of their group stage games. Czechia scored multiple goals in their games against Switzerland and Finland, and Czechia was the only team to score against the United States in the group stage, and the only team besides the United States to score against Canada in the group stage.
Czechia’s offensive success in the group stage makes what happened in the quarterfinal game against Sweden even more frustrating. They outshot Sweden 29-23 for the game and 13-5 in the third period, but Swedenโs Ebba Svensson Trรคff was fantastic. She stopped all 29 shots, including some big saves in that third period. Svensson Trรคffโs heroics shouldnโt completely overshadow the fact that the Czechia offense performed quite well in this tournament.
What Went Wrong:
Itโs become a bit of a recurring nightmare for this Czechia team, as they once again struggled to hold onto leads when it mattered most. Czechia surrendered a three-goal lead to Finland in the Bronze medal game at the World Championships in 2025, and in these Olympic Games, they surrendered a two-goal third-period lead against Switzerland in the group stage. Czechia still finished third in group A, but I wonder if this tournament would have looked different for Czechia if they had won that game against Switzerland and were able to build some momentum early in the tournament.
Czechiaโs biggest issue at this tournament was their special teams. Czechiaโs penalty kill allowed 5 goals on 15 attempts. The power play went 1 for 12 and finished at 8.33%. The special teams struggles that hampered Czechia all tournament showed up again in the quarterfinals. Swedenโs first goal was a power play tally. Czechiaโs power play went 0 for 4 against Sweden, including two chances in the third period.
Top 3 Players:
Natรกlie Mlรฝnkovรก: Mlรฝnkovรก was the best forward for Czechia by some margin in these Olympics. She led Czechia offensively with three goals and four points. She was Czechiaโs best offensive play driver, and she was noticeable every time she touched the ice. Mlรฝnkovรก led Czechia forwards in ice time, fired 20 shots, and also finished the tournament with a +/- of +2 for a team that was outscored 16-7 in their five games.
Daniela Pejลกovรก: Pejลกovรก anchored the Czechia blueline, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game, which led the team. She wasnโt able to chip in offensively, but she played a lot of minutes for Czechia, and she was a steady presence on the back end. She finished with a positive plus minus at +1.
Klรกra Peslarovรก: Peslarovรก had another strong Olympic Games, highlighted by a 25-save shutout of Finland. Peslarovรก did her job in the quarterfinals. She allowed one power-play goal against Sweden, but she stopped everything else and kept Czechia in the game as they desperately attempted to score an equalizer. In her three starts, Peslarovรก had a .936 save percentage.
Final Grade: B-
I struggled with this grade. On the one hand, Czechia has played in the last four bronze medal games at the World Championships. Not even playing in that game at these Olympics, much less winning bronze, feels like a real disappointment. On the other hand, the Olympics are not the World Championships, and fifth place is the highest ever finish for Czechia at an Olympic Games. They managed to finish third in group A behind the Americans and the Canadians, and they proved once again that they belonged with the best teams in the world.
It may not have been as big a step forward as many hoped. But, with so many young players making their Olympic debuts and plenty of lessons learned, I don’t think we can make a final call on the success or failure of Team Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics just yet. That elusive first Olympic medal isn’t far away.